Unsuck DC Metro: When's WMATA Going to be on Intervention?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

When's WMATA Going to be on Intervention?

We posed that question yesterday on Twitter. It was a joke, but like most jokes, there's a kernel of truth buried underneath the snark.

The question was in response to news broken here that a Metrobus driver was allegedly involved in a minor hit and run. The driver dinged a car, basically.

A lot of us have done that, but this driver's instinct was to bolt! That's a huge red flag and yet again speaks to a sickness deep within WMATA.

Sure, a fender bender is not quite like falling asleep behind the wheel or texting while driving, but it's yet another example of how many Metro workers seem to think they're above the law. (Obligatory KFC link Yes, that's an all-time fave.)

It's a dysfunction that plagues Metro. Yeah, yeah, a few bad apples, blah blah, but c'mon. How many bad apples are there? Way more than there should be.

During the Metro Board meeting with the NTSB on Monday, which was largely a snoozefest, NTSB members stated it was important to distinguish between simple mistakes, which we all make, and willful disrespect for standard operating procedures and rules and regulations.

Our understanding of what the NTSB said is that a worker who makes a simple mistake while basically doing the right thing should not be punished, but that a worker who willfully violates rules should have the hammer fall on them--hard.

And it's here that WMATA, more specifically, the union that represents the workers, breaks down like a Red Line train at rush hour.

We've lost count of the number of Metro workers who FLAGRANTLY violate the rules, get caught and end up back on the job. It's unbelievable how many there are, and we probably don't know a tenth of it.

While the NTSB members were speaking to this issue, the silence of the WMATA Board was deafening. They had nothing constructive or proactive to say about it.

They're paralyzed on this topic.

Sure, Metro has a lot of problems, but until the quality of the WMATA workforce is discussed openly, without kneejerk charges of racism, WMATA will continue to be a substandard mass transit system.

Other items:
Funny Metro cartoon (Examiner)
Do federal workers really deserve transit perks? (Examiner)
Dulles may shift Metro plan (WaPo)
More trip planner hilarity (Emilyhaha)

Comments (21)

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+4 Vote up Vote down

anon · 763 weeks ago

disgusting. simply disgusting

+7 Vote up Vote down

Dragon of Life · 763 weeks ago

Can we stop linking to sources that repeat that tired old canard about how much more federal employees make, using completely nonsensical comparisons? I'm sure the people who do these studies think they're magnificently clever by comparing the primarily well-educated federal work force to fry cooks and waiters (no offense to the fry cooks and waiters out there, who are doing jobs I personally appreciate), but constantly propping up those so-called results is doing the federal workers a disservice in the name of "BIG GOVERNMENT BAD, GOVERNMENT WORKERS BAD" propaganda.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Steve · 763 weeks ago

Here here!

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Metro User · 762 weeks ago

I agree that the comparison in salary isn't fair. I've seen some government workers move to private sector jobs that paid better and had more benefits including the opportunity to compete competitively for raises and commissions.

But as far as the subsidy for metro is concerned, it is my understanding that Pres. Clinton (and others) pushed for that because the streets are just too crowded, therefore pollution, parking, and drivng become a huge strain on the District. I do see it as a perk of the job, but I also appreciate getting to work in a more timely manner because there are so many less cars on the roads.

This subsidy should only be helping WMATA. There are possibly THOUSANDS of people that take the metro everyday and take advantage of something that is "free" to them but Metro counts on as profit. If this were taken away from government employees, the potential hit to Metro's bottom line would more than cripple them.

-3 Vote up Vote down

dan · 762 weeks ago

So your argument is that because you have a college degree and earn more money than those loathsome "cooks and waiters" you deserve subsidized transit more than people that earn less than you and didn't go to college?

/scratches head

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dddddda · 762 weeks ago

Actually, I think the argument is that the government needs people with college and post-graduate degrees, and can't afford to pay them as much as the private sector, so they offer tham an array of perks - some monetary, some not - to draw them in. The metro subsidy doesn't cost much per employee, a maximum of about $1500 a year. Considering I could double my salary if I went to the private sector, that's small potatoes. My total compensation (including all benefits) is about $20,000 more than my paper salary per year, which still pales in comparison to a private sector job. But those perks are largely what draw and keep people.

It should also be noted that many private-sector employers also subsidize their employees' commutes. But I know a lot of companies that pay for parking instead of metro, which is at least twice as expensive and has no social benefit. Go figure.

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@kara_h · 762 weeks ago

Right, when I used to do contracting it was not unusual for me to get a $5,000 bump each time I hopped companies. Not a lot of incentive to be loyal to any of them. It was a pretty well-known fact that the government workers had much more job security but their pay was pretty dismal.

Ironically, right now I am working for a nonprofit. I am making less than I ever did as a contractor even with the smallest inflation adjustment but I love it much more.

-2 Vote up Vote down

Sarge · 762 weeks ago

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bluto · 762 weeks ago

Here's 5 cheap ideas to make metro rail a little less sucky:

1. On 8 car trains use the oldest or least air conditioned cars in the places that see the fewest passengers. There's no reason to have a 1000 or 2000 series with broken air conditioning be the fullest car on the train when there's a 6000 series that still has seating in the front/back.

2. Once a year measure entrances and exits at each station by each hour of the day, then as closely as possible have the gates match those ratios.

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bluto · 762 weeks ago

3. Escalators break, but when they do have all operating escalators working for uphill (if the rise is more than 30 ft) or rush direction passengers (if the rise is less than 30 ft). Make escalator repair a top priority when a second escalator breaks at any of the long rise (100+ft stations).

4. When a delay occurs, the response to that delay should be aimed at keeping the rest of the line moving as close to scheduled times as possible. Move broken trains to storage spurs, and if breakage occurs at one of the stations with 3 tracks, use the third track to keep the lines operating.

5. During rush hour skip every other station, alternating by train, on return trips into the city, this will boost overall system speed without inconviniencing most riders (since their wait should be about 5 minutes) and will increase cars per busy station a little.

None of these ideas would require any capital investment, just some time from already existing employees.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Ever and Anon · 762 weeks ago

#5 could be a wee bit of a challenge. What if the station that is skipped is the one you are waiting at trying to get home? With some stations running two colors I also think it is way beyond the average metro operator and control central to comprehend the basic logistical details.

I've never had a 5 minute wait for a train, even in rush hour. Wish I had a 5 minute wait. The least wait was listed at 7 minutes but it is rarely that short a time. (Metro seems to have a problem with basic math anyhow.)

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bluto · 762 weeks ago

Just skip them on the way back into the city. So on the orange line the route from one train to the next would be:
Vienna, West Falls Church, Ballston, Clarendon, Rosslyn and from Rosslyn to New Carrolton the normal stops. The train would return Going New Carolton Cheverly, Minnesota Ave then Stadium Armory-Vienna hitting all the stops.
The next train would hit the missing stops from Vienna to Rosslyn then all the stops from Rosslyn to New Carolton and hit the missing stops to Stadium Armory.

What takes most of the time in riding metro is stops, so minimizing low priority stops means the whole line of trains will move faster, and thus the limited number of cars available will be able to reach the major destinations (central city to suburbs) more frequently in a given time.

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Jimbo · 762 weeks ago

Federal workers may get paid less dollar for dollar than private sector - but Federal pensions, salaries and benefits are all DIRECTLY financed by private workers, their employers, and the taxes they pay...every time a public employee gets some perk its on the back of others.

Federal workers are immune to the market risk to their pensions that private workers face everyday. There are also civil service rules that shield Federal workers from much of the job risk private workers face.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Guest · 762 weeks ago

Let's not forget that if Fed. workers do a crummy job of doing their job, they'll NEVER get fired. Instead they just get shuffled from one office to another!

+6 Vote up Vote down

MMetro rider 2 · 762 weeks ago

I just called Metro customer service. All the programmed happy, chirpy voices welcome you and try to sell you stuff. Here's an idea: Why not let actual employees -- people like the station agents -- do the voices? They're surly, they could care less about anything and would certainly scare away all but the most determined callers, thus dropping call volume.

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GrapesOfRough · 762 weeks ago

I agree with you in that I blame a lot of Metro's problems on incompetent employees. I blame the existence of so many incompetent employees on the union.

I mean, come on, how does Metro ever expect to imporve when a large majority of its work force doesn't give a shit about the job they do. And why should they? The union makes it impossible for them to get fired!

Throwing money at Metro isn't going to solve their problems - throwing out the union and making Metro's employees accountable for the jobs they do will at least help get the system back on track.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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GrapesOfRough · 762 weeks ago

Improve. I suck at proof-reading.

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king friday 13 · 762 weeks ago

Not until the union is dissolved, which will only happen once its members realize thier leaders are putting their own lives at extreme jeopardy on a daily basis.

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Ever and Anon · 762 weeks ago

All I can add to any of these excellent thoughts is "Hear! Hear! Unsuck!"

Well said, indeed.

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yatesc · 762 weeks ago

re: Bad Apples

I believe it's entirely true that there are just a few bad apples working for WMATA.

Quick, can someone remind me of what happens when you leave bad apples around good apples? Anyone?

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Katie · 762 weeks ago

What workforce exactly. I can think of the GM who had great concern for the "dress code" Mr Catoe worried more about appearance than getting track circuits fixed. Finally there is a true engineer in charge, with a few "business degree" screamers sprinkled in. It matters to me that qualified mechanics work on the equipment, I don't want to make friends or chit chat with clean looking people.... I want to go from point A to B without payment problems, crashing, getting hit by doors, walking up stairs etc....get the picture ?