Tag: communication

  • Part 1: Marketing transit on the cheap.

    Is it a fair assumption to say that public transit has a perception problem? When we poll riders and non-riders alike, adjectives like dirty, slow, uncomfortable, inefficient, and unsafe appear with regularity. A look into pop-culture reflects the industry much the same way; dirty taxis, buses that belch smoke, trains that are loud and crusted…

  • Forget text-to-speech for your on-board announcements, pre-recorded audio is better.

    Turn up the volume on pre-recorded audio. By John Maglio, President ETA Transit Systems Full disclosure: I’ve always disliked text-to-speech (TTS). It’s a wholly impersonal means of conveying critical information to passengers. From the sanitary, robotic pronunciation to the complete lack of support for local multi-lingual dialects. TTS is a poor way to connect with…