LRTA: Delays, crowd control top passenger complaints

Delays in train arrivals and crowd control problems top the list of complaints by passengers of the Light Rail Transit system, the LRT Authority said Wednesday.

In a post on its Facebook account, the LRTA said this was based on statistics from emails, text messages, phone calls, and posts on its social media accounts.

But the LRTA also said some of the problems were due to wear and tear on its facilities, which it said lead to inconveniences and discomfort for passengers.

"Undeniably, LRTA has been in the industry for almost three decades now and to this date, has been striving to fulfill its mission to provide a safe, reliable and dependable mass rail system to its stakeholders," it said. 

"However, the longer the LRT systems are in operation, the more inevitable is the wear and tear of the facilities resulting to some inconveniences and discomfort to passengers. Thus, temporary measures to address passenger needs are being undertaken while completion of the rail replacement and rehabilitation programs are being awaited to improve the overall level of comfort of passengers," it added.

Topping the list of complaints is the delay in train arrivals, which the LRTA said occurs when there is a technical problem either on signaling, track system, catenary, and power supply.

But in some cases, it said some are attributable to passengers during peak hours "such as activating door levers and warning buzzer, standing near doors hampering the boarding and alighting of passengers, leaning on train doors and lack of running trains."

The LRTA said it is implementing a new loading scheme, and is trying to prolong the condition of the rail tracks and ensure safety by implementing a 40 kph speed restriction.

Meanwhile, the second top complaint involves crowd control, with the LRTA implementing a Passenger Limit Per Platform (PLPP) scheme to regulate the load capacity of the station platforms and prevent overloading and congestion.

The LRTA said it dispatches skip trains – trains that pick up passengers in selected stations – to areas with many passengers.

Other complaints included: