Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 13, 2004

Metro’s July safety spotlight issue of the Month:

What to do if a customer becomes ill while traveling on Metro

From time-to-time, delays on Metrorail occur due to sick customers aboard a train. On occasion, customers will contact Metro and ask how and why a sick customer can cause a train delay, and why the train operator can’t simply remove the customer from a train and continue onto the next station.

With summer upon us, and with more people using Metrorail and Metrobus than ever before, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) would like to remind everyone who uses the system that if he/she becomes ill, that there are guidelines as it pertains to assisting sick customers:

Metrorail

" If a customer feels ill while waiting on the platform, it’s best for that individual not to board the train.

" To secure immediate assistance for a sick customer, others may use the emergency intercom buttons which are located on the pylons on every platform.

" Customers may also seek assistance from a station manager, or a uniformed Metro Transit Police officer, who can place a phone call for emergency medical assistance.

" If a customer becomes ill on-board a train, he/she may use the emergency intercom buttons located at the end of each rail car, by the bulkhead doors. Notification to the rail operator should include the rail car number, and if the sick customer requires assistance.

" The rail operator can notify the Rail Operations Control Center to request medical assistance at the appropriate rail station. Metrorail Policy For Removing Sick Customers

" A uniformed Metro employee, either a station manager, rail operator, or a Metro Transit Police officer can move a customer from a train at a Metrorail station to the platform only if the customer is coherent and can respond to the need of assistance. If the person can respond and agrees to be moved, he/she will be removed from the train in a safe manner.

" If a customer is not responsive, unconscious, is refusing to move until emergency medical assistance arrives, or is reporting symptoms that could be exacerbated by moving the customer, Metro personnel will not attempt to move the customer from the train and instead wait for emergency medical assistance.

" If Metro requires emergency medical assistance to move a customer from a train, the train will remain stationary and single track operations will be required. Single-tracking occurs when trains traveling in opposite directions alternate use of one set of tracks. One train must pass through the area before the next one can use the same track, which causes some minor delays.

" On occasion, a train may have to be removed from service to be cleaned immediately should there be a need to clean the car as a direct result of a customer becoming ill. Metrobus

" If a customer should become ill on a Metrobus, he/she should seek assistance from the Metrobus operator. The operator can contact the Bus Operations Control Center to call emergency medical assistance. "Through the first six months of 2004, we are averaging up to 12 delays a month on Metrorail due to sick customers compared to just seven delays a month through the first six months of 2003," said Steven Feil, Chief Operating Officer for Rail. "While the causes of these incidents have been non-operational issues, we understand that customers may become frustrated with a train delay due to a sick customer. However, we have to take the necessary safety and medical precautions when someone is not feeling well. If someone is seriously ill, we will call for emergency medical assistance and depending upon the situation, it may require us to have trains share a track around the emergency situation."

"It’s important for everyone to remember that more people are using the Metrorail than ever before in its 28-year history," said Fred Goodine, Metro’s Assistant General Manager for System Safety and Risk Protection. "Last month we averaged more than 706,000 riders per weekday. With more people using the rail system, it means there is a greater chance that someone may become ill. However, when it does happen, we will be prepared to handle the situation accordingly with hopefully, as little a disruption as possible."

Sick customers aboard Metrorail January - June 2003/January - June 2004

2003

• Average delay: 4 - 20 minutes
• Number of delays that required trains having to share one track: 12
• Time of day when incident occurred between Monday to Friday:
  • AM peak (5:30-9:30 AM): 14
  • Off-peak midday (9:30 AM to 3 PM): 4
  • PM peak (3-7 PM): 10
  • PM off-peak evening (7 PM-Closing):

   

2004

• Average delay: 4 - 28 minutes
• Number of delays that required trains having to share one track: 24
• Time of day when incident occurred between Monday to Friday:
  • AM peak (5:30-9:30 AM): 20
  • Off-peak midday (9:30 AM to 3 PM): 15
  • PM peak (3-7 PM): 18
  • PM off-peak evening (7 PM-Closing): 13

News release issued on July 13, 2004.