T Radio (was:Music In The Morning at North Station)

I got off the Orange Line at North Station about 6 AM today to hear the musicians that play at some stations playing early and loud. It loud enough to fill the whole station. I then realized something was amiss when I heard the commercial break. Hark, music coming over the new PA system. Funny the announcements, “see something say something,” seem to be gone from the morning play list at North Station.

I remember something about music in the subway awhile back as a possibility, revenue in some way shape and form. So it should be interesting to see how it will work. Oh, the music sound quality is better that the announcements. As long as I can hear the sounds of inverters and AC traction motors, they are commercial free.

JoeD

Like the woman quoted at the end of the article said, if I want to listen to music on the T, I'll bring my iPod. T Radio will just make it harder to listen to my own music.

Revenue is revenue...whatever works. Most people are going to ignore or listen to iPods anyway, so no harm being done if it's a neutral music selection that blends well into the background noise. I just hope they don't crank it so loud that you can't hear anything. And that they only do this at indoor stations...that could get really annoying to the neighborhood at some of the outdoor prepayment stations.

I can't even hear the damn announcements as it is in 99% of the stations, they should fix that first in all the stations.

I generally don't mind the concept of music in stations, but it's got to be quiet enough to stay in the background. There is one particular electric guitarist who plays regularly on the inbound Red Line platform at Harvard Square on weekends, loud enough to completely drown out the PA (such as it is) and even make conversation difficult in his vicinity. That's not good, for safety reasons if nothing else.

I've had my fill of Logan Radio from working at the airport, and I must say it's getting old. More often than not I'm hearing the same songs. The volume on the commercials are even louder, flooding out gate announcements, and they're still running the same teaser from the spring about upcoming service starting in May to Madrid (cutting back to 3x/week), Glasgow and Knock (ending this month).

If T Radio is to succeed, Pyramid will need to offer more variety, more information and be more up to date compared to the noise they pump into the Logan terminals. Still, money is money and the MBTA needs it more than Massport.

If there is going to be music, it should be ambient, not muzak, but ambient.

Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music For Airports would be absolutely perfect for the T.

The Washington Post explains it much better than I ever could.

Do they still play classical music at Forest Hills during certain hours to keep the 'youth' away? Or was that just a test? Because I remember reading it was quite effective.

sery2831 wrote:Do they still play classical music at Forest Hills during certain hours to keep the 'youth' away? Or was that just a test? Because I remember reading it was quite effective.

If they do, I've never heard it. Then again, I do my best to avoid Forest Hills, I prefer my (mostly) quiet little oasis at Green Street where the only music you ever hear is the faint sound of a CSR listening to oldies music in their booth.

In response to my "PLEASE TURN OFF T RADIO" email which said,

Dear MBTA:

Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into the commuter rail, so there are fewer breakdowns.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into a third track for the Red Line downtown, to reduce the horrible rush hour delays.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into traffic signal pre-emption for the Silver Line at Silver Line Way, to eliminate the long wait there.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into more three-car trains on the Green Line, to increase capacity.
Please turn off T radio.
Please get the so-called Customer Service Agents at rapid transit stations out of their hidden booths and onto the platforms, to actually HELP customers.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put more enforcement on fare evasion in the subway, to thwart "tailgating" especially at unattended entrances.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put GPS into buses, to help mimimize bunching and large service gaps.
There's so much you can do to make the MBTA a good service. But T radio is NOT one of them.
PLEASE TURN OFF T RADIO.
Sincerely,
Diverging Route

I just received the following response from the MBTA:

Dear MBTA Customer:

Thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on T-Radio.
As we stated at the launch of this pilot test, MBTA riders would
determine the fate of T-Radio. We have heard from a number of riders
on
a wide range of issues including the content and style.

Consequently, as of Thursday, October 25th, T-Radio will be suspended.
While it is suspended, personnel from the MBTA and Pyramid Radio (the
operator of the pilot program) will review and discuss the hundreds of
emails received. Following a sufficient period of consideration, MBTA
staff will present a recommendation on how the comments and suggestions
might be addressed and whether a resumption of the pilot program is
advised.

As always, we will continue to try and make your commute better through
various means, and always ask for your feedback.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and have your voice heard.

Its appreciated.

Diverging Route wrote:In response to my "PLEASE TURN OFF T RADIO" email which said,

Dear MBTA:

Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into the commuter rail, so there are fewer breakdowns.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into a third track for the Red Line downtown, to reduce the horrible rush hour delays.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into traffic signal pre-emption for the Silver Line at Silver Line Way, to eliminate the long wait there.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put money into more three-car trains on the Green Line, to increase capacity.
Please turn off T radio.
Please get the so-called Customer Service Agents at rapid transit stations out of their hidden booths and onto the platforms, to actually HELP customers.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put more enforcement on fare evasion in the subway, to thwart "tailgating" especially at unattended entrances.
Please turn off T radio.
Please put GPS into buses, to help mimimize bunching and large service gaps.
There's so much you can do to make the MBTA a good service. But T radio is NOT one of them.
PLEASE TURN OFF T RADIO.
Sincerely,
Diverging Route

I just received the following response from the MBTA:

Dear MBTA Customer:

Thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on T-Radio.
As we stated at the launch of this pilot test, MBTA riders would
determine the fate of T-Radio. We have heard from a number of riders
on
a wide range of issues including the content and style.

Consequently, as of Thursday, October 25th, T-Radio will be suspended.
While it is suspended, personnel from the MBTA and Pyramid Radio (the
operator of the pilot program) will review and discuss the hundreds of
emails received. Following a sufficient period of consideration, MBTA
staff will present a recommendation on how the comments and suggestions
might be addressed and whether a resumption of the pilot program is
advised.

As always, we will continue to try and make your commute better through
various means, and always ask for your feedback.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and have your voice heard.

Its appreciated.

Your mistake is that the T wasn't paying for T radio. They were actually receiving money for it. They would have the potential to make more ad revenue off of it. With that said I still hate it and am glad it's gone.

There are plenty of other ways to raise ad revenue, some of which would please the customers instead of pissing them off. How about selling ad space on bus schedules to local businesses that are along the bus route?

I heard it once and found it utterly irritating. I was trying to read a book and couldn't concentrate on what I was trying to read over the crap coming over the PA. If they want to find a way to raise revenue,they should put up some silent monitors with ads, news and with a real time arrival display.