As someone who now takes Public Transit (trains) for a good portion of the workday commute, I have spent a lot of time observing various things.
The commuter rail ticket is $5.00 to Greenbelt, then $4.00 for a total of $9.00 from Greenbelt to my ultimate destination. On the other hand, if I go on to Union Station, the ticket price is $6.00, and the Metro ride, $1.65 for a total of $7.65 one way. In today's economy, every little bit helps.
Now, in riding through the different stations on the system, you get to see reasonably different ways that the trains and stations operate. Each station is like a station manager's kingdom for him or her to rule over as they see fit. And, there are some goings on that I'm not sure are under their control, but they should, if possible exercise some level of control over those situations.
As I mentioned before, the system is aging. Elevators fail, escalators fail. When these happen, the system implements a network of shuttle buses to ferry passengers around between stations. But what about cases where in some of the busiest stations, there is a failure of the escalators or elevators during rush hour? This is where efficiency and cost efficiency come to mind.
On Tuesday at the height of the evening rush hour, riders disembarking at Union Station on the Red line platform were greated with massive crowds. The crowds were not just of passengers waiting to board, but also passengers waiting to leave the platform from recently departed trains. Why did this happen? Apparently, one of the escalators was out of service. This was the one closest to the elevators, and as such, riders were forced to use one for both incoming and outgoing traffic.
It wasn't clear if work was actually being performed on the escalator, as a yellow barrier was placed in front of it, and workers were nowhere to be found. It was a mess of heat and confusion as people tried to hurry upstairs to their commuter trains or other transportation. Many missed their trains. Given that Union Station is not just another station, but a hub for Metro, AMTRAK, MARC and the VRE, it makes sense, to me, that if the escalator is down before rush hour, that it at least be set up as a stairway until the massive traffic has abated. This did not happen.
It wasn't clear if the station manager knew, or even cared, but it was chaotic. It could have been a lot worse if the elevator was out as well. Then this morning, at the Navy Yard station, an escalator stopped in mid operation, jerking the close to 50 or so people on it forward. There was no warning, no announcement. The look of quiet terror filled people's faces as they continued the long trek upward.
Communication
Metro is horrible at communicating. Period. Days after the accident on the Red line, people who didn't watch TV or listened to the radio or read the free newspapers had no idea what was happening. All they knew, from Metro signboards, announcements and the "traffic assistants" milling about some stations, was that there was either a "Police issue," a "mechanical problem," or my favorite, "a situation" outside the Fort Totten station. It took those who were in the know, themselves passengers, giving out possibly misleading information to fellow riders. That, to me is completely unacceptable. Then yesterday afternoon, a red line train heading in the direction of Union Station, sat with its doors open, passengers waiting, for about 5 minutes, before the operator made an announcement that the train was being held, and that it would be moving "momentarily." Momentarily turned into another 3 minutes or so, when she announced that the train was being held in place by 'control.' Time wasted - about 10 minutes, and for those going to Union Station, missed connections.
I could go on, but this post has gone on long enough. The bottom line is, Metro needs to do better. Period. Communication, operational issues and so much more, are making a first class system lag into the mire of safety and efficiency issues. Passengers are unhappy, and when they become unhappy, they stop riding. The Washington Metro area is regarded as the second worse area for congestion in the country - if lawmakers want to resolve this - they need to force Metro to clean up its act.
- I've observed that people can be selfish, and not give up the Federally Mandated seats for the elderly, disabled (and now, pregnant) passengers who enter the train (though some do.)
- I've observed that Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers (through roaming on Verizon's network) can be really inconsiderate in the use of their mobile phones while on the trains, not taking into consideration the fact that not everyone wants to hear their conversation.
- I've seen people go out of their way to talk very loudly, have fun and play on the train, at the expense of their fellow passengers, who often times want to prepare for their work day, or unwind at the end of one.
- I've noticed that many people will not move beyond the doorway of a train, bunching up in that area, and the result is, less people are able to get on or off at each stop when this happens.
- Most importantly, I have observed some things by the Washington Metro system by employees, by the way business is done (or not) and information provided to passengers, that makes me call into question whether or not the system is as safe as it should be, is as cost effective as it needs to be, and provides the first class service that it should.
Operations
This is my first time riding the rails on the Metro system on a regular basis in more than eight years. I never needed to, prior to now. I understand that the system is aging, as a 33 year old transit system is no spring chicken. I understand that repairs need to be conducted, and capital infrastructure need to be replaced or installed. What I don't get, is why the vast majority of it seems to happen during rush hour!
A key example: on Tuesdays I take 3 trains, versus 2 on the other days of the week. I take the MARC Commuter train, transfer at Union Station to the Red Line, which had its worst accident in 33 years on June 22nd. Then I get off two stops down at Gallery Place/Chinatown and transfer to the Green Line, which takes me to my ultimate destination. I do it that way for two reasons: firstly, if I take the MARC to Greenbelt, which I used to do, I would invariably miss the next train and have to stand on the platform until the next one comes. For someone like me who sweats a lot, that's not a comfortable feeling in the summer's heat and humidity. The second reason is financial. It actually costs me less to travel that route than it does going to Greenbelt.
The commuter rail ticket is $5.00 to Greenbelt, then $4.00 for a total of $9.00 from Greenbelt to my ultimate destination. On the other hand, if I go on to Union Station, the ticket price is $6.00, and the Metro ride, $1.65 for a total of $7.65 one way. In today's economy, every little bit helps.
Now, in riding through the different stations on the system, you get to see reasonably different ways that the trains and stations operate. Each station is like a station manager's kingdom for him or her to rule over as they see fit. And, there are some goings on that I'm not sure are under their control, but they should, if possible exercise some level of control over those situations.
As I mentioned before, the system is aging. Elevators fail, escalators fail. When these happen, the system implements a network of shuttle buses to ferry passengers around between stations. But what about cases where in some of the busiest stations, there is a failure of the escalators or elevators during rush hour? This is where efficiency and cost efficiency come to mind.
On Tuesday at the height of the evening rush hour, riders disembarking at Union Station on the Red line platform were greated with massive crowds. The crowds were not just of passengers waiting to board, but also passengers waiting to leave the platform from recently departed trains. Why did this happen? Apparently, one of the escalators was out of service. This was the one closest to the elevators, and as such, riders were forced to use one for both incoming and outgoing traffic.
It wasn't clear if work was actually being performed on the escalator, as a yellow barrier was placed in front of it, and workers were nowhere to be found. It was a mess of heat and confusion as people tried to hurry upstairs to their commuter trains or other transportation. Many missed their trains. Given that Union Station is not just another station, but a hub for Metro, AMTRAK, MARC and the VRE, it makes sense, to me, that if the escalator is down before rush hour, that it at least be set up as a stairway until the massive traffic has abated. This did not happen.
It wasn't clear if the station manager knew, or even cared, but it was chaotic. It could have been a lot worse if the elevator was out as well. Then this morning, at the Navy Yard station, an escalator stopped in mid operation, jerking the close to 50 or so people on it forward. There was no warning, no announcement. The look of quiet terror filled people's faces as they continued the long trek upward.
Communication
Metro is horrible at communicating. Period. Days after the accident on the Red line, people who didn't watch TV or listened to the radio or read the free newspapers had no idea what was happening. All they knew, from Metro signboards, announcements and the "traffic assistants" milling about some stations, was that there was either a "Police issue," a "mechanical problem," or my favorite, "a situation" outside the Fort Totten station. It took those who were in the know, themselves passengers, giving out possibly misleading information to fellow riders. That, to me is completely unacceptable. Then yesterday afternoon, a red line train heading in the direction of Union Station, sat with its doors open, passengers waiting, for about 5 minutes, before the operator made an announcement that the train was being held, and that it would be moving "momentarily." Momentarily turned into another 3 minutes or so, when she announced that the train was being held in place by 'control.' Time wasted - about 10 minutes, and for those going to Union Station, missed connections.
I could go on, but this post has gone on long enough. The bottom line is, Metro needs to do better. Period. Communication, operational issues and so much more, are making a first class system lag into the mire of safety and efficiency issues. Passengers are unhappy, and when they become unhappy, they stop riding. The Washington Metro area is regarded as the second worse area for congestion in the country - if lawmakers want to resolve this - they need to force Metro to clean up its act.
Picture source: AARP.com Full Story Here
