RTA’s mission is to provide safe, reliable, clean and courteous public transportation. Safety is our number one priority. Providing easy to use, efficient and safe means of communicating unsafe or stressful situations is important, and GCRTA is continuously looking to new ways for customers to report unsafe situations in real time, while ensuring their safety.
The Greater Cleveland RTA Transit Authority is launching a system that allows riders to discreetly ask for help from their mobile phone. When the dispatchers receive notification of the text, they will text back and begin “LiveChat” via text, with the person who texted them. If action is required the dispatcher will forward the “LiveChat” to the responding officers, and action will be taken. The dispatchers will continue the “LiveChat” until the customer feels secure.
This is an SMS text system that uses Artificial Intelligence (IBM Watson) to prioritize messaging to dispatchers. GCRTA Transit Police has worked with a number of volunteers for several weeks to help “train” Watson by creating “LiveChat” of emergency situations to build the knowledge base. The lessons learned through these test cases created the initial database, which will continue to develop and improve as the system is used.
Please add 216-575-EYES (3937) to your contact list, and text suspicious activity to Transit Police.
For information on RTA's work to keep everyone safe please visit http://www.riderta.com/safety or visit http://www.riderta.com/humantrafficking for information about RTA's efforts to stop Human Trafficking.