A Reward for Surviving SafeTrack

So SafeTrack is now officially over. As a reward Metro handed out a voucher for a free coffee at McDonalds.

I got a couple of them. Not that I drink coffee but I know people who do and thought they'd might like to have the coupons. They handed them out at all the stations and for a couple of days. How many people will actually use them is of course debatable.

I guess it was a nice gesture. But I can see how some people might not take too kindly to it.

The Post had a great story on it. The reaction to the coupons was definitely mixed:

“#WMATA trying to bribe me with free coffee just makes me angrier than before,” declared one rider.

One woman, who was handed a coupon from Wiedefeld, took it and glanced at the text. On the back was a note, from the general manager himself, acknowledging that “this has not been an easy journey for our customers and we appreciate your loyalty.”

“Seriously?” she said, glaring, then kept walking toward the platform.

But other's reacted differently:

“Are you the general manager?” 40-year-old Rasika Kalamegham asked Wiedefeld incredulously.

“Yes,” he said.

Kalamegham’s face lit up.

“I love you, you’re amazing,” she told Wiedefeld. “I thought you were amazing when you ran BWI. . . . It was my favorite airport.”

After taking a photo with Wiedefeld — “This is going on Instagram,” she declared — Kalamegham, a D.C. resident of 10 years, explained why she continues to carry so much enthusiasm for the challenge-prone transit agency.

“Metro is the lifeblood of D.C., and people under-appreciate this public resource,” she said. The root of the problem, she said, lies with Congress. It is a lack of funding that causes chronic problems, and she wishes people were more “civic-minded” when it came to appreciating the tough job that WMATA faces.

I think I'm somewhere between these two reactions. It is nice that there is some acknowledgment of what people had to put up with when SafeTrack was going on. On the other hand just a few weeks earlier prices went up and service was cut back. And there is more work and more disruptions on the way.

In all I'm going to give them a B on this. The main thing to hope is that all this work actually made a difference. As we say in my family we'll see.

Metro Mayhem

Maybe mayhem is too strong of a work. But wow what a wonderful commute with the usual lack of pertinent information about what was going on. Is this what Safe Track will look like? If it is people are going to be pissed off big time.

There were two problems on the Red Line this morning:

Trains are sharing a track between the Grosvenor and Friendship Heights stations due to a track problem at the Medical Center stop. It is unknown how long the delays will last.

There is single-tracking between the Dupont Circle and Van Ness stops due to a track problem at the Woodley Park station.

And added to the fun and games was the fact that trains traveling north were skipping the Bethesda station. That was announced, Bethesda being closed, while I was waiting for a train at the Rhode Island Avenue stop. It wasn't mentioned again until the train I was on got to Friendship Heights, the stop before Bethesda.

If people wanted to get to Bethesda, they needed to go to the next station, Medical Center. Get off at that station and then take a south bound train and get off Bethesda that way.

Lots of people trying to get downtown at the Medical Center stop. Trains were sharing one track so that added to the confusion. Adding to the crowding was the delays caused by single tracking. It meant the trains coming into the Medical Center station were packed. And I mean packed. There was very little room for people to get on.

I waited for the second train to come. We'd been told by Metro employees that there would be two trains in a row coming into the station. I will say, at least at this stop, Metro did a good job of letting people know what was going on. There were plenty of announcements over the PA system. There were also employees on the platform letting people know what was going on. I do have one suggestion and that is they invest in some bull horns so more people can hear what they are saying.

The second train comes into the station. It is just as crowded as the first. I was up towards the front of the train so I decided to head to the back. I walked all the way to the end. Lucky for me there was an issue with closing the doors. I was able to find some space and hop on the last car.

In all it took almost two hours to get to work.

I have a feeling this is a taste of what is to come with the Safe Track plan. More on that in an upcoming post.

Weekend Metro "Service"

It’s hard to be surprised about what Metro does. But this one surprised even me.

It was Saturday. I decided to go to the gym early. I thought I’d try and get there right when they opened. In order to that I’d have to drive and pay for parking. I decided against that.

The next option of course was to take Metro.

There would be no way I could get to the gym right when it opened because service on Metro on weekends doesn't start until 7. Having taken Metro on a Saturday morning to get to Union Station to catch a bus to New York City, I knew that the first train doing into DC didn't reach the Rhode Island Avenue stop until about 7:20 or a little later.

I didn't need to be at Metro right when it opened. I got to the station at about 10 after.

The train going in my direction would arrive in about 12 minutes. I walked around the platform for a while and then noticed the next train sign for people going in the direction of Glenmont. The next train going in that direction would reach Rhode Island Avenue in 32 minutes.

That's right 32 minutes. And I'd gotten to the station 10 minutes after it opened. It means that people going in the direction of Glenmont had to wait 42 minutes for a train. 42 minutes. It means that the train started at the Shady Grove station.

I'd assume, incorrectly it turns out, that when the system opened there would be trains at each end of the Red Line and then ones at Metro Center. Two trains at Metro Center that would head toward the end of the line. One to Shady Grove and the other to Glenmont. But no. The trains start at the ends of the line.

There was a guy going in the direction of Glenmont that was not aware that this is the way it worked either. He was phoning someone saying he was going to be late. Who would have ever guess that you would have to wait over 40 minutes for a train.

It reinforces to me once again that Metro is no longer capable of operating the subway system seven days a week. To wait that long for a train and this is under normal operating conditions is inexcusable. But then again that now seems to be the standard operating procedure for Metro.

All Alone on a Metro Car

As much as I complain about the problems Metro has, it does do something really well. It does well after Nats game of getting trains into the station and people on their way.

It's hard to know exactly when a game will end. But Metro is good at getting trains into the Navy Yard Station quickly at the end of the game. This is especially true of getting eight car trains into the station. I usually wait for one of the eight car trains so I'm not packed into a car.

There are Metro employees on the platform directing people. Telling, when an eight car train is coming into the station, to go to the end of the platform. It's too bad more people don't listen.

The picture above shows the car I got on when I left the game. Now the crowd was not huge because the Nats hadn't done anything all game. But there were still plenty of people on the platform.

The picture shows how many people were on the car. That's right no one was on the car. The train remained on the platform for several more minutes. In that time three more people got on. They all got off at L'Enfant Plaza. I got off at Gallery Place an no one else got on the car. Who knows how long it remained empty.

But that's point the car was empty. Why more people didn't move down as instructed is a mystery. This is also not the first time that this has happened to me. There have been times when going home from a game, with a lot more people in the station, and the final car has few people in it. While cars closer to the center of the platform are completely packed standing room only.

I'm hoping people don't catch on to the empty car because it sure makes riding home much nicer when there's no one in the car.

The Ever Unreliable Weekend "Service" from Metro

The Post had an article recently on the state of Metro as perceived by the riders and the management.

This sums it up:

Here’s where we get to an underlying issue involving how Metro perceives Metro’s problems and the tasks ahead.

Metro officials tend to describe a rail system that is recovering after years of inadequate investment in equipment and safety.

“The goal is that by 2017, we will have caught up with the backlog” interim general manager Jack Requa said of Metro’s $5.5 billion rebuilding program.

Many Metro riders describe a system that is broken, after years of official statements about new programs meant to ensure safety and reliable service.

“Something is not right,” said Korman, who described himself as a daily Metro rider. “Anecdotally, there’s a problem on an almost daily basis.”

Statistically, things don’t look any better to Korman. Pointing to Metro’s quarterly reports on performance, he said, “WMATA’s own numbers show a system that is not improving. This treading water is occurring after years of investment.”

What occurred to me on my way home sort of sums up the two worlds. The first is the Metro world and the other is the riders of what I'd like to call the real world.

I went to Metro Center after seeing Mr. Holmes (which was very good; more on it later) to go home. As with just about every weekend there was track work as Metro is rebuilding the system. I'm never sure what they are rebuilding since nothing seems to change all that much.

The next train sign stated the lines that were being worked on for the weekend and the time between trains. For the Red Line, it said trains were operating every 16 minutes. The problem is that that was not the case at all. When the next train was finally listed it said it would be arriving in 18 minutes. Not the 16 promised in the announcement.

I decided to time how long it took for the train to arrive. It was a little over 19 and a half minutes. I figured I was in the station for at least 5 minutes before that. Instead of waiting for 16 minutes for a train, I waited for at least 25 minutes.

This just reinforces how unreliable weekend "service" on Metro is.

Maybe at some point weekend service interruptions will end. But that day is a long way off. In the meantime, Metro needs to let people know when to really expect trains to arrive at stations. But it seems it can't even do that.

I Rode on the New Metro Train

The other day when I was heading home from work one of the new trains pulled into the Bethesda Metro station. I decided to jump on and get a first hand look at what the new trains looked like.

I was impressed. Very modern looking. First thing you notice is there is an automated announcement of what stop you are at. No more garbled or incomprehensible  announcements from the conductor of the train.

No carpet on the train at all. There are several places that shows what the next stop is as well as the rest of the stops on the line.

The seats were very comfortable. They have a higher back on them which gives you more support. There are no arm rests any more so you can't catch a strap from a purse or back pack on one of them.

In all a very favorable impression. I will say that around the doors there doesn't seem enough things to hold on to. I know the idea is to have people move into the center of the car. But at some point, especially during rush hour the car will fill up.

It was a great look into the future of Metro.  The draw back is, of course, it will be years before this types of cars become the rule on Metro as opposed to the exception.

And as people wait you have the problems you had this morning. All the fancy new trains won't make up for what feels like delays all the time. Here's a little of what happened:

Updated at 8:27 a.m.

Metro said trains on its Red Line are continuing to share a track between the Grosvenor and Twinbrook stations.

There is a problem after oil spilled on the tracks, while another train was offloaded for a brake problem. Delays are up to 30 minutes for riders.

Metro said trains are bypassing the White Flint and Twinbrook stops.

Updated at 8:49 a.m.

Crowded platforms and delays remain on the Red Line for riders. Trains are sharing a track between the Grosvenor and Twinbrook stations because of an oil spill on the tracks near the Medical Center stop.

Riders are experiencing delays of up to 30 minutes.


Updated at 10:37 a.m.

Still, there are problems on Metro’s Red Line. Trains are sharing a track between the Grosvenor and Twinbrook stations. Oil got on the tracks, Metro said.

It is not known how the oil got there. Around 10:30 a.m., crews could be seen trying to clean up the oil.

It was not immediately clear how long the delays would last on the Red Line. But many riders had a rough — and long — commute in Wednesday morning’s rush hour.

Another Day. Another Delay. That’s Metro

The third major delay this week. You know you’re in trouble when there are trains on both sides of the platform and they both are going in the same direction.

I missed out on the other two major disruptions of service on Metro earlier in this week. I was not so fortunate today. The only saving grace today was the fact it was the day before the July 4th holiday weekend so it was not a normal rush hour. If it had been it would have been terrible. As it was there were fewer people than normal on Metro this morning. It meant that the first train that pulled into Rhode Island Avenue after a more than 20 minute wait was not completely full of people. It was crowded but not jam packed.

I guess it could have been worse. Here’s a little taste of what happened on the Red Line on Monday:

It was chaotic at Farragut North on Monday evening.

Two trains offloaded at the station within minutes of each other during the heart of the rush hour. Trains single-tracked. There were delays in both directions. A platform was so crowded that some riders were pushed back to the mezzanine. The fare gates closed for at least 20 minutes to keep more passengers from flooding the station.

My 15-minute train ride turned into a 90-minute nightmare.

The problem, as some riders described it Monday night, is not that this happened Monday. It is that these delay-plagued commutes are becoming too common on the Red Line. This week was Monday. Last week was Wednesday.

This has become the norm these days. It’s not the rare break down of service. It is becoming a weekly event. Usually not a small scale but on a large one. Effecting wide swaths of the Metro system. Today there was an announcement urging riders to go to Fort Totten and transfer to the Green Line and then transfer to the Red Line at Gallery Place. That’s a pretty good idea but if everyone does it then both of those stations will be overwhelmed with passengers. It was also difficult to do because for a while no trains were running in either direction.

It ended up I was just about 40 minutes late getting to work. Not a huge amount of time but enough to be annoying. That seems to be the best word to describe Metro these days annoying.

It really does seem that the whole system is just falling apart. It makes me wonder if Metro is able to operate a system that runs seven days a week.

I also wonder at what point people get so disgusted with the Metro that riders start leaving in droves. Or has that begun? Is this that start of the collapse of the entire system? Only time will tell on that.

In the mean time Metro needs to improve service so people actually notice a difference. So far they haven't been very good at that.

Another Wonderful Morning Commute on Metro

Another day another track fire on Metro. Another day another hellish commute. Another day another single tracking situation. Another day another fail from Metro. Once again the complete inability of letting people know what is going on. Once again the complete inability of Metro to direct people on where they should go. Once again contradictory information on what is going on. Once again the inability to provide basic information to allow people to make a decision on what to do to be able to get to work.

Here’s the back ground of what happened this morning:

Trains on the Red Line are sharing a track Tuesday morning because of a reported problem on the tracks near the Friendship Heights stop. Riders should expect delays. Trains are bypassing the Bethesda stop.

The single-tracking of trains is between the Friendship Heights and Medical Center stops.

Fire crews were said to be responding to the Friendship Heights stop for a report of a fire on the tracks. No further details were immediately available. Metro Transit Police said in a Twitter message that units were on the scene and that the fire was between the two stations.

This was originally reported at 6:48 am. This was just a little after I got on a train at Rhode Island Avenue. The starting and stopping began at Farragut North. One of the big problems about finding out what was going on was the way the train operator made his announcements. Just about every time he started talking over the intercom there was some sort of announcement from Metro central control. So you ended up hearing both of these over the intercom and thus not hearing what either was saying. As I said this happened just about very time the operator made an announcement.

At each stop, we held on the platform for awhile. There was an announcement that the Bethesda station was open. We moved a few more stops and were told again the Bethesda station was open. But, and this was a big but, trains going north would not be stopping at the station. It sounded like shuttle buses would be available at Friendship Heights. Again really hard to hear what the guy was saying

Finally got to Friendship Heights. Was told again that the train would not be stopping at Bethesda. That shuttle buses were available at this Friendship Heights and the shuttle would take you to the Bethesda station. So I got off the train.

Here’s where the real fun began finding where to go to catch the shuttle bus. Metro provided absolutely no help with this at all. There was no announcement as to where to get the shuttle bus in the Friendship Heights station. There was no one on the platform telling riders where to go to get the shuttle bus. Seeing that there was no one to ask where to go, I went up the escalator to the level with the fair gates. Again no one actively letting people know where to get the shuttle bus. There was a Metro employee standing by the fare gates. If people came up to him he would answer their questions but only if someone came up to him. Rather than saying loudly people looking for shuttle buses need to go in this direction.

I went through the fare gate and up to the next level. It’s sort of the mezzanine. On this level there are four possible exits. One goes into hotel. One goes to the mall that's there. Then two actually end up going up to the street. Not a single person from Metro there to tell you where to go. Not a single sign telling you where to go. Nothing. There was a homeless person. He knew where people needed to go to catch the shuttle bus. I should have given him a dollar for that.

Up to the street level. No one right at the escalator entrance to tell people where to go to get the bus. They were a little further out. I have no idea why. Seems to me the thing to do would be to place a couple of Metro people right at the top the escalator to let people immediately known where to go to catch the shuttle bus. I said to one of them you might want to put someone the next level down to let people know which exit to use. I could tell by the expression on his face he had absolutely no interest in hearing what I had to say. None. And I’m sure he wasn’t going to tell anyone about it. He did at least point out where to get the shuttle bus.

A short walk to the shuttle bus. I again said to one of the Metro employees that they might think of putting someone down on the mezzanine level to let people know where to get the shuttle bus. Again I doubt anything was done. After all having someone down there showing people where to get the shuttle bus would actually help people. Why would Metro want to do that?

Once again a muffed response. Once again a farce. Once again a fail on the part of Metro. I realize things can happen. A disable train, a sick passenger, smoke or fire in a tunnel. But each time something happens Metro reacts to it as if it’s the first time something like that ever has happened. They are still unable to let riders known in a timely manner what is going. What steps have been taken to get people to their destinations. How hard would it have been to point out to people where the shuttle buses are?

To me the bottom line on this is pretty simple. It’s not that Metro can’t or is unable to let riders know what is going on, Metro simple doesn’t want to let riders know what is going on. They just don’t care period.

Metro Musings

It seems there’s a big to do over the type of person the Metro board is looking to run the agency. From the Post:

A major rift within Metro’s leadership has disrupted the transit agency’s search for a new chief executive after board members from the District and Maryland objected that the initial three finalists for the job weren’t the kind of executive needed to fix the organization’s problems, District and Metro officials said.

The internal battle has aroused concern that the dispute will hurt Metro’s reputation and make it harder to attract good candidates for the top job.

When I read the last sentence I started laughing out loud. It seems to me Metro’s reputation is already hurt. Then I realized the article was not talking about Metro’s reputation with riders but with potential candidates to run the agency.

It seems they had three potential candidates but they withdrew their names when their identities were leaked to a reporter for the local NBC affiliate.

This will set back the search since there are now no candidates potential or otherwise. But it got me to thinking what if any input do the riders of the system have on influencing this process. I guess we are supposed to rely on the various representatives on the Metro Board. That somehow does not make me feel all that confident over the process or who they will eventually end up picking.

The person might indeed need to have a greater emphasis on financial turn around. But the person also needs to be able to communicate with the public as well. The last head of Metro Richard Sarles left a great deal to be desired as far as I’m concerned.

He never seemed to get just how frustrated and angry people are with the Metro system especially the subway. To me, he seemed dismissive of people’s complaints. His line always seemed to be people can see that we are making progress in fixing the problems in the Metro system. The problem is I don’t think people see any progress in fixing the problems at all. They see delays and disruptions but letting if any improvement in service.

And I for one am tired of the announcements when there is weekend work of the line thank you for your patience as we upgrade and improve the Metro system. I have to say I have no patience for the delays and work any more. They are something to be endured. If at all possible I avoid taking the Metro on the weekends. That’s a little harder to do in the winter. But come spring (if that indeed ever comes) I’ll be on my bike.

As to the delays, I have a perfect example of Metro trying the patience of riders. A couple of weekends ago I was riding the Metro. There was work on the Red Line. They were single tracking between Judiciary Square and DuPont Circle. So the train I get on stops at Judiciary Square. There is announcement about single tracking and that we’ll be holding here until the train coming in the other direction clears the work area.

We wait as a few minutes pass. The operator makes the announcement again and adds we should be moving in three minutes. A couple more minutes pass and the same announcement. I pull out my phone and start timing just how long we wait. Thirteen minutes later the train going in the other direction pulls into the station. Shortly after that we finally move.

So we waited at least 15 minutes not the three we had originally been told. People on the train were not happy. I was one of those people. Here’s my question why give a time frame for when we would be moving. 15 minutes is not three. Waiting and waiting just pissed people off more and more. If Metro can’t get the most basic information correct, the wait time for the train to move, how is anyone going to believe anything else they say.

Yes I would say just about everyone’s patience is long gone.

Metro at Its "Best"

If I didn't see this actually happen I would say this just couldn't have been. But then again it's Metro and well read on.

I went to the Rhode Island Ave. Metro stop on Saturday morning. There was, as always, track work on the Red Line. Wait times could be up to 24 minutes. I was going to the gym and left early.

I got to the platform and noticed this sign.

I thought well they're taking some initiative to let people know that all trains are using one side of the platform. I then noticed that the side of the platform not in use had a fence up. There was the orange plastic snow fence material blocking off the other side of the platform.

Here's a picture:

I thought wow that's a really idea. Now there won't be any confusion at all.

I continued to wait for a train going in my direction. A train going in the other direction to Glenmont started to pull into the station. Guess which side it pulled into?

Here are a couple of pictures to help out.

That's right it pulled into the side of the platform with the fence. So in order to exit the station, people had to get over the fence. Now the fence was about waist high so it wasn't easy for everyone to get over it. In a couple of places people were able to lift the fence over their heads.

One guy who'd been on the platform looked at the train as it pulled in confused. I said are you going to Glenmont. He nodded. Still looking confused. I said I think that's your train. He quickly got his things together and boarded the train.

All I could think was wow how incompetent is this. Other people on the platform just shook their heads. As I heard one women say leave it to Metro.

Several minutes after that there was an announcement over the PA system. It said for the station manager at Rhode Island Avenue should get in touch with central control. I thought to myself someone is going to be told to do something about the fence.

Sure enough when I came back from the gym the fence was down as seen here.

Most people had no idea this happened. Again I just have to say how incompetent can you get. I think I'm going to pass this along to the transportation editor at the Washington Post.

But for now I'll echo what that woman said leave it to Metro.

Saturday Evening Metro “Service”

I made the huge mistake of taking Metro on Saturday evening to hear a band that was playing at a bar in Chinatown.

I will admit that I left my house late. I knew I would not be able to catch the start of their set. I had no idea I would miss out on more than half of it.

The reason was the ever unreliable and undependable weekend “service” of Metro. I waited at the Rhode Island Avenue stop for 25 minutes for a train going in the direction I needed to travel. In that time four trains going in the opposite direction came through the station. Four trains. I was so pissed off.

And the next train signs were of absolutely no help. All they showed were the trains going in the other direction. Then again I guess the sign was correct because it is supposed to show the trains coming into the station. It turned out all of them were going in the opposite direction I needed to go.

This is the type of service we get from Metro. I can’t believe it. Imagine if I’d had to switch lines. And the ride back was just as bad.

I had decided I wouldn’t drive to the bar because I was concerned I would not be able to find a parking place. That finding parking would take too long. But after this charming experience I will be driving from now on. I’ll just add some extra time so I can find a parking place. Sort of like adding extra time for the Metro ride.

The thing that really gets me is that this is the type of weekend “service” Metro is going to be providing for years to come. It’s part of their as Metro puts it “rebuilding” program. If you could actually see some positive results it might be worth it. But you don’t see any results. All you see is the weekend after weekend after weekend of disrupted service. For now on the weekends, at least at night, I’m driving.

Metro Musings

The other day I was exiting Metro and got a message that I needed to add money to my Smartrip card. I went over to the add fare machine and put in a twenty. The machine promptly spit it back out. I tried again and it did the same thing. I then noticed that it only takes ones, fives and tens.

I got out my wallet and fished around inside until I found a five. I have to say I wasn’t sure I had anything smaller than a twenty in my wallet. I put the money in the machine. This time it excepts it. My card is updated and I get change.

I got a nickel and three one dollar coins. Two of the coins were the recent ones with the presidents on them. The other was the old Susan B. Anthony coin of so many years ago. I realize it would be very difficult for the machine to give out change in the form of paper money. But I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with these coins.

I needed to add fare to my card. I figured I’d use the coins for that. The recent one dollar coins the machine had no problems with. The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin the fare card machine would not except. Which I have to say I was not all that surprised at. But it does seem a little odd that Metro would have a dollar coin given as change that couldn’t be used in the other machines.

Then there’s this. One side of the escalator down to the platform level at the Bethesda stop is being repaired. It’s been that way for months. There’s a sign from Metro telling when the escalator will be back working. It first said April, then May, then June. Now the sign says the escalator will be back working in September. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath on that. In all likelihood it won’t be back working in September either.

This underscores the problem people have with Metro. If you say something is going to happen in a certain time frame make sure it does. We the escalator that’s an additional six months to get to up and working. That just shouldn’t be acceptable.

But again it’s Metro.

Metro’s Escalators

I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately. This is because one of them at the Bethesda stop that goes down from the street seems to be out of service on a pretty regular basis. Then there is the one that goes down to the platform which is under going major repairs and has been out of service for months.

This is a theme with Metro escalators. They seem to be under perpetual maintenance. Part of the reason is the same reason that the Metro as a whole is getting repairs. There were years upon years of not maintaining them at all.

I don’t understand how Metro decides which escalators to turn off. At the Bethesda stop there are three that go to street level. At least once a week when going home from work, I reach the stop and one of them is turned off. But here’s the thing there are two escalators that are running and both are going up. Why not one going in each direction when the third one is turned off.

This is not a short escalator. Walking up the escalator with it running is just about 100 steps. So this is a long way. Walking down with it stopped is a bit of a chore. I have to pay close attention because of the pattern from the grooves in the escalator steps. They really mess with my depth perception and in general are just hard on my eyes.

What complicates this even more is how little light there is. I would call it dark. (The three pictures gives you an idea of just how dark.) There are a couple of lights at the top and the bottom of it. Then there are lights in the side of the escalator itself. But even with those it is dark. The steps are dark too. Not to belabor the point but it is dark. So you really do have to watch your step, actually steps, as going down the escalator. To me this is an accident waiting to happen. I just don’t understand why Metro doesn’t do something to have more lights. The problem is this is not the only escalator that has this problem. Something in the future Metro needs to fix.

Metro Breaks for Blossoms

Once again this year Metro has decided to suspend its weekend maintenance schedule during the Cherry Blossom Festival. So there is no weekend track work going on at all any where until April 13. After that it’s back to the unending delays, interruptions and near chaos of weekend service.

I blogged about this last year. In general my overall opinion of Metro has not changed all that much.

I was very impressed with the way they dealt with the passenger who had a heart attack on the train I was on. Their response was quick and immediate. They moved quickly to figure out the situation and then get people out of the way. And to get help to the man as quickly as possible.

The main problem with Metro seems to the problem it has always had. It rarely seems to be able to communicate in a timely fashion what exactly is going on. Delays seem to have few if any announcements. When stations are closed over the weekend (when buses replace trains), finding out where to get the shuttle bus always seems to be a hassle. Metro people seem to be few and far between. I will admit they have gotten a little better at this. Rhode Island Avenue was closed twice so far this year. On both occasions I took the Metro and they had enough people out to tell you where to go to get buses.

This does not extend to when trains are single tracked through stations. This can get confusing again a simple announcement saying the train now pulling into the staying is going in the direction of would be more than adequate to help people out. And nothing can confuse people more to have a sign saying all trains board on one side of the platform. Then have a train pull in on the side where trains aren’t supposed to be running.

Ah well. At least for a couple of weekends there won’t be any track work. And the cherry blossoms will be out. I guess that is enough of a reason to smile.

Tragedy on Metro

I have to say this has never happened while I’ve been riding on Metro and I hope that it never happens again.

To set the stage I’m in the middle of the car in a seat very close to the door. Here’s the story.
It’s last Wednesday and I’m on way home from work on Metro.

In the tunnel between Judiciary Square and Union Station the train I’m on stops. It does the usual move forward and stop. The train was very crowded because it was rush hour.

 A Guy standing near the doors fell (I didn’t process that he had fallen to the floor). First thought I had was he had not hung on to anything when the train had lurched forward and stopped. Then I realized he had been hanging on. The next thought that came to mind was that he fainted. Then I realized it was much more serious than that. In the back of my mind I think I knew something really bad had happened to the guy.

People reacted quickly. Calls to give the guy some room so he can breath. People thinking he had fainted (like I did). Then people tried to get the attention of people at either end of the train (that’s where the intercoms, to contact the train operator, are in the cars at either end of them) to let the operator know that someone was down. Of course sense it was rush hour and the car was very crowded it took a little while to get people’s attention and get them to understand something was going on in the middle of the car.

People looked for a intercom where we were sitting. Someone reached to pull down the emergency door opening mechanism (thinking it was an intercom). I told them not to do that; that it wasn’t an intercom but the emergency release for the doors. I had to say that a couple of times. But that person finally stopped trying to pull that (I was concerned that if it was pulled and the doors were opened the car wouldn’t move into Union Station complicating the attempt to get help.) A woman near me got hysterical saying that why wasn’t there an intercom nearby. Eventually she calmed down.

Another woman said very loudly “we have a man down here. Let the driver know.”

More people said give the guy some room. People asked if anyone knew CPR. A couple people came forward to help out. A guy said he couldn’t feel a pulse. Renewed calls to let the train operator know what was going on.

We finally get into Union Station. Someone gets off the car and heads up toward the operator to let them know what was going on. A woman pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. She said there was a man down and didn’t seem to be breathing. I believe she said he didn’t have a pulse too.She stayed on the phone and gave information on where we were. She stayed on the phone until someon from Metro showed up.

I was able to get a look at the guy. He was not moving and looked bad. I thought again this is not good at all.

Things now began to move quickly. Someone showed up from Metro. He seemed to have some medical knowledge and was carrying a pack of some kind. (I later found out that a defibrillator was used on the man). He radioed for additional help. He took over CPR. Then Metro employees were at the ends of the car telling everyone to get out. The rest of the train had been off loaded too. They then closed all the doors to all of the cars except the one where they were working on the guy.

They continued to work on him. Paramedics then arrived.

All trains were running on the opposite track. The platform got very crowded. The trains coming into the station were crowded too.

Metro did an excellent job in controlling the situation. They blocked off all platform access to the car where the man was being worked on. They had employees on the platform telling people trains were single tracking. Telling people which side of the platform trains were running on. They also kept people back from the barriers around the car where the paramedics were working. There were also announcements over the loud speaker system telling people what was going on. Also when a train pulled into the station, they announced what direction it was going in.

I waited around for a train since the first couple were so crowded. Then I decided I would wait a little while longer to see if they brought the guy out. I was hoping he might be conscious or at least responsive in some way. He was not. I thought well he probably is not going to make it.

I talked to a woman who’d been on the train. She say the guy being taken out by the paramedics (they was someone still doing CPR on him). We both thought it looked pretty bad. Finally a train came along that I could get on and I headed home. Not the evening commute you usually think of.

If there is any consolation from this, it is that people did not just stand around. People reacted immediately to get help for this guy. People stepped forward to help out. Once we got into Union Station and the doors had opened people went to get help. And Metro’s response was fantastic. It’s just too bad there wasn’t a happier ending.

I found out the next day that he died from a story in the Washington Post.

In all likelihood the guy was dead by the time he hit the floor. So I literally got to see a man drop dead. I hope I never have to see that again.

An Apology from Metro

Well who would have believed this would have ever happened. An apology from Metro on the horrible "service" this last week.

Here's a little of said apology:

I know that the rail service provided in the last week has been bad for Red Line riders.  Delays for customers have been unacceptably long, inconvenient and frustrating. Today I spent several hours with senior leaders of the rail operating and maintenance team to get a full understanding of what went wrong and what we must do better.

Unacceptably long is an under statement. You can also add the ridiculous scheduling during the Veteran's Day holiday to that list as well.

This from an article in the Post:

Red Line riders said the problems on Wednesday and Thursday problems came on top of complaints about service on Monday. Anticipating that there would be fewer commuters because of the Veterans Day holiday, Metro reduced the number of trains. The result, some riders said, were packed trains, crowded platforms and longer commutes for those who were working. Orange Line riders had similar complaints.

A little more from the apology:

While communications have improved, we are taking further steps to enhance onboard announcements that will culminate with new technology on the new rail cars arriving next year.

Here's the problem I have with that. I have heard this same song for literally decades. We're going to do a better job communicating with the riders. The problem is they've never been able to do this. It seems to be beyond their understanding that when something like this happens they need to communicate with the rider what is going on. And time and time again they fail miserably at this.

 Next year something similar will happen and we'll hear the same excuses and promises. And the time after that and the time after that. I don't see it ever changing.

Another Fail By Metro

I knew there would be a modified schedule due to the Veterans' Day Holiday. I just didn't realize how screwed up it would be.

Once again some sort of track problem. This would be the third time in four days. You know you're in for a long commute when there isn't a train listed on the next train sign. And three trains service the platform going in the other direction. 

After about 20 minutes a train showed up. Only problem it is only going as far as Farragut North. 

And that means when a train finally does show up it will be completely filled. 

Wow Metro you sure know how to screw people over. But then again the goal of Metro seems to be to inconvenience as many people as often as possible without letting them know what's going on. 

If so you guys get an A+. 

A Commute From Hell — A Metro Epic Fail

I'm one of the first people to point out when Metro does what it is supposed to do. When things work. The prime example is the efficiency of getting people home after Nationals' games.

However, when Metro fails, it is usually on an epic scale and yesterday certainly was that.

I could tell something was wrong even before I passed the fare gates. The platform at Rhode Island Avenue was full of people. Never a good sign. When I got on to the platform sure enough there were delays in both directions.

A friend texted me saying that there was a track problem by Union Station. The suggestion was to take the Green Line to Gallery Place. In order for me to do this I would have to go to the Fort Totten station and then transfer to the Green Line. The problem was there were no trains running in either direction. It was like this for about ten minutes until, finally, a train pulled in going in the direction of Glenmont.

This train would get me up to the Green Line. I decided to take it. It seemed, at first, like a good idea. When I got to the Brookland stop, there was a train going into the city. It was sitting on the platform with its doors open filling up with people. This made me feel good about my decision.

Got to Fort Totten. Got to the platform for the Green Line trains. I just missed a train but still was feeling good about this. In a few minutes another train came along. I was in without much problem and actually got a seat. So far so good.

That's when my luck rain out.

The platforms at Gallery Place were completely filled with people. I don't think I've ever seen so many people on the platforms at that stop. And I'm talking about both platforms. It was just crazy.

I made my way down and decided to head toward the front of the platform thinking there would be fewer people there. Fewer being a relative term here. I finally made it to the front and hoped for the best.

As I said there was a track problem at Union Station. I checked the Washington Post using there ap on my phone to see if they had any information on what was going on. They did. A story said delays continued. That people should expect a 12-15 minute delay. Well I'd waited for 15 minutes at Rhode Island Avenue for a train. I started to get a little annoyed at this point.

As we all waited for a train, the platform continued to fill and fill and fill. Finally a train arrived. It was of course full of people. Hardly anyone was able to get on to it. There was an announcement from the train driver that there was a train directly behind this one and not to overcrowd the train.

Turns out there was no train directly behind him. The next train was about five minutes away. It too was completely filled. There was one more behind it but few people could get on it. Our side of the tracks had had its quota of trains and now trains were running in the other direction.

The platform continued to fill with people. I finally decided this was nuts. I was going to exit this station and walk to Farrragut North. In generally the number of people on a train goes down dramatically at that station.

First thing I had to do was get out of Gallery Place. That proved to be more difficult than I thought. I headed for the escalator. At one point I was stopped. People could not move in either direction. One person decided to push their way through and almost knocked someone on to the tracks.

Finally people started moving. I was able to get out of Gallery Place. No problems getting to Farrragut North. I missed the first train but was able to get on the second. By the time it reached DuPont Circle, I was able to sit down.

I left my house at 7:40 I got to my office at 9:20. It should have taken me about 45 minutes.

Once again there were few if any announcements. These came mostly from the train operators. Nothing over the loud speakers in the stations. Well I take that back there could have been an announcement at Gallery Place but the speaker that was right above my head wasn't working.

I realize things like this can happen. They happen way too often as far as I'm concerned. But once again Metro seemed incapable of telling people what the hell was going on.

Hopefully today will be a little bit better.

The platform at Gallery Place

Here you can see both platforms and see just how crowded the train is.

The platform on the left was the one I was on. You can understand why I left the station.

A Plus for Metro But A Big Minus Too

I’m going to talk about the plus from Metro first. The plus is the ease of getting home from Nationals' games. I now know to enter the New Jersey Avenue entrance to the Navy Yard stop. There are way fewer people using that entrance. It also places you where the last car of the train going toward Gallery Place stops.

I wait for an eight car train. I never have any trouble getting on. In fact many times the car is hardly full at all. There are usually plenty of seats. And this with the platform full of people. There are Metro employees on the scene saying the train coming in is an eight car train and to move down the platform but people for some reason just don’t move. The car last night pulled into the station completely empty. Navy Yard was obviously its first stop.

It’s a quick and comfortable ride to Gallery Place where I transfer to the Red Line and head home.

Now the minus. This involves Gallery Place, last Sunday and the Nationals’ game. There was track work on the Red Line this past weekend. They were single tracking around Gallery Place. So trains were only running on one side of the platform. As in trains going in both directions were using the same platform.

I have no problem getting on at the Navy Yard. I get off at Gallery Place and head toward the side for Glenmont trains. Except you can’t get to the platform it’s been taped off. There is one sign that gives very vague directions as to what is going on. So I go over to the other side. I wait for the train going toward Glenmont. It turns out it just so happens to be the next train coming into the station. I get on.

Many people get on who don’t realize this train is not going toward Shady Grove. I tell a couple of people about to get on it’s not going in the direction they want. But they say this is the Shady Grove side. I say there’s track work this weekend and both trains are sharing the same track. The next train will be going in the direction they want to. Several people near me on the train hear this and get off the train. Now what’s wrong with this picture.

I will say the train operator did announced which direction the train was going in. But people don’t always listen to that especially when they think it is going in the direction they need to go.

What’s wrong with this picture. Why am I the person giving out this information to people on the platform. Where are the Metro employees during all of this. Well they are no where to be seen.

Why is it that information to help people get around the Metro system is always kept away from the people who need it the most: the riders.

I described what happened now I’m going to describe what should have happened.

When I got off the Green Line train from Navy Yard at Gallery Place I should have been told  by the operator of the train I was on that only one side of the platform was open. Also that all trains were running on one platform. At area taped off by Metro, there should have been several Metro employees saying to people that there was track work and that all trains were boarding from the other platform. On the platform in use, Metro employees should have been spaced along the platform telling people what was going on. When a trained pulled in Metro employees should have told which direction the train was going. There should also have been an announcement over the public address system letting people know the train now arriving is going in this direction.

Would people have still been confused? Yes, because some people only use the Metro to go to the ball game and for nothing else. But at least the information would have been out there and there would have been people to go to for help.

What does Sunday show about Metro? It reaffirms the complete and total contempt Metro has for its riders.

Updates to the Hospital Bill and Metro

Here's an update on those two posts.

Medical Bill

I called the collection agency a couple of days after I did the post. I essentially did all of the talking.

I explained the series of events regarding payments. My inability to get a bill that accurately reflected the amount of money I owed. I said I didn't think it unreasonable to get that. I said it was ridiculous that not once but twice it took a month for the hospital to cash my check. And that fact made it impossible for me to determine the actual balance owed. I said I wasn't going to over pay the bill because then it would take months to get that money back.

The guy on the other end agreed with just about everything I said. In fact he barely got in a word edgewise with that I had to say. He agreed that overpaying was not the way to go because it would take a while to get that money back. That it was not out of the question to get an itemized statement showing the actual amount owed.

He said he could send one out but that it would be quicker if I called the hospital and asked for one. He gave me the number to call. I called. I left a message for someone to contact me about getting a bill. No response. A couple of days later I called and left another message. No response. I called last week. Have yet to receive an answer.

I did receive an itemized statement last week. One small problem it did not include the payment I made at the start of the month. A big surprise. What was a big surprise is that it only two a few days to cash my check this time instead of a month. I'm going to be sending small random payments each week. This way the hospital can't say they haven't been receiving any payments from me.

And I'll continue to call to see if I can get anyone to call me back about getting an itemized statement. I won't be holding my breath on that one.

Metro

It would have been hard to top the weekend experience I had with Metro but last Tuesday did. I can usually leave my house and get to my office in around half an our give or take a few minutes one way or the other. Last Tuesday I left my house at 8:05 and didn't reach the office until 9:25. It was just a complete and total mess.

It seems there were two problems on the Red Line which of course had an impact on trains going in both directions. While I was waiting on the platform at Rhode Island Ave. in a span of about 10 minutes I say no less than six trains were going in the direction of Glenmont which of course was not the direction I needed to go. In that time frame no trains were going in the direction of Shady Grove the direction I needed to go.

When a train finally pulled in going to Shady Grove it was completely packed. In fact people practically fell out of the train when the doors were opened. I think well maybe when the next one comes along. The next train sign showed the next train in 10 minutes. It was packed. In fact most trains were packed because of the gap in time between them.

I decided I would go up to Fort Totten and then transfer to the Green Line and get to down town that way. But one small catch, by the time I decided to do that, the next train going in that direction wouldn't be arriving for another ten minutes.

Finally, finally trains started running in the direction I needed. One was finally not completely packed and I was able to get on. But we had to stop before each station because there was a train servicing the platform. So Metro went from not enough trains to too many.

What I don't understand is, why one of those six trains going to Glenmont that went by in that 10 minute period, wasn't taken out of service and sent back in the other. this would have been a completely empty train and could have helped ease the congestion. But then again that would be taking into consideration what passengers were going through and what could help them. And that's something Metro rarely seems to do.