Unsuck DC Metro: Escalators Can Wait ...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Escalators Can Wait ...

Perhaps Metro could have taken advantage of the down time. We asked, and Metro didn't bother to answer.

From Becca:

The Smithsonian Metro stop has just been closed for three days over the long weekend.

The middle escalator going out of the station has been down for two weeks. The escalators to the platform coming up out of Vienna/Franconia side have also been out for over a week while they have been running the other escalator to the platform going DOWN!

How does that make sense?

Anyway, yesterday morning, at the peak of rush hour, two of the three escalators leaving the station were shut down forcing people to walk up AND down the same one, which created a single file line all the way from the fare gates.

The open "escalator" was caked in ice from the winter weather, amazing no one fell.

Over 5,000 people work at the building that sits directly atop the Metro stop, with thousands more that walk to adjacent buildings and tourist attractions. Apparently, in three days of maintenance, the escalators weren't a priority to be fixed.

WOW.

Other items:
Crime on Metro surges (Examiner)
Who'll pay for bag searches down the road? (GGW)
Inside a gang of iPhone thieves (TBD)

Comments (29)

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+8 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 735 weeks ago

[smh]

Almost nothing Metro does makes sense.

+15 Vote up Vote down

John · 735 weeks ago

Say it with me now...

FIRE
DAVID
LACOSSE!!!!!!

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

tengoalyrunr30 80p · 735 weeks ago

Apparently you believe in slavery!!!

+2 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 735 weeks ago

Keep fighting. Almost there.

-3 Vote up Vote down

trickyricky · 735 weeks ago

that is gay

+1 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 735 weeks ago

Topic of theives-
Ask Metro how many internal theft of personal property was reported.
Then how was it covered up!

+13 Vote up Vote down

ksu499 · 735 weeks ago

The Metro Way: Don't fire David Lacosse -- put another layer of management above him.

+4 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 735 weeks ago

Go Becca!

+9 Vote up Vote down

Ever and Anon · 735 weeks ago

I am so stunned at this continual list of failures happening on Metro. If it were Congress or any other government body it would be big news with changes happening rapidly. Same for large associations/organizations, even car companies. How can this continue to go unnoticed and ignored by the press, et al? Why is nobody holding them accountable for anything at all?

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Ugh · 735 weeks ago

If Government Motors was the only car company around, they wouldn't get much attention either.

+13 Vote up Vote down

Mike Sorrentino · 735 weeks ago

The Situation's thoughts on public transportation: “That’s for Communists.”

And the lines throughout the system are really starting to make it look that way...

+9 Vote up Vote down

@Derigiberble · 735 weeks ago

On the topic of thefts: It is so disgusting how Apple refuses to help out and take simple steps to basically end iphone and ipod theft. It would be trivial for them to either remotely brick the phone or deactivate it next time somebody tries to sync it with itunes. This would destroy the market for stolen Apple products and make it less worth the risk.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

0 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 735 weeks ago

That is the same logic as 'execution deters crime'. Despite all evidence to the contrary.

Apple has done remote bricking before. Remember when the iPhone was first released, especially when people wanted to do anything non-usual with it? Apple took a lot of flak over that. In any case, it was to phone numbers, not the hardware the phone used (although the two are interchangeable unless you swap sim cards ... stolen phones have new sims anyway).

Thieves probably could care less about iTunes syncing which would be how to get the hardware ID. Unless the phone is for their personal use the next time it gets synced will be after it is fenced anyway.

Best option: block the phone number at the carrier level and consider the hardware a loss.

+2 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 735 weeks ago

That would require you to report the theft very quickly. Also, if it's a Touch, does Apple keep records like this?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 735 weeks ago

if you register your product...

+3 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 735 weeks ago

They should put a small explosive charge in each one. When it's reported stolen, they can detonate it (after using GPS technology to make sure the thief is away from bystanders.)

+2 Vote up Vote down

Ugh · 735 weeks ago

What exactly do you think GPS stands for?

+2 Vote up Vote down

Ted · 735 weeks ago

This is THIRD WORLD people.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Dave · 735 weeks ago

Stupid and dumb don't really describe Metro any more.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Josh · 735 weeks ago

Can we organize a protest at David Lacosse's house?
If we woke his ass up at 5 in the morning some Saturday by screaming about the escalators, at least it would get his attention. Hey, it worked for the Egyptians.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

Fanta · 735 weeks ago

That's not a bad idea, Josh. Seriously. Why don't we do that? Or at least start a protest or picket Metro for a day? I don't know if it would work here though, but for those that live and work in DC and rely on Metro, we could do something like that?

+17 Vote up Vote down

AMM · 735 weeks ago

Every time I see these photos of long lines of people waiting to climb up/down a broken escalator, I think to myself: What would happen if there were a fire in that Metro station? How would everyone escape? This is a tragedy waiting to happen.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-8 Vote up Vote down

ANON · 735 weeks ago

Tell me what's going to burn it's all metal and concrete. The metro system was built that way on purpose. IDIOT

+2 Vote up Vote down

jkuchen · 735 weeks ago

Fine, replace "fire" with "sarin release." Is that better?

-1 Vote up Vote down

WTF · 735 weeks ago

The trains, the garbage, etc., FUCKTARD.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 735 weeks ago

Metro Transit Police would simply arrest everyone for blocking the fire exit.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 735 weeks ago

Foggy Bottom has both Orange and Blue Line trains discharging people from both directions in the mronings, and the area between the fare gates and the upper escalators is TINY. It won't catch on fire, but the crush that forms there some morning is exceptionally dangerous.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Meredith · 735 weeks ago

Can I say that, as continually disappointed as I am by Metro on a daily basis, I am rather impressed by the commuters at Smithsonian. That is a seriously orderly line. Well done, fellow inconvenienced paying customers. Too bad you had to form one in the first place...

0 Vote up Vote down

Fed_Up · 735 weeks ago

It's the only train in town. It's pretty easy to be the worst and not care as long as you have no competition and no consequences for pathetic performance.