Thursday, September 29, 2011

U.S. Can't Do Transit


From Josh:
I was just in Europe where I rode the public transit systems in London, Brussels, Berlin, Prague, Paris and Barcelona.

No surprise, but they were all superior to Metro or any other American public transit system in almost every way. That's what happens when you have dedicated sources of funding and regular maintenance over the years.

What most struck me was in Brussels where they have motion sensor escalators. The escalators don't run until someone walks up to it and triggers the sensor. It saves a ton of energy and reduces wear and tear on the escalator because they aren't running the whole time the station is open.

Here is video I took in Brussels:



And here is video riding the escalator at the Swiss Cottage Underground station in London. What struck me about the European escalators is not only that they all work (I didn't see a single escalator out of service) but that they are fast, much faster than Metro.

Video of London Underground escalator:



I also visited Los Angeles this summer, and it might be comforting to know that Metro isn't the only American system with escalator problems. These were escalator repairs at 7th St./Metro Center in downtown L.A.
Been on subways in other cities? Leave a comment here.

Other items:
Board member skips station because of crime (WTOP)
Metro hires $15,000 leadership coach (WTOP)
Impasse over Board seat holds up transit funds (Examiner)

Comments (55)

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I've never been to London, but a quick observation: man - that escalator is well lit! It's almost like you're in a mall - not in the Underground.
2 replies · active 699 weeks ago
New York subways stations are well lit also. At least the ones that I have been to.
Dedicated funding but you did not talk about the employee salaries. Were they three figure with unlimited overtime, bonuses and megamanagment (3/4) managers in every office division?
We need to cut back on managers and cut back on overtime and hire more frontline employees with education who can be moved up the ranks as they do in other trans systems. Metro choose to hire from outside and promote friends and family vs educated, experienced workers.
The tube is far and away the best mass transit I've ever taken. It closes a little early, but the bus system is so good anyways that it's not much of a problem. I would say that NYC transit rivals just about anywhere in the world, though. It's certainly not the cleanest, but it can't be beat in terms of expansiveness and 24 hr service.
I got stuck on a hot car today on my way to Capitol South from Metro Center. IT'S 50 DEGREES OUT!!!!
You have to remember that the escalators here are worked on constantly as well. I don't think I've ever seen an escalator just sitting broken. I always see guys working on it. They're trying their best. Give them a break.
The escalator at Metro Center, on 12th, has been out of service since MAY. M-A-Y.
quit your god damn lying!

There are escalators sitting broken down ALL THE FREAKING TIME with nobody working on it. JUST STOP IT!!!!
But, but... David Lacosse said its counterproductive to have motion sensors in escalators... and he used to be WMATA's escalator Guru...

But, but... "anon" said that the WMATA escalator repair teams fix an escalator in 6 weeks... and that there is a working crew present at an out of service escalator at all times...

Screw all of that excuse making!

Americans, we should be fucking ashamed of ourselves that this is how our transit matches up to the rest of our world. ASHAMED!
Anony Mouse's avatar

Anony Mouse · 699 weeks ago

Notice how there's no date on the sign in front of the escalator repair in LA? Probably because it doesn't take them months and months to fix it!
Trainguy's avatar

Trainguy · 699 weeks ago

Josh,

Thanks for your post. I agree with you that US transit is pathetic compared to most of the developed world. Even India and China have better in the big cities.

But I disagree with you about the problem being money. Look at how much Metro wastes every day with their overpriced and underproductive workforce. Revamping the communications offices, leadership coaches, take home cars.

So there's waste.

Another thing that hampers Metro is there's no accountability. How is it that NO ONE lost their job after the red line crash? How is it that NO ONE last their job after the L'Enfant escalator cover up was revealed?

I'm all in favor of spending money on mass transit, but I don't want another dime of my money spent on Metro until they get their house in order.

PS. I work in a transit related field, and word on the street is that Sarles wasn't even the first choice for GM--he's the only one would they could get to take it--it's THAT bad.
10 replies · active 699 weeks ago
David Lacosse, the guy who was in charge of escalators, was witholding information regarding the safety of escalators, including the L'enfant one. Metro called it a "Communication Issue". Yeah, they actually did that. However, they did "discipline" David Lacosse, by putting him in charge of the Parts Department. Mainly dealing with escalator parts that are used when escalators are repaired/replaced. And guess what? That incompetent asshole has ran the Parts Department into the ground as well! A lot of parts are in such shitty shape that by the time they arrive on the scene of a repair they are deemed unusable.

Oh, and this guy pulls in 200K a year....

If that doesn't make you fucking enraged, I don't know what does.
Are you with Metro?
No, I got the recap on the parts department fiasco from the union meeting reports. The mechanics were saying most of the parts they would receive were complete crap.

Also, the poster n2deep has confirmed that the Parts department has gone to shit ever since Lacosse took over.
where can i get union meeting reports?
Sorry, not a union meeting, but that union "town hall" or whatever it was they had a while back...
I went to that, but could not stay for the whole thing. Perhaps that came up later.
KnowsAboutWMATA's avatar

KnowsAboutWMATA · 699 weeks ago

I'm surprised he wasn't fired. Considering anyone that isn't a front line supervisor can be "fired at will".
Metro can not handle money!!! I would like to offer Metro free advice. Don't hire your friends and family that are not qualified. Leave the perks out...such as company vehciles, Giant gift cards for being safe (hell that is part of job) Don't promote employees that screw up--especially making them second in command.
Why is it that planning and budgeting for systems at metro are forbidden. When you build and infrastructure you estimate repairs for the life of the project and overtime save the money for those repair estimates projected. I reviewed a project and the binder included the next 40 years - projected expenses and repairs needed.
It is never too late to start planning.
I think it when people resign they were giving them a break but the main guy over rail is still there and was promoted. Don't understand.
Ah yes... We're always trying to convince ourselves that we are so much better than Europe...heck, better than the rest of the world! And yet, somehow those freakin' Europeans seem to have figured out the secret behind running an efficient transit system: Competency and accountability at the highest level (= opposite of Richard Sarles & Co.). Sad, so sad.
3 replies · active 699 weeks ago
Exactly. As a matter of national pride, DC's public transportation system should be the best in the country. What does the state of WMATA say about us through the eyes of tourists from across the country and the rest of the world?
Amen to that!
It would be most interesting to see a WMATA vs. European transit comparison of rider fares, operating hours, management salaries, union involvement, etc.

We definitely don't seem to be getting our money's worth here...
I've ridden the escalators on the subway system in Moscow, and they were superb. Very fast, very clean, and all in perfect working order.
1 reply · active 699 weeks ago
Well, they have to be........who wants to end up in a Gulag camp??!!
Of course it's better in Europe. They actually, you know, allot money to commie pinko socialist librul things like "public transportation," because it's seen as a (gasp!) public good. Here, we have the good old-fashioned American selfishness come into play. Either it's "let's have all this stuff and you can have a tax cut too" or it's "I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for some transit system! I have a CAR!"
1 reply · active 699 weeks ago
Increased funding is needed, but increased ACCOUNTABILITY is also needed.

You notice that over there, the workers are competent and (GASP!) Polite?
hrh king friday 13's avatar

hrh king friday 13 · 699 weeks ago

That video should have the song "Pure Imagination" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory playing in the background whenever a DC resident watches it.
I've been on subwaus in London, Spain, Rome, Paris, San Franicsco, Moscow and Tokyo.

The London underground is really deep compared to others, especially the big stations. If the escalators didn't motor quickly it would take all day to get to the platform. Of the ones I mentioned, I was a commuter in S.F. for a decade and the train works great, if you are staying in the city. Sometimes the ends of the lines get short service as they turn trains around inside the city limits rather than go down to Pacifica or wherever. At least, after Rush Hour. Of the others, I found the Rome one to have problems like messed up fare card boxes, turnstiles, etc. These problems were fairly widespread in the areas touristy/business center areas I visit. Not the greatest system. Madrid's has a panhandling problem in places.
5 replies · active 699 weeks ago
This is a really good point. At first I thought that if we had our escalators running that fast, they'd break down even more rapidly than they already do - too much stress. But the UK ones have much farther to travel; maybe we could have the Wheaton escalators speed up.
Wheaton has the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere, second longest in the world, according to Wikipedia. Rosslyn is also right up there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro
VeteranRider's avatar

VeteranRider · 699 weeks ago

When Metro was new the escalators were much faster - it was a point of comment at the time. I believe they were intentionally slowed in the first year or two of service as a safety issue, but I have to look to see if I can find anything to back this up - newspaper archives etc. I was recently at Pentagon City and the escalator inside the entrance to the mall (the one on mall property, not Metro) is very fast, which always reminds me of how the metro ones were.
I agree witth the OP wholeheartedly. I had the opportunity to ride the subway in Barcelona last year. Without knowing a lick of Spanish, I was able to make it to my destination without any assistance. The ticket kiosk are touch screen and the home screen allows you to pick the appropriate language. The train platform has a PID that counts down (in minutes and seconds!) the arrival of the next train and wouldn't you know it, that train was exactly on time! The train car is well lit, has bench style seating, no carpeted floors and (gasp!) you can walk from one train car to the other via the accordian-like connections between trains. It was amazing! It definitely put WMATA to shame!
I was recently in Singapore and Tokyo and encountered a lot of the motion sensor escalators (also moving sidewalks in the airports). It was strange because at first, I thought they were out of service, but some part of me thought "Hmm... These systems get really high marks for reliability... I wonder if it's a motion sensor" and walked over to them. Sure enough, a few feet away, they started up. I was really impressed.

In terms of wear on the escalators, though, I have to wonder if all the stopping and starting is good for the escalators or not. Do they put the motion sensor escalators in high-volume areas, or only in areas where they're not frequently used? Would it be easier or harder for station managers to switch the direction if necessary? I think it's a great idea, but if anyone knows anything about escalators, I'd be interested in how it translates to Metro's high-volume stations.
I rode the trains in Japan for over 3 years, commuting every day. Ideas we can get from them:

1. Our ticket gates should open faster, with lighter barriers that don't hurt you if they delay opening, which they do. They are also slow. It's 30+ y.o. technology!

2. Put markers on the platform showing where the train doors will open. In Japan, people form a queue at these markers, so entry and exit from trains is more orderly.
1 reply · active 699 weeks ago
VeteranRider's avatar

VeteranRider · 699 weeks ago

I'd be happy if the fare gates would open as quickly as they did a year or so ago, before the new ridiculously complex fare structure slowed them down. (I've ridden Metro since it opened - I am so beaten down that the best I can hope for it that it not get any worse; I can no longer imagine hoping that it would actually get better.)
3. On the station signs above the platforms, add subtext (under the station name, e.g., "ROSSLYN") that shows which station is prior ("Court House -->") and which is next ("<--Foggy Bottom"). A simple change that will helps guide riders who are unfamiliar with the route.

4. NEVER announce to a packed crowd in the station "a train is right behind this one." If the next train is Blue and I want Orange, I don't care. We're not fools.

5. Improve the speaker system. Add more speakers. When a delay has happened, and trains are rushing into the station, I cannot understand anything that your announcer is saying, partly because of the lack of speakers/volume.
6. Put electronic signs above each train door that shows where the train is on each route. The printed maps on each car are fine, but you can't read them if someone is standing in front of it (which happens frequently).

7. Add see-through fiberglass barriers/walls at the edge of the platform with doors. When the train comes into the station, the train doors open as well as the barrier doors. This prevents people falling into the tracks and suicides.

I could go on...
my mood during my commute would increase ten fold if WMATA were to install one of these puppies in dupont circle: http://www.psfk.com/2011/08/adidas-installs-punch...
I was in Barcelona recently and I couldn't agree more. The Metro is not only a local disgrace, but national embarrassment. As MoreizMore mentioned, you don't have to know the language to navigate the system. If you DO need help, you get it from an employee who is cheerful and helpful, not a surly one that Metro is famous for.

Let's face it. We(USA) simply do not give public transportation, especially rail any love, hence the current condition. Yes..The European system is better. Facts are facts and it is what it is.
Metro escalators run at about .46m/sec, about half the speed of the avg escalator. I'm not a tech and don't have any idea for the rational of this practice, however, I will say it makes sense to prevent people from launching down a set for those times they suddenly brake to a stop. I've had this happen at least eight times on the DuPont South set.

I wish metro would remove those steel knobs you find between escalators so we could use the median as a slide.
1 reply · active 699 weeks ago
Those knobs were installed to prevent exactly THAT. A slide...
I have to say, the worst train-riding experience of my life was on an overcrowded Parisian metro car. We stopped for five minutes at every station and the odor was awful.
I went to London when I was 9. I remember the Tube was nice. I went to Paris when I was 15. My mom got pickpocketed on the Metro and we had to spend our second to last day in Paris at the US Consulate getting new passports. :/
I agree. Berlin also has the motion sensor'd escalators. I never encountered one broken escalator in London during the three months I lived there, but the station i lived at was elevators only, and when they both broke down it was a long hike up the stairs. very deep. But there was an alternate exit to leave from. I'd say all transportation systems have their positives and negatives. while london's was much more maintained, it was always sort of a hike to get the right platform-most were very complex and big stations. It wasn't likely that you would just go down and be right there like DC's. Another thing with Athens and Berlin was that they were 'honor system'. No gates..if you got caught without a ticket, you would get fined. It would never work here but it saved all the headache of waiting in line for ticket machines and faulty gates.
Great blog comments!
I rode the Tokyo Subway, and for comparison's sake the MTR in Hong Kong (Both opened in the late 70s and are still expanding).

The MTR had a very similar setup faregate wise the metro, though they opened faster but were also finicy. They also had no eating/drinking rules, but they used continuous consist train instead of multiple cars in the consist which was interesting. The platforms had similar choke points like Metro's. They did however have high speed escalators! Though a lot more stairs . . . but either way very similar to Metro just much better ran and easier to use!

Metro really needs signs showing you what is near what exit. Every series after the 4000 series should have had a fraking map telling you where the car is and the next station, its a shame the 7000 are the first.

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