More examples of Metro incompetence (Washington: bars, trains, car)

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by xFM

Just my recent experience from an out of area person there for a job prospect..

I was in DC for a interview and took the metro to get where I was going. Being an out of area person I don't have a permanent metro card so had to buy one from the machine. I put $10 on it. Went to my location and did my business and then when I got back on to return to my destination I tried my ticket and it did not work. I ended up trying 4 other entrances and same thing, didn't work. At this point I'm getting mad because no way 1 stop would have cost $10. Thinking the card must have messed up I went and bought an additional metro card with $5. At this point more people were at the gate and they couldn't get thru either until they discovered that only 1 gate out of the 5 others (only 1 I didn't try) was working correctly and reading tickets.

You think the employee would put up a sign or rope them off or something? No she was just sitting in her little booth watching.

You should be able to get a refund for that. I've gotten refunds for faulty operation in the past. Or, just mention it to the Station Manager. They usually just reset the card and let me go through the gate if there's a problem.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Apart from the Red Line crash a few years back, is there a specific reason why the Red Line has long had a worse reputation for reliability than the Orange and Blue Line?

I generally find the Orange Line fairly reliable; colleagues who ride the Red Line aren't so happy and occasionally have been embarassed professionally by delays on that line. The things I dislike about Metro are, in a sense, more trivial: the stations are ugly and dark; the tiles on the walkways and in the stations are slippery; the escalators frequently don't work; and the station employees often look like they are there to collect paychecks, not help riders. Some of the apologists for Metro are so in love with the idea of public transit and TODs that they can't bear to acknowledge the flaws in Metro service, but they seem important to address, particularly as the system continues to expand.

I think complaining about the station managers' often bad service (though not always) and chronically broken escalators / elevators is pretty universal - in my experience complaints are loudest by those who want a functional and attractive transit system, not the other way around. One thing I don't understand is why the silver line isn't a 3-track. It wouldn't solve the problems, but at least one line would be able to skirt problems.

It's personal taste, but I've always liked the station designs. They can be a little dark if you're trying to read and not near a light, but I find them to have a style all their own. In the US, I think LA is the only other system that I've used where I felt the stations were nicer. But that's because they were all artsy and trying to attract attention. Metro doesn't really need that.

[HurricaneDC]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Was anyone on Metro last night after 10 PM? Thankfully I was not, but it seems there was a "catastrophic communications failure" which created enormous problems. There were reports of operators leaving their trains to walk the tracks, of trains beind held for upwards of one hour since there were no indications of whether other trains were on the tracks, and so forth. Even the WMATA website and Twitter feeds were down.

Yep that's what I heard. What a joke.

[HurricaneDC]

I love how the WaPo is a mouthpiece for Metro:

Metro: Power outage caused major overnight delays - Dr. Gridlock - The Washington Post

No mention of the fact that everybody said it was at least an hour-long delay. Sarles could commit genocide and Dr. Gridlock wouldn't report it

[King0fthehill]

Last night, I left NY Ave at roughly 11pm, taking a Shady Grove-bound Red Line train. Got to Dupont about 10 minutes later..waited on the Dupont platform for a whole ****ing hour. What on earth is wrong with the Metro?!?! No other city has a Metro system this terribly unreliable and damn-near unusable. If it isn't the never-ending single-tracking, it is stations being closed; fare increases; broken escalators; ridiculous, 15-20min headways at night; rude, ghetto staff and workers, etc. And don't dare think of using it on the weekend, lol. One thing after another.

If delays are necessary, and continue to persist, riders should, at minimum, be informed of such. Having people sit on a train for one hour straight, while saying a train will be arriving "momentarily" is both unprofessional and deceitful. I feel like what little faith and trust I had in Metro has been destroyed. Unfortunate.

‎"Code 34 means Central Control cannot see the trains. All trains are standing still until Central Control can see the trains. Sorry to have y'all waiting; we want to get home, too. Last night, we waited 30min on the platform.....thank you for riding Metro." This was in addition to single-tracking between Dupont and Friendship Heights. Get it together, Metro.

[DCforever]

Originally Posted by HurricaneDC

I love how the WaPo is a mouthpiece for Metro:

Metro: Power outage caused major overnight delays - Dr. Gridlock - The Washington Post

No mention of the fact that everybody said it was at least an hour-long delay. Sarles could commit genocide and Dr. Gridlock wouldn't report it

If you hate WMATA, walk. Nobody is forcing you to use Metro.

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by DCforever

If you hate WMATA, walk. Nobody is forcing you to use Metro.

Walking will not become the likely alternative, but I do see continued unreliability on Metro putting more people into their cars--which is precisely the reverse impact Metro is supposed to be having.

[DCforever]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Walking will not become the likely alternative, but I do see continued unreliability on Metro putting more people into their cars--which is precisely the reverse impact Metro is supposed to be having.

Metro need a good shake up and more realistic funding. Haters just want to hate.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

This morning was one of the worst metro commutes I can recall. A 22 minute ride became 1 1/2 hours.

The lack of a third set of tracks will plague this system until the end of time.

An express track would be great. I often wonder about retrofitting one. I suppose its possible, but formidably expensive.

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by DCforever

Metro need a good shake up and more realistic funding. Haters just want to hate.

Yeah, but you can't really blame people for getting frustrated at the continued unreliability of something they depend on to get them to and from work on a daily basis. I think everyone recognizes *why* the system is in the shape it's in, but that doesn't mean frustrations with it cease.