Whether you love or hate Metro’s new “doors closing” voice and the new pinball-like variation of the agency’s trademark “bing-boing” chime alert doesn’t matter, officials said — they simply want to know if you actually listen to the directions.
Although the well-publicized voice contest earlier this year drew plenty of attention, the alerts serve an operational purpose in reducing delays and preventing injuries.
“The comments about the voice, whether they love or hate it, means people are noticing something that for the past ‘n’ years had blending into the background noise,” said Metro board member Chris Zimmerman. “We’re talking seconds here, but if people either get on or off the train faster because of the voice, it can really keep trains moving on time.”
Making the voice as annoying as possible would definitely grab people’s attention, but Metro Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini said he is considering rotating several different voices — possibly male — throughout the system.
Tangherlini said it has “nothing to do” with the voice of 44-year-old Randi Miller, the Woodbridge resident who beat out 1,258 other voice contestants, but is about getting customers to exit and board trains quickly and safely.
The majority of personal injuries occur in the doors of Metro trains, officials said.
A recent survey showed 75 percent of riders were aware of the voice and 99 percent of those said they “remembered some or most of what they heard.”
Zimmerman said he would like to study whether the new voice is reducing “dwell” time — the amount of time a train is stopped at a platform — not just whether riders can hear or simply like the voice.
