Unsuck DC Metro: Don't Stand, Don't Stand, Don't Stand so Close to Me

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Don't Stand, Don't Stand, Don't Stand so Close to Me

"When crews start deviating from the standard operating procedures, they are about three times more likely to commit another error that has consequential results." Robert Sumwalt, NTSB

@make_lemons Oh look. My bus driver has her boyfriend to keep her company. #wmata (7/27/10, F8, 5:25pm)

From an anonymous reader:

My bus driver spoke to a passenger standing in front of the yellow line the entire time I was on the bus. He overran one stop, and the passenger had to run to catch the bus. This takes place the day after the findings of Metro Red Line crash. It seems Metro has a long way to go.
4E bus route Pershing Drive to Rosslyn

According to Metro:

The policy is posted on signs above the windshield of every Metrobus. Those signs say:

“Please do not talk to me while I am driving, safe operation of the bus requires my full attention.” and “For passenger safety, federal law prohibits operation of this bus while anyone is standing forward of the yellow standee line.”

If a Metrobus customer feels their bus is being operated unsafely, we ask that they contact our Customer Service department at 202-637-7000 or online at www.MetroOpensDoors.com and include a bus number (four digit), date and time so that we may take appropriate action.

We would never discourage customers from sharing their experiences on blogs, however, a direct report from a customer to our Customer Service department, rather than a second hand report via a blog, is important to the investigation and to any disciplinary actions that may need to be taken as a result of the investigation.

This happens on trains, too

Other items:
The appalling negligence of the Metro Board (Examiner)
Should we blame the Metro Board? (City Paper)
Dead on Examiner cartoon
Don't forget your second round of fare hikes start Sunday (Examiner)
Wheaton development (Washington Business Journal)

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+4 Vote up Vote down

Bus Rider · 764 weeks ago

Wonder if Metro ever watches the security cameras these buses supposedly have. If they did, they'd see ALL KINDS of interesting things from minor bending or breaking of rules to outright reckless driving.

1 reply · active 764 weeks ago

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unsuckdcmetro 92p · 764 weeks ago

Those cameras are probably mostly broken, just like so much of Metro http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2009/09/safety-...

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anonymous · 764 weeks ago

J2 - I filed a complaint about a driver last year. All I got back was the standard form response.

Accountability. Fore the driver or fire Sarles.

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@kara_h · 764 weeks ago

They always send form responses. I got one when a train door opened then a second later closed ... just enough time for my head to get through the doors after opening. The customers on the platform could not believe it and helped me by trying to pry the partially opened doors open enough for me to pull my head out.

After no response but the form letter (I reported the date, time of departure, line, etc) I contacted them back. They were 'unable to determine the train operator' . I take the train at that time often from the end of the line, they are 15 minutes apart in the evening, do they not keep logs?

I have submitted reports about escalators and such, but if they do not take an incident that could have killed a passenger seriously I figure it is just one more incident report from the public on their ignore pile. Just hoping the stack eventually becomes big enough that someone notices.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Anon · 764 weeks ago

I had the train operator nail my ankle one time by shutting the doors abnormally fast. The bell chimes did not sound either. I wrote to Metro and emphasized the lack of chimes. They wrote me back explaining I need to listen to the chimes and not try to board once they sound. Metro is so disfunctional it is almost hopeless to expect anything to improve. Implode, probably, but not improve.

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@kara_h · 764 weeks ago

This was fast too. They barely were open all the way then they slammed shut. No chimes so it sounds similar to what you encountered. I wonder if it was a mechanical problem (akin too the one that had cars out of service recently while they fixed the door opening problem that 'never happened') or if it was an operator override?

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Corruption abound · 764 weeks ago

"We would never discourage customers from sharing their experiences on blogs, however, a direct report from a customer to our Customer Service department, rather than a second hand report via a blog, is important to the investigation and to any disciplinary actions that may need to be taken as a result of the investigation."

Yea WMATA, Im sure you rather us submit our problems to you as opposed to putting them out there on a "second hand report via a blog". You have been so utterly affective in fixing these porblems in the past. According to your reports everything is tip-top over there! Trains and buses are on-time 95% of the time(LOL!!!) Trains with A/C issues are removed from service and dealt with imediately (What an F'ing joke!) According to the report released from the NTSB metro really did their homework when considering what kind of train cars to buy as well.. I wonder who's pocket on the panel got a little heavier after that transaction, or after awarding the obviously ridiculous escalator service contract.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Anon · 764 weeks ago

Agreed.

And Metro, we know you would never discourage free speech as that would be blatently illegal. If things are working so well, why is Metro reading blogs to see that second hand reporting? Just because a sign is posted does not mean the employees are abiding by that sign. Perhaps it should be changed to read as a reminder to the driver instead of the customers.

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anonnononononny · 764 weeks ago

It would not be illegal for Metro to discourage free speech, as they are not a government entity. They simply don't have the power to enforce the supression of free speech (for example, having this blog shut down - they have no way of doing so). But they can discourage you all they want.

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Matt Johnson · 764 weeks ago

I wholeheartedly agree with this post. Happens on my buses occasionally. And it is unacceptable.

In fact, just such a phenomenon is suspected to be one of a causes of the Chicago Transit Authority L crash of February 1977 which killed 11. From this article: http://www.chicago-l.org/mishaps/loop.html

The popular theory of what happened goes like so: the motorman, while approaching the Randolph/Wabash station, got a restrictive signal indication and the alarm in his cab went off. But, making the normal station stop, he inadvertently overrode the signal, which allowed him to proceed. He left the station and proceeded under 15 mph, which prevented the automatic braking from engaging. What happened next is open to speculation. Some say that Martin, who was known to talk to passengers (especially female ones) while motoring, was doing just that while approaching the Ravenswood train ahead and didn't see the impending collision. When his train struck the stopped Ravenswood, it is believed that he either panicked and accidentally applied more power instead of braking or that the sheer force of the impact threw him forward and, as a result of his hand being on the Cineston controller, threw the control forward as well.

[bold emphasis mine] (if the html code works)

+3 Vote up Vote down

Metro User · 764 weeks ago

Has anyone addressed the smoking issue? My afternoon bus driver smokes on the bus while it's empty. During one of the hottest summer's here, the ac stays on and the windows stay closed so that all that smoke stays on the bus by the time he makes his next pickup. I wouldn't normally care about this because he happens to be the best bus driver I've had on metro (safe driver, comes on time, doesn't talk to passengers), but there are some people that seem to have to have respitory illnesses that flair up when they get on the smokey bus. There are signs posted on the bus that say smoking is against the law. I'm afraid to complain about him because when he's not driving the bus the other driver I get makes me think I'm not going to survive the trip home (wreckless driver, weaving in and out of lanes, missing stops, making u-turns in busy intersections after missing the turn, slamming the brakes to make stops instead of slowing ahead of time. [and this all happend in one bus ride Tuesday afternoon]).

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yatesc · 764 weeks ago

A website and a phone number? Why not email? Because the website/phone number are what's most convenient for _Metro_, rather than what's most convenient for those who experience problems. So why should I believe that Metro wants me to have a good experience, if even their own customer service department isn't focused on me having a good experience?

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Guest · 764 weeks ago

God bless my circulator drivers! They tell people not to talk to them while the bus is moving.

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SoBar · 764 weeks ago

Have you ever taken the 5A from L'Enfant to Dulles? Metro doesn't run enough buses, so it's always overcrowded. I have seen people standing in the rear door well and in front of the yellow line by the driver. And this is on a bus is travelling at highway speeds on 66 and the Dulles access road.

You can't tell me that this doesn't violate all sorts of safety rules, and Metro has to know that.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Will · 764 weeks ago

This happens all the time on the 90's, 50's and yes the B30 too.

The major difference is the commuters usually don't talk to the driver while he's driving.

I'd rather pack on the bus in an unsafe matter than not being able to get on.

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@alexmullin · 764 weeks ago

I honestly didn't know I couldn't talk to the bus drivers. I have one driver who I have come to know over the past year because we have the same taste in Florida State sports. We don't usually have long conversations, but if a seat near the front is open we will sit and have idle chatter. In fact, our chatter has previously revolved around how important the safety of his passengers is to him. Never did I get the feeling that we were being unsafe. He knows many of the passengers that get on and off his route and usually makes my trip more enjoyable. I think we should think twice about generally admonishing drivers who want to have personal relationships with their regular passengers. The creepy ones who only hit on women and the unsafe ones who don't pay attention to the road during a conversation should certainly be admonished.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Anon and Ever · 764 weeks ago

I can understand what you are describing and it sounds nice to have a driver that can be approachable. Unfortunately you don't know how many times I, the ped, have almost been killed because that driver isaahving a lighthearted conversation while maneuvering that big ole bus around... one didn't notice me because he was chuckling at the comment/conversation. It remains unsafe. The driver's concentration needs to be on the road and what is around the bus.

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@poptdc · 764 weeks ago

Ohhhh... this is that "Safety Culture" they keep talking about...

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dan · 764 weeks ago

I have to say that Metro's response posted above doesn't read like a stock answer. There's a (small) victory. The line is the same - the old "please tell us, too" gripe - but at least they didn't copy and paste a statement.

I mean, it... it actually seems like a human being sat down and wrote it, not like it was regurgitated by a super-Metro computer hive mind (built in the 1970s, of course) buried deep under sixth street.

Hooray? Ah, who am I kidding. F*#( you, Metro. Do something about these issues ,don't post on blogs about how you'd like to do something about them.

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JPH · 764 weeks ago

I had this happen last week on the B30 from BWI to Greenbelt. A young man stood right by the driver, and they chatted gaily the entire time - including while we were careening down the Baltimore Washington Parkway at highway speeds. Yeah, I felt really safe.

I send Metro a complaint, including the time, date, and bus number. (I would have sent a picture, too, except their online form won't accept it) Naturally, I only got a form response back. I really doubt anyone even bothered to read it.