Unsuck DC Metro: "Substantial Improvement"

Thursday, June 16, 2011

"Substantial Improvement"

Maryland senator Barbara Mikulski has been characterized as one of Metro's toughest critics, but she may be changing her tune.

Yesterday, during a meeting of local Democratic leaders and Metro officials to discuss safety, she said Metro has made "substantial improvement."

She added that a culture of denial and cover up was "changing" and she now sees the will among Metro leadership to turn the system around.

She told the Post:

“There’s a will. Now we need to find a wallet, and we need to stay the course.”

Not sure if Mikulski is a regular Metro rider, but here's your chance to weigh in. What do you think about Metro's progress over the past months, which are highlighted here in GM Sarles' prepared remarks for the meeting.

Has Metro gotten better? Worse? Has the free-fall been slowed? What do you think?

Other items:
Operator closes doors, separates mother and child (Examiner)

Comments (93)

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+9 Vote up Vote down

anon · 719 weeks ago

Is she privy to some information the public is not? I'd bet big money she doesn't ride Metro, and by the looks of her quote to the Post, this is all political gaming to try to get yet more money.

I'd bet every penny I have that Barb doesn't take Metro.

Sarles is no fool. He better line up a lot of pols giving the budget environment that's coming down the road (rail).

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Mikulski is in someones pocket and her office is behind her. I had specific safety information for her regarding an accident. Her office staff said that they do not take information, refused to take any information, had no idea who would want safety information. That is what I call a brick wall.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

"Mikulski is in someones pocket and her office is behind her"

That would be the union's pocket. Like most democrats, she's pro-union because the unions fund their campaigns.

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Bet · 719 weeks ago

Your right! Unions only get back people who were fired or did not get their pay! Other grievances get trashed.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Kind of not enjoying the blanket generalizations of political parties.

I mean, I could suggest that David Vitter like most Republicans is a hypocritical piece of shit, but that probably won't have much bearing on the state of the metro.

Thanks for your input you uneducated peasant.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Barb has been fed "Bullshit". Barb metro is still covering up and employees are still bieng retailiated against for reporting safety issues.
Managers are still drinking on the job and friends and family are still being promoted. Qualified applicants are not being promoted from within they are hiring people who know nothing about metro rail operations. Scary? You till me barb!

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ADLER · 719 weeks ago

I think Metro has pulled out of a nosedive, but there's a LONG way to go before it begins to resemble a decent mass transit system.

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· 719 weeks ago

poor sarles havin' to hit that.

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Corresponding Toads · 719 weeks ago

Is it a coincidence that Mikulski looks like a puppet in that photo?

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

I thought she was the psychic lady from Poltergeist.

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Adam · 719 weeks ago

it is because she stands on a box when she gives speeches

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

There's been rumors for decades that she's into box.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

"And we welcome you to Munchkin Land..."

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

I guess the two things that drive me a little batty on Metro right now are 1) that it's now been nearly two years since the accident that caused Metro to require all trains to stop at the far end of every platform and management still cannot figure out how to paint a line somewhere else on the platform and have drivers stop at the line instead of at the far end (does that sound like quantum physics complicated to you?) and 2) that one of the escalators smack dab in the middle of Metro Center (!!!) is not just out of service for three months (the estimated finish date September 2011) but management can't even figure out to construct wooden stairs over the escalator for the duration to mitigated the crush of commuters and tourists in the busiest station in the system. Both of those situations just scream out the complete lack of awareness on the part of Metro management that they do, in fact, operate a public utility, the fundamental purpose of which is to serve the public. It's just stunning incompetence.

19 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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MLD · 719 weeks ago

I know people like to complain on this site, but wooden stairs?! Seriously?

1. Wooden stairs wouldn't begin to meet any kind of safety requirements Metro has to conform to.

2. How are they supposed to fix the escalator if there's a set of stairs covering it up?

The escalator issues are a pain but complaining because Metro hasn't implemented your ridiculous "solution" is stupid.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

Well, MLD, perhaps wooden stairs wouldn't meet some type of requirement - I hadn't thought that through. Tut the thing about the escalator that's so maddening is that no one is working on it at all - the stairs have been removed and there's just a big, blocked-off empty space. From previous experience, I conclude (perhaps unfairly) that the space will simply sit there empty until the parts come in, and the parts will come in some time in September. That's how I've seen the process work before in other stops. It doesn't seem very complicated to put in a set of stairs, wooden or otherwise, for the three-month duration, thus avoiding a ridiculous crush in the busiest station on the system.

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mike · 719 weeks ago

You make a fundamental flaw in your argument i.e. that Metro and its workers give a dam*. It seems like everyone at Metro (including all those buffoons on the Board) goes from being a sheep before being hired to a wolf afterwards. Just pay your fare and shut your mouth.... You are here to serve us.....
Wish it were different but don't count on it.:-(

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Matt G · 719 weeks ago

It's amazing how many people think that the reason trains are pulling to the end of the platform is somehow related to the Jun 2009 crash.

1) End of platform nonsense is because the operators kept stopping 8 car trains at the 6 car line and opened doors in tunnels.

2) Trains are operating in manual mode because of the accident. That has not changed.

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lmnop · 719 weeks ago

I'm confused. Aren't the trains running in manual mode because of the accident which happened in "automatic" mode? Therefore, the operators not pulling in appropriately is related to the accident.

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n2deep · 719 weeks ago

the trains are running in manual mode because of the accident. however the doors have been operated manually for a while longer than that. it originally started manual doors because a few trains opened automatically off the platform. when metro figured out that they could not pin it on the operators, that it was a REAL door problem then they instituted manual door ops. and everyone is afraid to be the one to reinstate automatic doors. i think that since running eight car trains they cannot assure that every 8 car train will make correct 8 car stops in automatic mode(ATO). they tested it for a while with mechanics and engineers riding in the cabs. i do not know what the final results were.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

There was over 50 incidents of train drivers opening the door short of the end of the platform. Kubicek did nothing! This is the guy that got promoted by sarles! Ha!

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jkuchen · 719 weeks ago

DCBob, you've got things crossed up on (1). There are signs along the platform that indicate where to stop if the operator is driving a 2-car, 4-car, 6-car, and 8-car train, so painting lines isn't needed. The problem is that the operators were forgetting how many cars they had on their train, so they would stop at the 6-car sign with an 8-car train, leaving the rear car still in the tunnel. This had nothing to do with the accident.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

I must say that's even more pathetic than I thought. We really go through the inconvenience because operators can't remember how many cars they have on a train? Can that possibly be correct?

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

What's the inconvenience?

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anon · 719 weeks ago

Uh, well, there are two. One is the inconvenience of their stopping while the last car is still in the the tunnel, and the is the inconvenience of 14 or 15 stops and starts to get the front car aligned perfectly with the end of the platform, because the dumb operator lacks the sense to know when to begin braking.

Are you new to Metro?

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

I know you were trying to be clever, but take a deep breath and consider that I might have been asking an honest question - I don't want to assume that I know exactly what DCBob meant by "inconvenience".

The first thing you mention doesn't happen anymore now that they pull up to the front of the platform. And I still don't know what DCBob was referring to.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

Well, it works like this. The access to platforms is usually pretty much in the middle of the platform. Therefore one would like to get on the train somewhere near the middle if possible, rather than walk down to the end of the platform. If the train is anything other than an 8-car train, and the train stops all the way at the end, half the cars are nowhere near the middle of the platform, and the back end of platform - often a good 100 feet or more - is unused. If the trains stopped in the middle of the platform, more of the cars would be more easily accessible from the center of the platform, where one usually reaches the platform. It's not the end of the world to walk down to the front of the platform to get in an uncrowded car, but it can be inconvenient, especially if one is moving quickly to catch a crowded train in the middle of rush hour, and even more especially when one is surrounded by tourists who naturally have no idea that the trains stop all the way at the front end of the platform.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

and finally, it just seems kind of oblivious on the part of Metro management to continue the practice when it's obvious that it causes some signficant degree of crowding in the cars near the middle of the platform, especially if the problem involves operators who can't be bothered to count to 8.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

So, just to illustrate the problem, here's my experience just this evening at Gallery Place: I run down from the Chinatown entrance just as the train is coming in. I run up to the last car of the train to find about 25 people waiting to board a completely packed car. by the time the last disoriented tourist gets off the train, there's only time for 5 or so people to board before the doors close, and roughly 20 passengers are left waiting 15 minutes for the next Red Line train because 1) most of the cars were at the other end of the platform, where there are almost no people waiting 2) tourists have no idea of the problem 3) the station was designed so that most boarders will be at the back end of the platform and 4) Metro can't figure out that lots of people use the Metro after rush hour on Thursday nights. Altogether, the experience reflects Metro's inability to think in terms of service. And all because, apparently, operators can't remember how many cars they have on a train. Pathetic.

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Sam · 719 weeks ago

"the inconvenience of 14 or 15 stops and starts to get the front car aligned perfectly with the end of the platform, because the dumb operator lacks the sense to know when to begin braking. "

Let's be realistic. At most, an operator stops/starts twice to get to the end of the platform. When has an operator ever needed 14 or 15 stops/starts?

Secondly, it has nothing to do with knowing when to start braking. The brakes on the console operate the brakes on all 6-8 cars. There isn't a single brake that stops the entire train. And not all 8 cars apply their brakes at the same moment due to the brake signal going through all 8 trains. There is sometimes a split second delay causing the train to jerk. It is not a "dumb operator" issue, it's a mechanical issue with applying brakes on a train.

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anon · 719 weeks ago

When? Most times I'm on the train, which is twice daily. I've counted the stops and starts.

For your second point, I'd like to know where you found that information, as it's the first I've heard of it.

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F'n JD · 719 weeks ago

8 car trains have to stop at the end of the platform idiot.

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VeggieTart · 719 weeks ago

Yeah, but Metro usually runs six-car trains. Why they can't have a note in the driver's cab saying whether s/he's operating a six-car or eight-car train is beyond me--no, it isn't. It's because it would MAKE FREAKING SENSE!!!

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$$$$$$$ · 719 weeks ago

"Find the wallet" Ya lost me there Mikulski. That's your solution to everything.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

No, "Raise taxes" (Dem mantra) is her solution.

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F'n JD · 719 weeks ago

When was the last time any of you saw Mikulski on Metro? She's a terrible Senator and I'd run against her if I wasn't a fed.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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lmnop · 719 weeks ago

Why can't a fed run against her?

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Kara · 719 weeks ago

There are various rules at play about politics if you work for the federal government. For example, if you donate to a political party and are a federal employee you have to be more carefull to avoid conflicts of interest than people in the public sector.

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fed info · 719 weeks ago

Not true. Federal employees are free to donate to any candidate they want. They cannot display or canvass while at work for a particular politician. As for running against her, well that's a new job so you would have to quit your current job before doing that anyway, but you are correct that technically a fed can't run for office other than "non-partisan" offices such as school board. More information is here: http://www.osc.gov/documents/hatchact/ha_fed.pdf

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WTF · 719 weeks ago

Quit.

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anon · 719 weeks ago

I will admit that my overall ride experience has improved. I used to dread commuting, because I would inevitably wind up crammed so tight in a car that my face was in some lady's aerosolled hair. Now, I actually get a seat sometimes (!!!). Maybe it's just me, but I think they may have increased the number of Silver Spring-Grosvenor trains during the AM rush. This makes this Bethesda girl happy because the trains headed downtown are virtually empty. A long way to go (I still get carsick on Metro) but I think there has been improvement. I also have not seen a jam-packed platform in a while, indicating that they may be getting better about spacing trains.

OK, everyone can throw tomatoes at me now.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Daily Rider · 719 weeks ago

Speaking of improvements, the train arrival times seem to be better on the PIDs, at least on the Blue and Yellow.

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

Is it possible that the improvements you're seeing are due to fewer people riding Metro rather than better service? I want to agree with you (my Metrorail experiences recently have been very good) but there could be other factors at work here.

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BradK · 719 weeks ago

Re: Separated Parent and Child:

This happens often... I can understand the parent and the child both being hysterical... it is a very traumatizing situation... but I have to side with WMATA on this one. I think their only failure was that the train, in-fact, stopped. From a monday morning quarterback's perspective, it would have been better had he kept going, as it would have rectified the situation faster.

Again, I dont want to be the jackass here, but seriously there is no reason why hundreds of other passengers should be inconvienienced because a parent didn't hold their 5 year old child's hand while walking through Silver Spring Station.

There are warnings before the doors close on the metro trains, and in my opinion, the only reason a parent would be separated from their child is if they were either not paying attention, letting the kid run wild, or in such a hurry they couldn't possibly be bothered with something as mundane as safety.

Again, Sorry I am a Jackass, but from my perspective this is an article about poor parenting, not an article about how metro fails at doing their job.

7 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

You're not a jackass and you're right on about this. Sure it's a bit of a scare for the parent and child but it's easily resolved and it pisses me off that they put stuff like this in the news. WMATA is to blame for nothing here, we (passengers) shouldn't hold them responsible for our mistakes. In fact it sounds from the story like all the WMATA employees involved did exactly the right thing.

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HurricaneDC 76p · 719 weeks ago

Clearly someone who has never had a train where the operator decides to shut the doors while people are STILL GETTING ON (usually after having them open for only a brief period, enough to let people off). I could easily imagine a little child getting freaked out and pulling his hand back, thus getting stranded.

There's an easy solution to this though: stop employing neanderthals, or at least stop putting them in control of large vehicles carrying several hundred lives.

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BradK · 719 weeks ago

Not arguing that operators dont ever act like ass-hats... I am arguing that the doors have a warning before they close, and a parent with a 5 year old should at least attempt to be aware.

I am also arguing why this made the news (ok, not quite the news, the examiner) the article was picking on the driver for not backing up or opening the doors after at least one door was off the platform.

Metro fails all the time, i am not refuting that, I am simply saying that I feel the print space in any reporting venue, even if focused on WMATA, could have been spent on any number of a thousand other REAL issues.

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DCBob · 719 weeks ago

Still, it makes no sense at all for operators not to wait until everyone boards the train. They're never on time anyway. Why do they need to press on like maniacs at the one point when they are delivering access to the train? Again, it simply reflects a lack of concern for delivering the basic public service.

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anon · 719 weeks ago

Because they're under extreme pressure to keep moving, that's why.

But it's funny.. "the doors have a warning" - yeah, it's a warning that sounds about 1 second before the doors close. That's not really a useful warning.

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WTF · 719 weeks ago

Major Metro stations have a constant flow of passengers during rush hours. Given that, when would "everyone" be on the train?

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WTF · 719 weeks ago

Racism aside, maybe they close the doors because there is literally no end to the number of people who will try to get on the train. Stand on a major platform and watch, people will try to claw their ways onto the train until it has actually left. Poor things, they might have had to wait an extra 2 minutes.

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anon · 719 weeks ago

This was a "play date" photo op, nothing more. Let's hope some more difficult issues will be addressed on the 24th.

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John · 719 weeks ago

I bet our local resident Metro apologist kiss ass, Dr. Gridlock, agrees with her. I wonder who Metro has deeper in their pocket, Mikulski or Dr. Gridlock? Probably Gridlock, he kisses WMATA's ass on a daily basis.

7 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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anon · 719 weeks ago

So... are you saying he kisses their ass?

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John · 719 weeks ago

Gridlock is a massive metro apologist/kiss ass. There isn't much difference between his responses to metro problems and the canned statements given by people like Stessel....

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

I hear people say this (mostly on this blog) but I frankly don't understand it. Why do say that? I read his stuff often (as I do Unsuck) and frankly it seems pretty good. Sure, he doesn't call out WMATA like Unsuck does but that is not what his job is. Plus he covers all forms of transport in the region so it's not like he's even focused on WMATA any more than DDOT, VDOT, etc.

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John · 719 weeks ago

I'm just saying when he covers WMATA, he's kissing their asses. He pretty much gives the same canned statements/excuses that metro does.

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

I know what you're saying (you've said it several times now), but I still don't get why. So if Metro gives him a canned statement and he reports it in a story, you call that "kissing ass"? Sounds like plain vanilla journalism to me. Not very intriguing, but not ass-kissing either.

You want him do some hard hitting investigative pieces? Sure that would be great, but I don't think that's his job. How should he be reporting WMATA stories that would make him not an ass-kisser?

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john · 719 weeks ago

Check out some of his Q AND A sessions...

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Sally · 719 weeks ago

I did like Dr. Gridlock's artical on why white people are not hired at Metro. A white woman wanted to get hired and she wondered why she did not see any white women. They do apply. Perhaps you have to be black to be promoted or hired.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

So I'm hoping the red light signal that we blew through yesterday on the way to the Silver Spring station was just a mistake or was for the Amtrack/CSX trains/was something that I had imagined. Of course, had we actually STOPPED AT THE RED SIGNAL, we probably wouldn't have had to hold further down the tracks while we waited for the train that was already at the station to move on.

9 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Matt G · 719 weeks ago

Were you in the operator's cabin?

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GDopplerXT · 719 weeks ago

Do you have any basis for your points (e.g. you used to be a train driver) or did you just happen to see a red light as you were looking out the window?

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Looked out the window so I'm hoping I was wrong.

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Mainland · 719 weeks ago

The signals change from clear to red the moment the head of the lead car passes over the signal. If you're catching a glimpse of the signals as the train passes by, even if you're in the lead car, they'll appear as red.

If you sit in the lead car with a view out the front you should be able to get a good view of the signals as the train approaches.

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Matt G · 719 weeks ago

I was going to make the same point, @Mainland. Hence why I asked this ninny if they were in the operator's cabin.

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Sam · 719 weeks ago

Are you sure you weren't looking at the block signal for the tracks going in the other direction? Also, red signals do not mean "stop now" like they do in cars. They mean "stop in block you're entering", which may be several yards/miles long depending on the tracks. If there is a block that runs for a half mile, there can be a red signal at the start of the block warning the operator not to enter the next block, which is a half mile away. Only one train can be in a block at a time.

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n2deep · 719 weeks ago

you were wrong. the signal goes red after the train initially passes it.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Thanks for all of the explanations Matt G, GDopplerXT, Mainland, Sam, & n2deep. I was asking because I simply did not know.

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n2deep · 719 weeks ago

asking? by saying "the train blew past a red signal"? sounded more like a statement than a question

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varun · 719 weeks ago

It's gotten a lot better recently for me! Because now, just like Senator Mikulski, I have decided to drive - and I see the same benefits she portrays: there's a will, there's no wallet; i.e.: I would be willing to ride the Metro if it worked, but I'm putting my wallet where my mouth is and driving instead.

Amazing, M. Unsuck, amazing. The divorce from reality is making me reconsider staying on in my current job. Europe is looking tremendously appealing again...

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WRD · 719 weeks ago

Better, without a doubt.

It took years for things to get this bad and it will take years to get back to the starting point. But things are better now.

With pressure from politicians and riders, Metro will continue to improve.

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NapkinParachute · 719 weeks ago

The free-fall has been slowed.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Corresponding Toads · 719 weeks ago

For some reason I read your name as "NapkinPikachu" I AM SO INSANELY TIRED THIS MORNING

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Ever and Anon · 719 weeks ago

I am so disappointed in Sen. Mikulski. I've written to her about Metro and got back form letter email replies ever time... and rather late in replying too. Had hope she'd get something going but if is is already saying there is improvement then she is either in denial or having a trade-off for something or other. There has been NO improvement. It continues to erode. Would love to have her explain the improvements here on the Unsuck blog for all to see.

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Sam · 719 weeks ago

I'm going to try and be as completely fair and unbiased as possible. My comments are only limited to my commute on the train as I stopped riding the bus a year ago.
There are some aspects of my commute that have improved, there are some that have remained the same, and some have degraded.

The biggest improvement that I see is that some train operators are really, really trying to be better. I have seen many who are communicating more when there is a stopped train or when the train is holding at the station. Unfortunately, the real improvements that I've seen end there.

The executive management and station managers (with the exception of a few good ones) have continued going downhill, which is unfortunate because station managers are the first person that visitors encounter and it doesn't help their image when the station manager is an ass.

From an organizational level, they are still not being open with us. Yes, they Tweet. But it seems that every week, Unsuck uncovers something that Metro comes back and admits to knowing for weeks. People would be more forgiving and understanding if Metro was honest and open. Everyone makes mistakes; very few people are mad at WMATA because they make mistakes. People are made because WMATA tries to say that they don't make mistakes.

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guest · 719 weeks ago

yep, denial, coverup--definitely improving. [/sarcasm]

last night i was on the platform at metro center, listening to a young woman up on the mezzanine politely requesting a metro employee's name so she could file a complaint; the employee at least was equally polite when he refused to give it to her.

yup, lots of openness....

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Jim · 719 weeks ago

The largest most significant problem metro has is an unsustainable cost structure driven by overly generous health and pension benefits for the unionized workforce. This forces the organization to take shortcuts in service, not address safety issues, not have money available for service improvements, constant fare increases etc. This overwhelming problem has not been addressed at all.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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lmnop · 719 weeks ago

Agreed. Fare hikes are to pay people in this system instead of upgrading. They pay people for bad attitudes and unprofessionalism and for wrongful death claims.

What they should do is find people who want jobs (say one of the random homeless people on the side of the road asking for a job), pay them a little less, and spend some of our fare hikes on maintenance of the system.

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middle manager · 719 weeks ago

While I agree that a lot of Metro's blue collar workforce is overpaid, namely drivers and operators, they have a hard time attracting mechanics and other technically skilled people because their salaries don't compete.

Really, the problem at Metro is an immovable middle management resistant to change and not interested in hearing ideas or passing along information up the chain.

Sarles knows WAY less about Metro than he thinks he does. Same with Catoe, White, etc.

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Steve · 719 weeks ago

No do ubt a substantian improvement. The red line and greenline were having delays this morning, as my orange line train was offloaded at Rosslyn due to door problems...

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dcn8v · 719 weeks ago

I think I've seen an improvement in train operator announcements. It used to be that most train operators spoke quickly and often unintelligably. Now, it seems that the majority of trains I ride have operators who enunciate and speak clearly into the microphone.

Also, the addition of more parking to the Huntington station has been a boon. It used to be so crammed that if your train left after 6 in the morning, you couldn't get a spot. Now I never have trouble parking.

I've seen bus service degrade over the last two years on the 11Y though, to the point where I just quit riding it. There was a period of two weeks where the first bus headed North in the morning was just getting later, and later, and later, to the point where by the time it got to my stop it was crammed full of riders of what should have been the first AND second bus. There were times that the first bus just never showed up at all and I was left waiting for 20 minutes or more.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Kara · 719 weeks ago

Clearer, but even more wrong than before. Two examples on the red line:

Going towards Shady Grove: "Now leaving Cleveland Park. Next stop: Cleveland Park." (you do not even need to know DC geography to see the problem)

Going towards Glenmont: "Now leaving Tenleytown, Next stop: Cleveland Park." (I live at Van Ness so seriously wondered if I could get home)

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guest · 719 weeks ago

Related to Metro safety, though regarding a bus instead of a train, I was driving east on the Franconia Parkway several days ago and saw a Metrobus going west into the Franconia station. A large access panel located just below the bus driver's side window was open and flapping up and down in the breeze. I couldn't make out all the words on the panel but I did see a large word "safety" emblazoned on it. I wish I had had a camera to capture the ridiculously laughable irony of the moment as the bus sped by with this open panel flapping into the neighboring traffic lane.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

She probably got a nice care package ($$$) from ATU's PAC. Or since she's in office for a while ATU probably gave it to the DSCC or another campaign committee. Funny how that works. Chuckie Schumer would do the same thing over and over again to the banks and insurers, threaten tougher regulations and legislation, unless they contributed to his campaign or another Dem campaign committee. Then funny, the public talk about tough regulation would magically "go away"

Repubs are no better, but at least they're honest about who they're in the pay of.

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

When it comes to "substantial improvement" in Metro, I'm reminded of Monty Python's skit regarding "cannabalism" in the Royal Navy.

Vice Admiral Cunningham "May I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in the British Navy. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but all new ratings are warned that if they wake up in the morning and find tooth marks at all anywhere on their bodies, they're to tell me immediately so that I can immediately take every measure to hush the whole thing up."

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hrh king friday 13 · 719 weeks ago

I don't care if Metro is getting incrementally bettet, they lost my bussiness long ago. I'm never going back to those shit trains and I'm not thrilled with them getting any more of my tax dollars I wish there was a way to put WMATA funding up for voter referendum.

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fattie · 719 weeks ago

She could use some broken escalators. SHEESH

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Guest · 719 weeks ago

Typo in headline! You might want to fix that. It sort of undercuts your point.

1 reply · active 719 weeks ago

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unsuckdcmetro 92p · 719 weeks ago

And thanks! :)

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unsuckdcmetro 92p · 719 weeks ago

No point being made but D'OH!!!

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Santa · 719 weeks ago

She's one of my helpers.

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Jen · 719 weeks ago

I noticed that they seem to have made several stations a little brighter. As in they replaced burned out lights in and fixed the ceilings up a bit in Union Station and Metro center. But it doesn't make up for their complete inability to manage the foot traffic during the escalator repairs. Come on, put up a sign or something telling people which escalator to use!!!! Kinkos will do it for $10. Or how about monitoring the few remaining working escalators to make sure they are going to right way?