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This week, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) officials plan to unveil a new customer service action plan designed to improve riders’ experience through efforts such as better signage, easier payment options and customer-service training for frontline employees.

The plan was drafted after surveys and focus groups were conducted with regular and occasional riders, and visitors to the District of Columbia region, WMATA officials said in a prepared statement. The feedback was used to identify more than 50 actions that would improve the rider experience.

Riders indicated their experience with station managers and bus operators was inconsistent, and they expressed concerns about the availability of escalators and elevators, temperature control and low lighting, WMATA officials said. Fare payment also was a cause of riders’ frustration.

“Over the past two years, we have focused on improving the safety and reliability of Metro through our massive rebuilding program, Metro Forward,” said WMATA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles. “Metro Forward is the foundation of customer service that we will now build upon as we sharpen our focus on service delivery with tangible actions and tools that will allow us to monitor our progress and identify ways to continually improve.”

On Thursday, WMATA officials will report to the board’s Customer Service and Operations Committee on the changes they are making, including customer service training, new electronic information displays at Metrorail stations, improvements to the SmarTrip® fare payment program, Metrorail station upgrades, and more focus on security and youth behavior.