Take Xerox to the woodshed for screwed-up SunRail ticket machines

SunRail says it’s too late to fire Xerox for the lousy job that company has been doing with the ticketing system it was paid to install.

But it’s not too late to get tough with the technology giant. Last Friday – when 9,000 people rode SunRail – the machines were terrible Even a top Florida Department of Transportation official agreed that the machines performance was unacceptable.

And the way to get tough is to insist that top Xerox executives attend this Friday’s meeting of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission – the body that oversees SunRail -- to give a progress report on the ticket-vending system. Yeah, we know they’ll say they’ve been solving some of the problems. Listen carefully, that’s the sound of us playing the world’s smallest violin.

As all riders know, the ticketing system is terrible. Riders have missed the train trying to get tickets from these blasted machines. We’re pissed off. It’s time for the rail commission – elected officials – to give it to Xerox with both barrels.

At every rail commission meeting the SunRail staff is stuck with the job of explaining why the ticketing system breaks down so often and fails with simple transactions – such as handling transfers between the buses and the train.

SunRail staff members are not ticket-vending machine technicians. That’s why Xerox was hired. The corporation has more than 100 years of technology experience. This is a multi-million dollar contract. Opening-day glitches are understandable, but problems persist since last May – eight months! Even on a good day the machines are incredibly slow.

We’re sick of it. And it’s time for Xerox to face the heat for their own failure.

Yeah, we know it’s kind of the last minute to demand Xerox officials attend Friday’s meeting, but what the heck, tell them to hop on their corporate plane and jet down here. They’re lucky they don’t have to buy a ticket from one of their balky machines.