Fumbling Media Coverage of Transportation News

Don’t believe everything you read or see in the media.

Sage advice on any topic, but especially when it comes to coverage of transportation. A couple of recent stories illustrate my point.

Improved Cell Service on Metro-North

The governor and CDOT’s commissioner held a media event recently in Stamford to promote the fact that AT&T has improved its cell coverage along the New Haven line.

That telco spent $6 million installing 30 high-powered macro towers and small cell nodes, some of them on CDOT land, in a public-private partnership. Many of the cells are specifically aimed at dead-spots in service on the trains.

This is good news… if you are an AT&T subscriber. If you use Verizon or T-Mobile and find an area with no cell coverage on your commute, this won’t help you. The AT&T enhancements are for its customers only. That means only about a third of cellphone-using commuters will benefit by this enhancement.

There is no word from the other cell companies on how they might be filling holes in their service. But … it’s a start.

However if you read the media coverage, you’d think every commuter’s cellphone coverage had been improved! “Cellphone service to get upgrade on Metro-North rail line,” proclaimed the Hearst papers.

Improved cell coverage is a crucial issue for commuters looking to be more productive during train-time. But attention-grabbing headlines such as these may lead to a perception of better service. The more you’re told “cell service is getting better” the more you may think it is. Or so the pols hope.

But… don’t believe the hype.

Faster than Acela?

In April another media event, this time at Grand Central, celebrated faster train service from New Haven: three early morning (5 to 7 a.m.) super-express trains, one of them cutting 10 minutes off its old running time, making that single train “faster than Acela.”

Great news — if you’re a pre-dawn-commuter from New Haven. Again, kudos to Metro-North for much needed signal and infrastructure improvements. But has the average commute to Grand Central really improved? Not really. The exception is not the rule.

With limited stops these super-express trains still average only 52 mph. Regular express trains get about 46 mph and locals run at just 38 mph. Remember: the M-8 cars on Metro-North are capable of 80 mph.

How did the media portray these improvements? “New Metro-North schedule, with shorter trips on New Haven line, now in effect,” trumpeted the Hearst papers. “Metro-North Is Faster Than Acela,” claimed Bloomberg (quoting MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber).

The “faster than Acela” claim is technically true — for one Metro-North train. Keep in mind that New Haven to GCT is 73 miles but to Penn Station (on Amtrak) is 75 miles. But not wanting to always sound like a grouch, I say good for Metro-North.

What worries me is media coverage which over generalizes and lacks the caveats I’ve cited. Telling commuters repeatedly that their trains are running faster, when they are not, may be persuasive but it is not accurate.

So, take media coverage of transportation with a grain of salt. The headlines don’t always tell the full story.

And Another Thing …

I am proud to report that “Talking Transportation” recently won an award from CT-SPJ, the Society of Professional Journalists, first place in the General Column / Commentary category — just one of a dozen such awards to CTMirror.