Unsuck DC Metro: Full Metal Flacking?

Monday, June 27, 2011

Full Metal Flacking?

From Rob:

I don't know why I haven't seen any discussion of Metro's "new approach" to weekend maintenance in any of the mainstream media, and why I haven't seen it on this blog.

I know Metro sucks on weekends. I gave up taking it on the weekends long ago.

I know why they suck on the weekends. For decades they flushed our money down a toilet and didn't keep the trains and tracks "in a state of good repair."

That pisses me off to no end, but I get it.

What I really don't get is how the new approach is going to "inconvenience fewer customers?"

Instead of single tracking, now, Metro is going to close clusters of stations where work is to be done and provide shuttle bus service around the closed stations.

So let me get this straight. Entire trains are going to offload at a station, all those people are going to leave the station at once, catch a bus, ride to the next station that's open, disembark at once and then re-board Metro at once?

Right.

And Metro adds an extra layer of BS, saying the rest of the system will operate at "near normal weekend service." Do they mean weekend service now or before all of this started?

What a joke.

To provide normal weekend service around the unaffected areas, you'd have to have a precision outfit, and anyone who rides Metro knows it's anything but. They can't even space trains right in their core business hours--rush hour.

But what really chafes me most about this whole thing is the dishonesty of it. I think it's probably true that the new approach will be safer for Metro track workers, which is great. I'm less sure it will "fix" Metro sooner. But c'mon Metro, don't try to con me into thinking you're going to be safer, faster AND inconvenience me less. I'd respect you much more if you just told me the truth.

In the military, we have a saying that you can build something that's two out of the following three: fast, cheap or good.

Metro's plan reminds me of a famous quote in the movie Full Metal Jacket that's probably too lewd to print here.

But I will be watching you, Metro.

Other items:
Metro's hybrid buses flawed (Examiner)
Does Metro expansion make sense? (WaPo)
How Europe stifles driving (NYTimes)

Comments (66)

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+14 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 717 weeks ago

Dear Rob,

You've got the wrong mindset about weekends on the Metro. You look at it like, "OMG this train is never going to arrive!!"

When you should be thinking, "Ahhh thank you Metro for taking your time providing me with substandard service that I pay for on a daily basis."

Weekends are all about _relaxing_. You gotta take a few moments to _relax_ on the weekend, and riding Metro is perfect for just that.

Do you like standing around? Great! Metro gives you the opportunity to stand around for half an hour or more at any given station.

Don't like standing around? Great! Metro has installed benches at every station, so that you can sit your lumpy butt down on a nice concrete slab.

Don't like a straight line to your destination? Great! Metro shuts down entire stations so they can shuttle your butt to the next station. Shuttling is fun! It's like AN ADVENTURE!!

You need to get yourself in the right mindset, Rob.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Guest · 717 weeks ago

Unless metro privitizes the extension to let other companies run metro they will always cry "broke". The 6 figure salaries of the numerous bulging official's salaries and the 6 figure bus and train drivers is deminishing the funds for repair.

These drivers make paychecks that are "too damm high" and creating a hardship on any budget!

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anonymous · 717 weeks ago

I think this new system will be a disaster.

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Matt G · 717 weeks ago

To play devil's advocate, I can understand how closing three stations in a line is more "efficient" for metro than single tracking. I've seen single tracking delays build on each other to the point of utter silliness, and the resulting crowds that mob the affected stations corral the anger. I actually had a good experience with metro's bus bridges on weekends, since the ridership is lower. Once when OR/BL was closed from McPherson to Foggy Bottom, there were three buses waiting at the square for shuttle down I Street. The drivers were friendly, and the service was quick. It would probably be pandemonium if they closed a station like Rosslyn or Pentagon.

7 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Red Line Delay · 717 weeks ago

Ok, so I think this is why people tolerate station closings every once in a while. But every 2/3 weekends? And they've been single tracking between some stations for months on end over the weekends, so is there any guarantee that if they shut down those stations entirely for one weekend that all of the work would be finished?

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

That is a huge part of the problem right there. Eventually their maintenance schedule will require closing a busy station like those two.

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Sam · 717 weeks ago

When Metro did YL/BL service last year or so, they closed Arlington Cemetery through Pentagon City and L'Enfant Plaza through Pentagon City, which obviously resulted in Pentagon closing. I took the bus bridge on a weekend from Rosslyn to Crystal City and it was quick. I waited about 2 minutes for the bus and had no problem getting a seat.

I don't think it will cause as much of an issue as people say it will. London closes entire LINES at a time. This weekend, both the Circle Line and Victoria Line are completely closed. The Waterloo and City line is every Sunday normally. And five other lines have partial closures like the ones Metro is discussing. All that this coming weekend and we can't tolerate 2-3 stations closing?

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

That was quick for you? Even once on the bus the train would have been much faster. That is even not counting waiting for a train at the other end.

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Sam · 717 weeks ago

Oh, were you on the same bus as me? You should have said hello.

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

I doubt it but I would lay good odds mine took the same route between Crystal City and Rosslyn that your's did.

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Sam · 717 weeks ago

That's funny because I take the same route to the grocery store every trip and I don't believe two were ever the same conditions. Sometimes I hit lights in a different order, sometimes I get stuck behind a driver going slowly, sometimes there's an accident...

But yes, my trip on the Rosslyn-Crystal City bus was quick. And I'm not sure what you do for a living, but being on a weekend bus an extra 5 minutes or so isn't the end of the world to me. Yes, the train may have gotten there 5 minutes faster. The train averages about 45mph and makes 3 stops along the way. The bus hit Rt 110 at about 55mph and made no stops. I don't think the train would have been as fast as you think it would have, considering that even if a train was running during the track work, it would have had to slow to 10mph through the work zone.

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MLD · 717 weeks ago

People had positive things to say about the shuttle bus service on Memorial Day weekend. I think that was the event that pushed Metro to change how they are doing track work - if the shuttle bus service continues to be good (short wait) then it can work well for people. Not as well as full Metro service, but better than single-tracking 20+ minute waits.

Lesson #2 is, keep yourself informed of the closings each weekend, and learn to use MetroBus. There are plenty of times when the bus is a good alternative to Metro within DC.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

We already have 20+ minute waits. In areas that are not single tracking.

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MLD · 717 weeks ago

Yes, that is because single-tracking screws up the train times along the entire line.

The only time there are supposed to be scheduled 20 minute waits on weekends are after 9PM on parts of the metro where lines do not overlap and the red line between Silver Spring and Glenmont. Everything else is 15 minutes or less (6 minutes in the core during the middle of the day).
http://wmata.com/pdfs/rail/Weekends.pdf

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SoBa · 717 weeks ago

What are you smoking?

I can't speak for the other lines, but the Green Line runs 16 to 20 minutes between trains evenings and weekends.

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Red Line · 717 weeks ago

Not even close to the reality- I can't imagine that w/o single tracking that trains will come every 6 minutes during the middle of the day on weekends??? When they're single tracking on the red like trains leave each end every 24 minutes.

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Soylent Green Line · 717 weeks ago

Rob:

WMATA exists to ferry federal employees into and out of the city during rush hour on weekdays. That’s it. Weekend service is a joke precisely because WMATA can barely perform its core function without needing to shut everything down to make repairs (that, as you pointed out, is a result of decades of mismanagement). Whenever there is tension between commuter service and anything else, commuter service will win every time.

WMATA (especially the rail service) exists to get people (read: federal employees and contractors) to their jobs and back on weekdays – it’s a sad fact of life.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Would you please clarify exactly what "core function" is METRO s .

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Sam · 717 weeks ago

He did. Reading comprehension is good.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

speak for yourself, "clarify" .

Maybe you should give it a try

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Sam B · 717 weeks ago

The first sentence started with "WMATA exists to...". Did you skip that sentence? The only way it would have been clearer was if he said "WMATA's core function is...".

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Justme · 717 weeks ago

I was told they need to do this because there is so little time between closing and opening. By the time they get set up to work they only have a few hours before they have to clean up. People want extended hours at night so this is the result.

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John · 717 weeks ago

A little off topic, but why the hell are Yellow Line trains spaced 8 minutes apart during the height of morning rush hour? This has been going on for weeks now!

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Sam · 717 weeks ago

I noticed that too. It seems something is different. I transfer Blue to Yellow at Pentagon and for the past few months, I've been waiting 9+ minutes (12 last Thursday) for the next Yellow line train at 8:30 in the morning. And it's not like the trains are running blue, blue, yellow. It's blue, wait 10 minutes, yellow, wait 1 minute, blue...

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John · 717 weeks ago

Yeah and because of it these trains are jam packed in the morning.... its pretty bad.

What is Metro's meme they always say, during Rush Hour trains are 3-4 minutes apart? What BS!

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

Saturday I had a quarterly Saturday board meeting in Virginia that I dread. Not the meeting, the metro getting to VA from DC on the weekend.

total time for the meeting: under 45 minutes

total time for the metro there and back: 3 hours

extra 'dead' time because I did not know what my transfers would be like: 30 minutes

I just KNOW the non-affected stations will still cry slowdowns because of work elsewhere. Then on top of that I get the bus aggravation.

Two more meetings this year and then my term expires. I am NOT running again solely because it will mean 2 more years of metro, and it will be even worse than it is now.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Thats probably a good Idea

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

METRO rail system was designed with an inbound and outbound track only. Not much thought went into "what if 30 years from now we will need to do track work". Not all systems have to single track.. If the designers werent already dead from old age you could e-mail them.
Mr Sarles is going to continue the repair process, making every effort to prevent death, like it or not.

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hrh king friday 13 · 717 weeks ago

That Full Metal Jacked quote is totally unfair. Of course Metro will give you a reach around while while they f*ck you in the a**. The catch is Metro will tell you your reach around will start in three minnutes but in reality it'll take another fourteen minnutes to begin. And... they'll be rude about it.

9 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Im not sure who was rude first, a lot of posts on this forum make me think the riders were rude first. There seems to be a lot of discomfort when Metro employees pay is the subject. Then the Comments like "my" money flushed down the toilet "I" pay taxes. Oh just yours, METRO employees don't pay taxes? A lot of them have opinions similar to yours. Sometimes individuals postings are so angry and without merit that it is difficult to share anything.. Who would want to share with a poorly informed angry person. Do you want to see improvement or just a place to say nasty things and get some attention.

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lmnop · 717 weeks ago

I agree that we all pay taxes towards Metro, but, employees do not pay to ride the rails. I pay more than $10 a day to commute to and from work in addition to my taxes -- unlike WMATA employees.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Im sorry for you that it is a financial burden

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Guest · 717 weeks ago

By the time WMATA most employees get to or leave a station, the trains have long since stopped running. Station Managers have to drive to each station to open them up.
On a given day, technicians and mechanics visit over 6 stations. Are you saying they should pay for all that travel on the train?

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hrh king friday 13 · 717 weeks ago

roadwest, I don't know if your post is in response to my post, but with regard to rude customers, I suspect the whole "escalators never working, trains crashing into each other, bus drivers texting while driving, running over pedestrials, booth people ignoring us, 'you believe in slavery' comments, adminstrative leave with pay policies, rewarding lazy employees, and fare hikes" stuff PROBABLY had something to do with it first.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

How could you not know my response was to you ? And now you are still all over the place. unsuck was afraid to post my reply to your hystronic rantings, perhaps a response that is cogent will help matters. I fear Unsuck is a gossip monger unwilling to post any suggestions that could actually be helpful... That is why unsuck is now considered as "JOKE"

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hrh king friday 13 · 717 weeks ago

I wasn't sure because you were randomly talking about tax dollars and my comment had nothing to do with that.

Also, "hystronic" is not a real word, and your sentence "perhaps a response that is cogent will help matters" is funnier than anything I've ever written. You don't happen to be Metro's official "sign writer" are you?

Metro Employie Demonstrabablate Exlemptitude!

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metroretired · 717 weeks ago

Thats helpful, show me how uninformed you are

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hrh king friday 13 · 717 weeks ago

Trainz Not Working Do Too Technicalism Difficultabilities.

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Guest · 717 weeks ago

It is very difficult to operate the machinery required for certain jobs with trains running on the opposite track. This lengthens the time required to finish and exposes the passengers to an unnecessary risk. You know who!

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@FixWMATA · 717 weeks ago

The work has to get done. Period.

People complain about the current "track-sharing" system and they've already started complaining about the new station-closing system.

If WMATA sees that people will complain either way can you blame them for doing what they have to do to get the job done the safest and quickest way?

I've been telling people - you need to adjust your attitude about WMATA on the weekends. Otherwise you're going to be frustrated and angry for 6 more years!

14 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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beema · 717 weeks ago

WMATA is the reason a car is still a necessity in the DC area. I feel bad for anyone who doesn't have one on the weekends. I think the point here is that if WMATA wasn't run like every other incompetent government agency, waiting until the last possible minute to fix things, and slapping on bandaids, then we wouldn't all currently be suffering. But it's too late for that now, and you're right, it HAS to get done. The only thing we can do is hope that in the future, they change their ways and don't continue to operate like the incompetent sons of bitches they are. Though I expect that to be as useful as wishing for a billion dollars and supermodels to show up on your doorstep for no reason. They will probably continue this behavior for ever and ever, and on top of that, charge us more for it.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Cars are necessary in a lot of cities in the US.. Getting in and out of Baltimore is horrible. I travel in and out of a lot of cities. My experience is that the transit system in a lot of cities is poorly functioning... Took me forever to get to Annapolis from Baltimore by public transportation... It is everywhere, What is with just METRO?

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lmnop · 717 weeks ago

"What is with just METRO?"

HUH???

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ohisee · 717 weeks ago

Because last time I checked Baltimore isn't acting as though they have a fabulous public transit system??

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Yes · 717 weeks ago

I think that if people didn't perceive that Metro is wasteful, costly, and inefficient, they'd be much more tolerant of these inconveniences.

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

There is a simple and pretty obvious way to solve the problem of people complaining. Do not give them a reason to complain in the first place.

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GDopplerXT · 717 weeks ago

That's all fine and good but that ship has sailed long ago. It will take time before all of the existing "reasons to complain" can be corrected, this is a simple fact.

Also, there are hundreds of thousands of "them" - chances of being able to make every single one of them happy is about zero.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

Oh yeah , that works, only for the people who have no life unless they have something to complain about. Some of the legitimate complaints are buried by nonsense, and melodrama. Imnop feels his taxes paid are more worthy than a METRO employee because they have a fringe benefits. Im sure Imnop is without fringe benefits. Thats realy Important stuff. Metro employees benefits.... don't need a good reason, any reason will do.

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lmnop · 717 weeks ago

First of all -- I am a chick. One who knows that it's spelled "really" not "realy."

And that the "i" in important following your "realy" should not be capitalized.

Perhaps you should get some retraining in your grammar & spelling at your local elementary school.

Second of all, your earlier point stated that people disregard WMATA employees paying taxes that go towards the system. I acknowledged that they do, but they do not pay the additional amount that the rest of us pay in fares. And rather than getting better service than WMATA employees, we get worse service. We are constantly delayed, robbed, and dealing with rude station managers.

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

METRO employees deal with enough to make them feel vindicated when being rude to anal rententive people like you. You somehow think correcting grammar is important .. as important as people dead from a train crash? Correcting grammar, thats all you have. Do you have anything with substance.

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lmnop · 717 weeks ago

Inside or outside the metro, no one should have to make someone feel worse to feel better.

When exactly did I compare correcting grammar to a train crash?? I believe that was you sir/ma'am.

I think you need to read posts before you say that comments lack substance.

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Red Line · 717 weeks ago

It starts with professionalism and attention to detail.

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Kara · 717 weeks ago

Fringe benefits. Hmmm .... I was given a mug with my company's logo on it, does that count?

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mr metro · 717 weeks ago

Probably got what your worth.

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VeggieTart · 717 weeks ago

This is why I use the bus. If I'm going to be waiting long periods of time, I may as well not do it in a poorly ventilated station and on possibly un-air-conditioned cars. At least traffic delays are something that truly is beyond metro's control.

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lmnop · 717 weeks ago

While I do agree that station closings will be an inconvenience, I hope that this will get work done quicker and safer in the long run.

BUT. . .

I always wondered why single tracking on the weekends led to such delays. Trains are spaced out by about 20 minutes anyways and getting from one station to the next takes a couple of minutes. Especially since the crowds are not like they are during rush hour.

When there are issues on a weekday it backs up trains since they run so frequently, but even then the delays are about 10 minutes right?

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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red line · 717 weeks ago

I agree- I don't know why there can't be more communication and better timing to limit the delays from single tracking. Two weekends ago the red line was a nightmare and the delay between Takoma and Forest Glen was like 45 minutes. I think single tracking/weekend service could be a lot more efficient if (1) Metro could get the signs (and the website/mobile web) to reflect the delays so customers are able to better plan their arrival to the station, (2) the trains are spaced/planned so as to minimize wait times to cross the single tracking area (so three trains don't come through as one train waits), and (3) the drivers for different lines communicate at transfer stops (ie, a red and orange train get to metro center at the same time, the drivers are aware of this, and hold at the station for an extra 3-4 minutes to give customers a chance to transfer instead of having them wait another 20 minutes for the next train).

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Rob · 717 weeks ago

I'm the OP.

Never thought I'd get such a varied response from this. Unsuck DC Metro is a great place to talk about Metro.

While I remain unconvinced by those who think the new way will be better, I really do hope they're right.

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randywdc 35p · 717 weeks ago

I can't help but feel for those trying to get to work on the weekends. Metro needs to remember Fed Govt is only about 27% of DC's workforce. What about those in the hospitality and service industry? Not all employers will/can schedule around Metro's short comings. Remember the ads of the 90's? For a less stressful commute, take Metro.

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James · 717 weeks ago

The only way closing stations and running buses to substitute for trains will work is if there are isolated bus lanes or signal priority. They'll have to contribute more than 1 bus to carry a whole trains worth of people too.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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roadwest · 717 weeks ago

It is going to be very difficult, a nightmare. The most effective way to repair the system is this way..... lets just get it done. It is so very involved..... I have not seen one question pertaining to the level of work, skills required, and unexpected costs to get this very old system repaired. The current leadership as well as the employees did not design the system yet the are taking the brunt of your anger. Is there an engineer among you,,, anyone to ask a single technical question ? Metro is a mechanical, technical , electronic system. With specalized parts...... you can't get parts for METRO at pep boys.

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n2deep · 717 weeks ago

the bus bridges i have seen in the past 6 months are a hell of a lot better than before. there are always sufficient buses waiting at the terminal stations. i have worked at most of these termination points and always look at the bus transfer situations. so the "one bus " comment is "bravo sierra" sir.

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dddddda · 717 weeks ago

I, for one, am willing to give Metro a chance on the maintenance work. Things seem to be getting done on schedule, and my weekday delays and service disruptions have been reduced somewhat, to only minor, occasional headaches. It's been over a year since I've been stuck on Metro for more than 10 minutes during weekday rush...which is HUGE as that used to happen all the time.

Now, I've still had slightly-more-than-occasional slight delays. These range from 5+ minute waits at rush hour in the downtown core to official delays of 5-10 minutes resulting in packed trains. These are still problems but I can only hope that stepped-up maintenance starts to solve them as it seems to have mostly solved the major delays of 20 minutes +. I'm willing to suffer through a few years of moderate-to-major weekend inconvenience to have a generally reliable system, but only if Metro does the work well, hustles to accomplish what they set out to do when they close stations/single track, and most importantly maintain the maintenance once it's complete.

I'm giving Metro a big chance, they better not screw it up.

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devaldragon 59p · 717 weeks ago

Maybe they should do it Chicago Style? They shut the entire Green Line for 2 years in the 1990s when it was completely rebuilt...

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Guest · 717 weeks ago

Seriously? Are there actually morons on here defending Metro? Oh the system is costly. Oh its tough doing what we do. blah blah blah.

Who cares. This system is bloated, over budget, asking for more money, increasing fares, provides lousy delayed pathetic (read that word: PATHETIC) service and generally is a pain in the ass to use.

What's convenient about it? Nothing
It's one of the most EXPENSIVE metro systems in the world. Yet we are complaining about nothing according to the paid Metro worker schills on this blog.

Give me a break.

Listen to this very closely: At nearly a 10 dollar round trip cost in the city, or even a 6 dollar round trip cost in the city: a 20 minute space in between trains is UNACCEPTABLE. PERIOD.

There is no argument to the contrary considering the taxes wasted and blown on this pathetic incompetent failure of a system.

Every single Metro worker and employee should be fired. Any other system that ran this badly would be disbanded immediately. If any of us worked as pitifully as most Metro workers do at our jobs we'd be fired immediately (nevermind accidentally killing people from our screwups).

UNACCEPTABLE.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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mr metro · 717 weeks ago

LOL thanks