Unsuck DC Metro: Metro Opens Dimensions

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Metro Opens Dimensions

At first, the PIDs were a wondrous, novel luxury unknown to other American subway systems.

They were great unless the one you were staring at said the next train was 20 minutes away.

But as Metro has declined, so too have the PIDs.

The decline started last year. At first, they were just minutes off, needing recalibrating, Metro said. It's unclear if that ever happened.

Things got worse, and it soon seemed the PIDs began to have no connection to time whatsoever, making them useless.

But Metro wouldn't stop there. Now, the PIDs have no connection to space.

What's next? Track 9 3/4?

Here's a collection of pics from the past couple of days.

Via @jdb820 This picture (at Columbia Heights) is beyond the impossible! #wmata @unsuckdcmetro http://plixi.com/p/76720590

Via @ArkansasFred Get it together, WMATA. http://twitpic.com/3z1ytu

Via @rumpfshaker Yeah. The trains are NOT boarding. :p @unsuckdcmetro http://plixi.com/p/76767106

Via @irenerojas All aboard the invisible orange line! #wmata http://plixi.com/p/77014126

Via @Historian4Hire And this next metro message is even better http://yfrog.com/gy93czkj #wmata

Via @AnnapolisRob *Steve Buckhantz voice* NOOO! NOT POSSIBLE! http://yfrog.com/h72f8slj #wmata @unsuckdcmetro

Other items:
Farragut North repairs to last into summer (WaPo)
Metro can't count bus ridership (Examiner)

Comments (63)

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+7 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 736 weeks ago

Just put them out of their misery and save on electricity. I don't want to know Metro's headways anyway. Too depressing.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Sizzle · 736 weeks ago

Aside from the occasional weirdness (see above), I haven't noticed them being *too* off until recently. They were at least 4 minutes off this morning at Ft. Totten. Seems like they're getting worse by the day. Not to mention 99% of the time, they're scrolling through the elevator outages and not displaying when the next trains are coming.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

VA commuter · 736 weeks ago

The PID's seem to always be scrolling through elevator outages rather than displaying train arrivals.

And also, they don't display the train arrivals quickly enough. It seems like it takes at least 20 seconds for them to change to the next set of trains. Maybe that's just because the train I need to take is always at least 10 minutes away though.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 736 weeks ago

A while ago I asked why the PID on the lower level did not show the arriving train.
I was told that if it is less than 1 minute, they don't show it. Apparently they don't want riders rushing to get up the broken escalators to get on their train.
But then, most of the time the PID's are simply dark. I agree, most of the information is useless elevator outages updates. It would be more accurate to say- If you expect a working escalator/elevator from Metro- Fat Chance.

+11 Vote up Vote down

James · 736 weeks ago

I think it would be must faster for them to cycle through the elevators that are working, that way passengers could see the arrival times sooner. Boom.

+2 Vote up Vote down

VA commuter · 736 weeks ago

Part of the issue, also, is why list an elevator outage at Silver Spring station if you're at Pentagon City station?

The chances of that information benefiting a rider are a lot smaller than the chances of train arrival information benefitting a rider.

+6 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 736 weeks ago

Fire Sarles. He's no better than Catoe.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 736 weeks ago

No one else wants the job. Better him than nobody. At least he has past experience with a system that runs trains.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Spywared · 736 weeks ago

Maybe they can hire Gregory D Evans and LIGATT to run their systems... that would fit right in with their ethics creedo

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/26862410/detail.ht...

+7 Vote up Vote down

bullsumner · 736 weeks ago

I wanted to "thank" Metro for an extra fun commute home last week. Mostly my bad, I know. Combine me, a PID-trusting, sleepy evening Capitol South-er who zoned out after stepping onto a train with PIDs that are unreliable, and an unintelligible series of station/line announcements by the train operator, and a hoped-for Blue Line trip to Springfield turned into an unintended Orange Line trip to East Falls Church and then back to Rosslyn to wait on the crowded platform for a packed Blue Line to Springfield. Such fun, thanks Metro. No more trusting PIDs without verifying the color and destination of the train I step onto. Silly me for trusting Metro technology.

6 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+8 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 736 weeks ago

I was on that train - I called the operator with the intercom and told him his destination signs were malfunctioning; he confirmed it was an Orange train. Don't be afraid to use the intercom...

-3 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

...unless it is a real emergency.

-1 Vote up Vote down

BusFan · 736 weeks ago

When you see Court House sign instead of a bunch of tourists at Arlington Cemetery, you turn around. There was no need to wait another 5 stops to turn around.

0 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

Did you even read that the poster was sleepy, zoned out after boarding, and took responsibility?

+7 Vote up Vote down

KWM · 736 weeks ago

I did the exact same thing and blamed myself for not paying attention several times before I realized that I was looking at the PID instead of the train. I was 7 mos pregnant at the time too, which added to the aggravation considerably.

-2 Vote up Vote down

AllAboutMe · 736 weeks ago

I hope you didn't demand a seat too. Breeders are not welcome here.

-8 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

Hmm, if someone was blind, asked what time their train was coming, was told it was boarding (someone repeating the PIDS info), then fell on the tracks .... could they sue metro?

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Ummm · 736 weeks ago

Sue Metro for being an idiot? I guess with lawyers a dime a dozen you probably could try.

-5 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

I guess you are unaware of the national pastime? Or what profession this town has a lot of?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Ummm · 736 weeks ago

I guess you are unaware of the term "dime a dozen."

Litigious nuts.

+21 Vote up Vote down

Radner · 736 weeks ago

I love it when I enter the first part of the station and see 2 minutes until my train arrives, just to run down the escalator, rush through the gates, run down another escalator, just to see that there is, in fact, no train coming. Then the next train arrives 4 minutes later and is not the one I want. Dearest Metro, the only thing reliable with you is your ability to disappoint.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Charles B · 736 weeks ago

Better yet is when the PID says you have 3 minutes until the next train leaves and you take your time to get to the platform only to see the train leaving after one minute of having entered the station and the next train isn't due for 35 minutes.

-17 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 736 weeks ago

hey Unsuck, keep your silly harry potter jokes to yourself. corresponding toads doesn't want to hear it.

thanks.

corresponding modes.

p.s. I've had no complaints about the PID's. but I can see why people would be PID'sed off. GET IT??

+9 Vote up Vote down

Ever and Anon · 736 weeks ago

I agree the numbers are always wrong and it is a waste of electricity anyway. They spend so much time displaying elevator outages I rarely see numbers anymore.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Friendship · 736 weeks ago

This sums it up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkjfh5klUzM

Friendship Heights, Glenmont Bound. Sign always reads 2 or 3mins while train is already sitting at the platform.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

K.C. · 736 weeks ago

Same thing goes for Ballston. Train is already pulling away when the sign at the mezzanine reads 2 min. :P

+8 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 736 weeks ago

Do they still say that 2-car trains are coming?

+8 Vote up Vote down

M.B. · 736 weeks ago

The worst part is that even if the PIDs don't work the employees should be able to tell you when the next train is coming, but NO, of course they can't.
They just stare at you like you have asked them to predict the end of the world.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-7 Vote up Vote down

GDopplerXT · 736 weeks ago

Should they? Why would you assume they actually have the correct information?

Anyway, I don't think that's something that Metro employees should be doing. This is 2011, we shouldn't have people standing there telling passengers when the train will arrive. The electronic signs should work.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 736 weeks ago

Sure they can. They have a monitor in the kiosk that shows the circuits along the line. They can easily say "Oh, the next train is in the circuit between Station A and Station B. They may not be able to say how far behind that is in minutes, but they can most certainly see the occupied/unoccupied track circuits.

0 Vote up Vote down

Billy Bibbitt · 736 weeks ago

That would require knowing the alphabet.

+1 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 736 weeks ago

They probably don't know either.

+8 Vote up Vote down

John · 736 weeks ago

How the hell do they manage to screw this one up? It shouldn't be that difficult to program!

Also, I hope this isn't the same information that a Metro Traffic Controller has to rely on, because if so, that is downright SCARY!

+12 Vote up Vote down

Jeter · 736 weeks ago

Maybe the signs have been hacked by someone that believes in slavery... #just saying

+7 Vote up Vote down

Ummm · 736 weeks ago

Just be happy they mention trains at all instead of spamming you with elevator outages.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 736 weeks ago

My favorite (sarcasm) is when the PIDs say that the station will be opening an hour earlier in two weeks.

Come on, WMATA. It's Monday morning rush hour and I'm on my way to work. I honestly don't care that the system will be opening an hour early next Saturday. Tell me when my train is coming.

-7 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

Offtopic, but does anyone else find it amusing that metro employees seem to be voting down comments that *gasp* criticize metro? Sort of like the blog equivalent of filling out a web petition rather than writing a physical letter.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

Breathe @kara_h · 736 weeks ago

You just referring to YOUR posts? They're probably being voted down because you're incredibly negative. Spend some time in a field of sunflowers with a gin and tonic, then come on' back with some creative ideas and constructive criticism as opposed to incessant bitching. [Love, not a metro employee]

+7 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 736 weeks ago

I agree with "Breathe"

+4 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 736 weeks ago

I'm not a Metro employee and I rarely ever use the +/- buttons, but you know, there is a chance that *gasp* someone just disagrees with the post. It's the same way how if you say something good about Metro, you're called a shill or Metro employee and your post is voted down. It goes both ways.

Let's face the facts: sometimes, Metro does things that suck - a lot. But sometimes they do things that don't suck. It's okay to criticize Metro and it's okay to praise Metro. But sometimes, people criticize them for things that aren't their fault and people vote down comments. Sometimes, people praise them for things that they didn't do and people vote down those comments. I don't think there is any malice by Metro to vote down anti-Metro comments.

-5 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

Neither explain how posts have been voted down that it would take some serious convolutions of logic to disagree with though. Like asking a clarifying question.

+4 Vote up Vote down

anon · 736 weeks ago

Right. That must be the only explanation. If they disagree with you, they work for Metro. Did you go to college?

+7 Vote up Vote down

@ChrisHowdy · 736 weeks ago

After watching the decline of systems like these, I guess I'm a little less eager to see the trains back on automatic control...

+2 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 736 weeks ago

Is there no interest in the Post's series about life on the late night weekend trains? It seemed like the ratio of drunks to working people was a little high for the service to be subsidised.

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-3 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 736 weeks ago

I have not seen the post's but did see the one they had in the express. The reporter completely dismissed anyone who might be working then focused on the party-goers. No hard numbers to actually base our own conclusions off of.

I would wager that most of the people that take the train from work that late are the ones that can least afford a taxi. Let's face it, even the most dedicated white collar worker probably is not regularly in the office at 9 or 10 if they can help it (and most leave hours earlier, during the afternoon rush).

+4 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 736 weeks ago

The Post had half a dozen people out riding, and they seemed unanimous that drunkenness prevailed. One thing that can be done, I think, is to find some way to make DC taxis more willing to go to the suburbs.

+1 Vote up Vote down

Chris · 736 weeks ago

I once had to get a cab from DuPont to Rockville! Had to lie to the cabbie and tell him Bethesda, then change the route when we got there. That was quite a bill, would've been cheaper to have rented a room in DuPont.

-3 Vote up Vote down

Doc · 736 weeks ago

Nothing wrong here. Keep moving

+2 Vote up Vote down

devaldragon 59p · 736 weeks ago

What's the big deal? Metro ran fine for the first 15 years without these signs. Just turn them off and be done with it.

1 reply · active 736 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

dddddda · 736 weeks ago

When Metro is only running trains every 20-30 minutes, and they can't even keep trains with that large of a headway on schedule, I find it useful to know before leaving for the station when a train is coming (I use an app that pulls the PID information). Besides, I don't care what was effective or possible 20 years ago...we have technology that can handle this type of request these days. The PIDs should run off of the track circuits, which are already installed and in use to keep track of the trains...this is kind of a no-brainer to just broadcast info that is already available. Like the earlier poster, I'm concerned that the inaccuracy of the PIDs is a reflection of unreliable circuit information, which puts my life at risk. If it's instead, malfunctioning programming of the broadcast system, I think I have a 5-year-old laptop that could handle that job!

+6 Vote up Vote down

@ZackJAS · 736 weeks ago

I remember when these were first installed, it took about a year before they showed trains and another two before they could give arrival times consistently. Seems like they're regressing.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Chris · 736 weeks ago

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010...

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says the transit authority knows there's a problem but hasn't been able to figure out the cause yet. Metro refers to the situation as a latency problem. Data about the train movements are delayed getting from one point to another within the passenger information display system.

"It appears the issue is with messages backing up in the PIDs server," Farbstein said in an e-mail. "These latency issues typically occur during rush hour when there are lots of trains and lots of rider messages being displayed. Our IT department is analyzing the situation to determine the solution."

Farbstein said that so far the tech people have been able to figure out that the system is generating accurate predictions of train arrival times. So the problem appears to occur after the computer system makes the prediction and before it gets displayed on the platform signs.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Ummm · 736 weeks ago

Translation: Metro can't handle rush hour in any way anymore.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Meredith · 736 weeks ago

So wait, does that mean that problem actually IS the elevator outage messages that are constantly showing instead of train arrival times? I had agreed with earlier commenters that the elevator outage information and early opening announcements are annoying when you just want to know when your train is coming, but this would seem to indicate that those are what's causing the problem! Or am I misunderstanding?

I do believe, however, that the elevator outage information provides some significant value to those individuals who are disabled and rely on elevator service to access certain stations (remember the post a few weeks back about people in wheelchairs using escalators). The PID screens are all currently hooked up to the same system. I wonder if it would be possible to remove one of the screens from the system and just have it broadcast service outages, while the other screens continued to show PIDs. Anyone with a technical background think that sounds feasible?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Chris · 736 weeks ago

Also (from comments of same article):

From Dr. Gridlock: ...The IT people found that the other versions of the train information system -- like the mobile next train prediction -- were performing accurately. So they think the information going into the system is accurate. The problem is getting current information to the platform displays. (No prediction on how long it will take to fix.)

+1 Vote up Vote down

Ummm · 736 weeks ago

This will probably never happen, but wouldn't it be nice if Metro showed train arrival information at the end stations? They have the signs, why not use them?

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Meredith · 736 weeks ago

Right? They used to do that, but they haven't since I started commuting downtown regularly a year and a half ago. Does anyone know why that is?

+2 Vote up Vote down

fed up · 736 weeks ago

No info is better than incorrect info.

I've had it happen to me where I've missed a train because I believed the PID which gave me three minutes instead of the one minute in truth, so I thought I had time to check my smartrip and add money.

It's amazing to me that the idea is we're supposed to trust metro with our safety when they CAN'T EVEN COORDINATE SOME STUPID LED SIGNS WITH THEIR TRACK INFO!!!

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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