This was mentioned on the radio this morning--the supposition that you have a sense of community forming around the metro commute. It's a logical presumption. You may or may not interact with those around you, but I'm sure when one encounters familiar faces, there will be more interaction.
There is also the opportunity to interact with the metro system staff, and there is quite a large number at present. On my commute thus far I meet first the parking attendants and various maintenance workers, cleaning staff, customer assistants (who stand in the ticket lobby assisting passengers), ticket sales and information counter staff, security personnel and finally the cabin crew. I was informed today that there are 2 cabin crew personnel and one security officer on my train. There is no driver, of course.
There you have it--quite a varied assortment, even more so when you take into account the variety of passengers. I can't say I've done too well on my interpersonal efforts. I shall make more of an attempt to at least greet staff. A few of my encounters have involved wrangling over ticketing issues--already discussed in previous posts.
Wifi continues to be a bit of a bane for me. I am quite certain that upload ability is severely limited. At best one might upload a text only post to his/her blog and send off text only emails. Attempting to transfer even a small picture file of less than 100k can mean waiting several minutes, by which time you'll probably need to disembark.
My other issue with the Wifi is the cost. At 10 dhs for 60 minutes it takes you back to the days of dial up when you had to disconnect once your page loaded and do your reading offline. As it stands on the metro you'll have your 60 minutes and 10 dhs melt away in no time. This is not what wifi is supposed to be about. It needs to be continuous or it loses half its value. It is as though you had to go and switch on and off the power supply in your home when using electrical appliances in order to avoid being overcharged.
Light passenger traffic on the train this morning. Even fewer than yesterday. It's 9:30, roughly the same time as my travel yesterday.
Time to sign off, now to get off at my approaching stop.
Failed attempt. The time it took to log in and then attempt to upload my post w/o picture was almost 5 minutes by which time I reached my stop. This is very poor performance for a wifi service.
PS: Complaint/Suggestion
I have just logged a complaint through the RTA helpline 8009090 (very handy, good service) about the poor upload capacity and high charge for wifi. I must say, the CS agents are very responsive when taking any suggestions. I will follow up here with any response. If anyone else has concerns on these two issues, please login your complaint as well.
At least other countries are doing something about it. All we get are drawings and nothing ever comes of it.
ReplyDeleteDrawings? What is the reference of your comment, please?
ReplyDeleteyour a good man. Value info for the future also bothering to approach the problems with the RTA is great stuff. Well done sir !
ReplyDeleteDubai, I believe, is a place where the concerns of the public are taken into account--that of both locals and expats. The metro, bus networks and the highway infrastructure are evidence of this. These are not for the rulers but for all the people who populate this city.
ReplyDelete