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It seems the last thread was censored, so I guess I'll just make a new one. I think there's no greater example of what a boondoggle all of Metro's projects are than this:
I particularly enjoyed the part where they pointed out that in NYC, they're building the Freedom Tower far quicker than it's taking Metro to build... a staircase.
Or their abysmal service on Monday following the 2 hour OPM delay:
There have been days where I felt like I wanted to kick the next WMATA employee I saw in the face and tell them I'm never using their worthless service again. However, all things considered, 99/100 times I've used metro it has done exactly what I needed it for, got me to point A to point B with no issues whatsoever. I feel like some lines and travel times are better or worse than others. I take the blue line early and have had very few issues. I know people who take the red line late and are constantly complaining.
In other words, it is a large and complex system so there are going to be problems. Just like there will be days you drive right up to work in no time and days where you sit in traffic. Could WMATA be better? I am sure it could...but honestly I don't have many problems and I don't really think they are as bad as most people make them out to be. Plus, some of the constant complainers ring of a certain ugly entitled smugness that I despise about my fellow young professionals in this city.
There have been days where I felt like I wanted to kick the next WMATA employee I saw in the face and tell them I'm never using their worthless service again. However, all things considered, 99/100 times I've used metro it has done exactly what I needed it for, got me to point A to point B with no issues whatsoever. I feel like some lines and travel times are better or worse than others. I take the blue line early and have had very few issues. I know people who take the red line late and are constantly complaining.
In other words, it is a large and complex system so there are going to be problems. Just like there will be days you drive right up to work in no time and days where you sit in traffic. Could WMATA be better? I am sure it could...but honestly I don't have many problems and I don't really think they are as bad as most people make them out to be. Plus, some of the constant complainers ring of a certain ugly entitled smugness that I despise about my fellow young professionals in this city.
This sums up my feelings as well. I do some very creative swearing when I walk into the metro and I see no arrival times even on the board, but that is overwhelmingly the minority of my experiences. Nine times out of ten, I'm at work in 20 minutes or less.
There are folks from every transit authority at the Transportation Research Board Conference right now discussing the same basic problems that they all have.
I think Metro could go a long way towards resolving their PR problem simply by being transparent in their communications.
For example, when a train stops in the middle of a tunnel for several minutes for no apparent reason, or trains that hold just outside of a station when no train is servicing the platform--if the operator simply told passengers *why* the train wasn't moving, it would be helpful. people tend to become more frustrated when they don't understand *why* something is happening.
Also, the escalator repair and track maintenanc record is just shameful--but much of that falls on the shoulders of Richard White and John Catoe, both of whom watched the system deteriorate under their supervision yet did little to correct it. I try to give Sarles a pass as much as possible, because he really inherited a colossal mess of a system when he took over.
There have been days where I felt like I wanted to kick the next WMATA employee I saw in the face and tell them I'm never using their worthless service again. However, all things considered, 99/100 times I've used metro it has done exactly what I needed it for, got me to point A to point B with no issues whatsoever. I feel like some lines and travel times are better or worse than others. I take the blue line early and have had very few issues. I know people who take the red line late and are constantly complaining.
In other words, it is a large and complex system so there are going to be problems. Just like there will be days you drive right up to work in no time and days where you sit in traffic. Could WMATA be better? I am sure it could...but honestly I don't have many problems and I don't really think they are as bad as most people make them out to be. Plus, some of the constant complainers ring of a certain ugly entitled smugness that I despise about my fellow young professionals in this city.
This also sums up my feelings about metro too and as much of a car nut as I am, it's nice to have the metro right around the corner if I need to do things in a hurry.
Plus you also have to realize that the US isn't a densely populated place like many European countries. That also means many places in the US will not have adequate subway systems to match global standards (well DC, NYC, Boston and Chicago is ok).
Metro has been underfunded and cutting maintenance corners for years. We are now bearing the brunt of that misguided behavior. If we want a 1st class mass transit system we have to fund it adequately.
I think Metro could go a long way towards resolving their PR problem simply by being transparent in their communications.
For example, when a train stops in the middle of a tunnel for several minutes for no apparent reason, or trains that hold just outside of a station when no train is servicing the platform--if the operator simply told passengers *why* the train wasn't moving, it would be helpful. people tend to become more frustrated when they don't understand *why* something is happening.
Also, the escalator repair and track maintenanc record is just shameful--but much of that falls on the shoulders of Richard White and John Catoe, both of whom watched the system deteriorate under their supervision yet did little to correct it. I try to give Sarles a pass as much as possible, because he really inherited a colossal mess of a system when he took over.
I've been screaming this for a while. Anybody that rides the Blue Line out to PG County can understand that frustration. They always paused between Capital Heights and Addison Road. They did it so much that I expected it.
Hurricane -
I don't know if we're riding the same subway system, but somehow I use it all the time (rush hour, weekend, late night) and hardly ever encounter problems beyond minor delays. I just read my books, get on get off, and go about my day.
I suspect when you get a car you'll soon be complaining about how horrible the road system here is (and you would not necessarily be wrong). As someone who's been on both sides of the car / subway divide, trust me when I say the grass really isn't greener.
I think Metro could go a long way towards resolving their PR problem simply by being transparent in their communications.
For example, when a train stops in the middle of a tunnel for several minutes for no apparent reason, or trains that hold just outside of a station when no train is servicing the platform--if the operator simply told passengers *why* the train wasn't moving, it would be helpful. people tend to become more frustrated when they don't understand *why* something is happening.
Also, the escalator repair and track maintenanc record is just shameful--but much of that falls on the shoulders of Richard White and John Catoe, both of whom watched the system deteriorate under their supervision yet did little to correct it. I try to give Sarles a pass as much as possible, because he really inherited a colossal mess of a system when he took over.
I find the conductors almost always announce why we're stopped - sometimes in far more detail than I really need to know.
They seem to be getting on top of the maintenance issues. I think that's a big reason for the complaints recently - the system had been neglected and now they're trying to catch up all at once, causing a lot of delays and inconveniences.
I wish the stations had better lighting. There was a delay on the Blue/Orange Lines Monday evening and there were hundreds of passengers standing in the poorly lit stations waiting for an announcement as to what the problem was and when service would be resumed. I do credit the station workers for keeping people off the platforms so they wouldn't get overcrowded, but the throngs of commuters standing around like zombies in the dark station was like something in a 1980s MTV video or a Super Bowl commercial. The announcements, when made, were barely audible (the volume was high; the sound quality was poor).
Metro could be better; it could be worse. It's lousy compared to the NYC system, and I don't think it will improve until it has more secure funding and the people who work there at all levels are consistently held accountable for poor performance.
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