- Consulting Opportunity 11.2 A Right Way, a Wrong Way, and a Subway "So far so good. Sure, there have been some complaints, but any new subway will have those. The 'free ride' gimmick has helped attract some people who never would have ridden otherwise. I think there are more people than ever before interested in riding the subway," says Bart Rayl. "What we need is an accurate fix on what ridership has been so far so we can make some adjustments on our fare decisions and scheduling of trains." Rayl is an operations manager for S.W.I.F.T., the newly built subway for Western Ipswich and Fremont Transport that serves a major northeastern city in the United States. He is speaking with Benton Turnstile, who reports to him as operations supervisor of S.W.I.F.T. The subway system is in its first month of operation, offering limited lines. Marketing people have been giving away free rides on the subway to increase public awareness of S.W.I.F.T. "I think that's a good idea," says Turnstile. "It's not just a token effort. We'll show them we're really on the right track. I'll get back to you with ridership information soon," he says. A month later, Rayl and Turnstile meet to compare the projected ridership with the new data. Turnstile proudly presents a 2-inch-high stack of computer printouts to Rayl. Rayl looks a little surprised but proceeds to go through it with Turnstile. "What all is in here?" Rayl asks, fingering the top page of the stack hesitantly. "Well," says Turnstile, training his eyes on the printout, "it's a list of all the tickets that were sold from the computerized vending machines. It tells us how many tickets were bought and what kinds of tickets were bought. The guys from Systems That Think, Inc. told me this report would be the most helpful for us, just like it was for the operations people in Buffalo and Pittsburgh," says Turnstile, turning quickly to the next page. "Maybe, but remember those subway systems began with really limited service. We're bigger. And what about the sales from the three manned ticket booths in the Main Street Terminal?" asks Rayl. to the next page. "Maybe, but remember those subway systems began with really limited service. We're bigger. And what about the sales from the three manned ticket booths in the Main Street Terminal?" asks Rayl. "The clerks in the booth can get information summarizing ticket sales onscreen any time they want it, but it's not included here. Remember that we projected that only 10 percent of our sales would be from the booths anyway. Let's go with our original idea and add that to the printout," suggests Turnstile. Rayl replies, "But l've been observing riders. Half of them seem to be afraid of the automated vending machines. Others start using them, get frustrated reading the directions, or don't know what to do with the ticket that comes out, and they wind up at the ticket booth blowing off steam. Furthermore, they can't understand the routine information posted on the kiosks, which is all in graphics. They wind up asking clerks what train goes where." Rayl pushes the printout holding the ticket sales to one side of the conference table and says, "I don't have much confidence in this report. I feel as if we're sitting here trying to operate the most sophisticated subway system in the United States by peering down a tunnel instead of at the information, like we should be. I think we need to think seriously about capturing journey information on magnetically stripped cards like the New York Transit Authority is doing. Every time you insert the card to take a ride, the information is stored." What are some of the specific problems with the output that the systems consultants and Benton Turnstile gave to Bart Rayl? Evaluate the media that are being used for output as well as the timing of its distribution. In a paragraph, comment on the external output that users of the automated ticket machines are apparently receiving. In a second paragraph, suggest some changes in output to help Rayl get the information he needs to make decisions on fares and scheduling of trains, and to help users of the subway system get the information they need. List the decisions facing organizations like the New York Transit Authority if they collect and store input concerning an individual's destinations each time a trip is taken. What changes would S.W.I.F.T. have to make to its output and its tickets if it adopted this technology? Reply in a paragraph. Auch of this regulation, however, is industry dependent. For example, in the United States a regional blood system is required by federal law to ieep a medical history of a blood donor-as well as his or her name-on file. The exact output form is not specified, but the content is strictly pelled out