The MTA plans to hire a firm to develop a text- message and e-mail alert system that will give riders up-to-the-minute information about service changes and disruptions, officials said yesterday.
The agency put out a request for proposals and hopes to have the system fully up and running by next spring.
MTA CEO Elliot Sander said the need for the system was clear following the failure of the MTA to communicate with riders on Aug. 8, when severe flooding shut down the much of the subway system.
“Better customer communication has been high on my priority list since I came to the MTA earlier this year,” Sander said.
“The flooding on Aug. 8 made it clear that timely text and e-mail alerts are necessary, and I am confident we can find a third-party provider with the processing power to carry this out. It will no doubt be the largest such customer-service alert system in the nation.”
The system would work for all bus, subway and commuter-rail passengers, he said.
Customers could receive notifications on scheduled track work or alternate train routing, as well as unplanned disruptions resulting from fires, storms, flooding or other emergency conditions.
The agency anticipates that more than 1 million riders will eventually use the service, officials said.
The commuter railways already employ a similar system of text and e-mail alerts, but it takes up to an hour to get the messages out. Officials hope that a new firm can crank out information faster.