From reader "Cal"
As both an ex New Yorker and presently a mechanic for Metrorail I can tell you first hand about some of the problems.
The first and foremost problem is when the system was originally designed (by the Army Corps of Engineers) it was not designed to carry anywhere near the capacity that it does presently. They never imagined or thought they would need any additional track and they didn't install or design any for workaround or a breakdown or any of that.
Second, there is no dedicated funding to go to Metro, now I understand that neither do these other transit systems but to compare apples with apples, we are second (next to the NYC Transit System) in terms of length of track and amount of riders and the NYC system is over 100 years old while we are in our infancy at only 30 years old....
And lastly, I see on a daily basis the "animals" we have riding the rails, between newspapers and bottles and other trash on the trains everyday as well as graffiti which has to be removed and torn and cut up seats which have to be replaced as well as repairing door systems which people hold open to just one more person can get on.....
Am I biased? Absolutely...Do I think it is a good system? Yes. Do I think it can be a great system? Yes. Look at our record ridership for inauguration weekend....
Just some of my thoughts......
Photo: visitingdc.com/
Good points, but I've ridden metros in many, many cities, and I've never been on one that seemed so decrepit. Sure, the stations look good on first glance, but the actual function leaves much to be desired. That said, I'm glad we have a metro.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to use the argument that DC is a young system. Shanghai' metro was STARTED in 1995 and spans 142 miles with 145 stations! DC's Metro has only 106 miles and 86 stations.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rapid_transit_systems