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I'm basing my opinion on years of twice-daily experience riding a system that has degraded to the point that it's a joke, and the comments and questions I've heard from visitors to the capital city of the greatest nation on earth who have experienced the horror that is Metro.
It's a shame that the capital city of the richest nation on the planet has a mass transit system more appropriate to a third-world hellhole.
You're exaggerating.
Metro has sucked lately, but its no where near as bad as you make it sound. Still safer than any other mode of transportation outside of flying.
The system itself is amazing. The problem is the incompetent morons running it. Hopefully we will see improvement with the new Management.
I give it a B. The trains are too often delayed and I've encountered way too many track fires for my liking. Not to mention I hate that it doesn't run 24/7, which, in my opinion, is the best thing going for the NYC subway system.
I think its great nearly all of the time. I live close enough to the East Falls Church Station so that I can walk there in the morning (no worries about transportation to get there and no parking issues), and then I get off at Farragut West and walk a couple of blocks to my office. I leave early enough that I nearly always get a seat into the city, and I would say am able to sit 50% of the time going home in the evening. 90% of the time, an Orange or Silver line train stops at EFC within 3-5 minutes of my getting to the station, and about the same at Farragut West when I head home. In the past three years, I think there have been 2 instances where Metro (for me) was unavailable, and in those cases, I just took the bus. In addition, my employer pays for my Metro fare, so its free. Given where I live and work, the normally good reliability of the system, and the low/free (to me) cost, I think Metro does pretty well. My perspective could be very different if I had to commute via car or bus to the Metro, take a longer trip on the train itself, had to transfer stations, had to pay for my fare out of pocket, etc.
Metro has sucked lately, but its no where near as bad as you make it sound. Still safer than any other mode of transportation outside of flying.
The system itself is amazing. The problem is the incompetent morons running it. Hopefully we will see improvement with the new Management.
Perhaps I am.
I rode though the Reagan airport stop hundreds of times, so what do I know? .
The look on the faces of foreign visitors when they beheld the mass transit system of the world's most powerful nation was often one of puzzlement, followed by disgust, and then fear as the drivers jerked and juddered the aging rail cars repeatedly for no discernible reason as they gibbered incomprehensibly through the loudspeaker.
I suppose I should be grateful. My knowledge of expressions of dismay and disbelief in many languages was broadened by those experiences on the "amazing" system we call Metro.
I think its great nearly all of the time. I live close enough to the East Falls Church Station so that I can walk there in the morning (no worries about transportation to get there and no parking issues), and then I get off at Farragut West and walk a couple of blocks to my office. I leave early enough that I nearly always get a seat into the city, and I would say am able to sit 50% of the time going home in the evening. 90% of the time, an Orange or Silver line train stops at EFC within 3-5 minutes of my getting to the station, and about the same at Farragut West when I head home. In the past three years, I think there have been 2 instances where Metro (for me) was unavailable, and in those cases, I just took the bus. In addition, my employer pays for my Metro fare, so its free. Given where I live and work, the normally good reliability of the system, and the low/free (to me) cost, I think Metro does pretty well. My perspective could be very different if I had to commute via car or bus to the Metro, take a longer trip on the train itself, had to transfer stations, had to pay for my fare out of pocket, etc.
Nomad, I shared that commute for 5 years a few years back.
By the time I moved, and experienced the craptastically dubious benefits of the fabled Blue Line, I saw the Orange Crush deteriorate steadily.
Much of what you say is gospel true.
Being on the first train to DC will get you a seat, and if you can get to Farragut West by 4 PM for the return slog under the Potomac, you may possibly find one for the return trip.
Any later either way, and it's reminiscent of rush hour on the Tokyo subway, without the white-gloved pushers.
Especially fun in the summer when the "air conditioning" is "working". Metro-style.
I rode though the Reagan airport stop hundreds of times, so what do I know? .
The look on the faces of foreign visitors when they beheld the mass transit system of the world's most powerful nation was often one of puzzlement, followed by disgust, and then fear as the drivers jerked and juddered the aging rail cars repeatedly for no discernible reason as they gibbered incomprehensibly through the loudspeaker.
I suppose I should be grateful. My knowledge of expressions of dismay and disbelief in many languages was broadened by those experiences on the "amazing" system we call Metro.
I rode though the Reagan airport stop hundreds of times, so what do I know? .
The look on the faces of foreign visitors when they beheld the mass transit system of the world's most powerful nation was often one of puzzlement, followed by disgust, and then fear as the drivers jerked and juddered the aging rail cars repeatedly for no discernible reason as they gibbered incomprehensibly through the loudspeaker.
I suppose I should be grateful. My knowledge of expressions of dismay and disbelief in many languages was broadened by those experiences on the "amazing" system we call Metro.
Nomad, I shared that commute for 5 years a few years back.
By the time I moved, and experienced the craptastically dubious benefits of the fabled Blue Line, I saw the Orange Crush deteriorate steadily.
Much of what you say is gospel true.
Being on the first train to DC will get you a seat, and if you can get to Farragut West by 4 PM for the return slog under the Potomac, you may possibly find one for the return trip.
Any later either way, and it's reminiscent of rush hour on the Tokyo subway, without the white-gloved pushers.
Especially fun in the summer when the "air conditioning" is "working". Metro-style.
Sort of like the Bataan Death March on wheels.
I would agree with you about the sometimes working AC....I had forgotten about that. That could be improved, but even with that significant shortcoming, I still think there are a lot more pluses than minuses.
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