Unsuck DC Metro: LOL

Eminem · 702 weeks ago

Slim Shady

DC denizen · 702 weeks ago

What was that weird cutaway in the middle (3:57)? What was cut out of the footage?

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Guest · 702 weeks ago

The reporter edged up to asking the tough questions then backed off for fear of the Stessel.

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anon · 702 weeks ago

dude looks haggard. bet he wishes he'd stayed in nj.

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Guest2 · 702 weeks ago

I'm still on the fence about whether he's not telling the truth or just loves to lie.

1 reply · active 702 weeks ago

Metrorider · 702 weeks ago

+1000000

beema · 702 weeks ago

Summary: We have no f'ing clue what is going on at any time and have no f'ing idea what to do when emergencies happen.

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Tod Engel · 702 weeks ago

I really don't see what else there was to do; better emergency management training or a decent protocol/procedure should be in place but all things considered I'm not holding my breath, I figure it's just something to expect by now.

What I'm surprised is that unsuck hasn't done any posting on is the story of the bus driver that confronted the masturbator in the back of the bus and got stabbed.

4 replies · active 702 weeks ago

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Suggest a post on that topic. Seems terrible, but pretty cut and dry. A criminal/lunatic rode a bus.

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Tod Engel · 702 weeks ago

True, pretty cut and dry...though with as any other news story there might be more to it as details get hashed out.

I only mention it because it seems whenever something of this sort (or even more mundane petty crime like vandalism) comes up, if metro police is not immediately available (like, always), many unsuck followers seem to like to turn to operating staff or even other patrons to confront them.

That being said, I think it's pretty relevant and given the history of twists about Metro-related crime and enforcement it would be interesting to find out more. Will suggest

Maybe you missed this:
http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2011/09/plaincl...

guest · 702 weeks ago

i don't understand why the driver didn't call transit and have them meet him at the next stop? as i recall, this incident unfolded over the course of several minutes and blocks, if not longer. just call the cops and let them take the perv off the bus.

Meredith · 702 weeks ago

Call it female intuition, but this guy seems really....I hate to say it....slimy.

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hoosteen 82p · 702 weeks ago

Question: what should Metro have done differently, and/or what would you have liked to hear from Stessel?

Points docked for answers like "THE TRUTH"

9 replies · active 701 weeks ago

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You'll see tomorrow what Metro could have done differently.

As for the chief spokesman, really?

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hoosteen 82p · 702 weeks ago

Yes really! This isn't a question of snark, I'm asking you and everyone else here what they would like to have heard. An apology? A 5 year plan to keep people from killing themselves? An announcement of unfundable investment in tunnel cooling infrastructure? I don't really understand what could have been said differently from a PR flack in his untenable position.

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See comments in previous post.

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And previous post as well.

Elizabeth · 702 weeks ago

I would have liked information! I had been checking the updates constantly on the way to Rosslyn and up until I got off the train, it said shuttles, by the time I got up to the turnstiles (after climbing all of those broken escalator steps- I understand... they did what they were supposed to do by shutting down) I got VERY rude responses about how the orange line was now single tracking to Vienna, no shuttle buses, and we had to go BACK DOWN all of those broken escalators to the platform- why couldn't they have had a sign at the escalators saying the trains were running again, the train operator certainly didn't say anything! None of the personnel WATCHING all of this chaos said anything! Then we had to wait on the train for 25 min, in a tunnel, before it got to Courthouse- with NO INFORMATION on when we would move- a 25 min commute turned into 2.5 hours- had I known that, I could have WALKED the 11 miles home faster....grrrrr...

mike · 702 weeks ago

I would have liked to have been told by the train operator before foggy bottom that all trains were offloading at Rosslyn. It would have given me a chance to get off at a different station. I wasn't told until we were almost at the Rosslyn station.

Mary · 702 weeks ago

I didn't watch the video, but if it wasn't mentioned, I would like for them to say they won't keep offloading trains on a platform that is already packed to the edge. That was ridiculous and unsafe. I'm surprised no one fell on the tracks at Rosslyn.

I normally don't ride Metro. I decided to take it that day thinking just that one time nothing would happen. I learned my lesson!

Glenn · 701 weeks ago

Exactly, it was totally unsafe situation at Rosslyn. I would be interested in the time line. Didn't the person jum shortly before 5? Surely that was plenty of time to figure out what to do and have enough personnel at Rosslyn by 6:15 when i was there to provide information and control the crowds. They also should have held the trains outside the station until it was safe enough to offload a train full of people there.

I understand the safety system in the escalators and that was a good thing in general. But when you have thousands of people in the station all trying to get out (on some of the longest escalators in the system) then obviously things will be backing up. I do wish some of those elderly folks and people with luggage had tried to take the elevator instead. There was a pretty big line there as well and it would have taken a little while to get out, but at least they wouldn't have gotten sick.

The bus bridge thing is just never going to be enough. I don't know what could be done with that. But if they could single track through Clarendon that would have been a better option than dumping thousands of people off at Rosslyn.

Peter · 702 weeks ago

@Hoosteen;

Metro should have had all the escalators running so that people would be able to go up and out of the metro. Once out of the metro, there are cabs available for people. The board should have said, "Accident occurred, please leave station" (I have shortened it due to the unknown character account available on the board)
Finally, the metro should have been timed that once 1/2 the board was cleared, the next train would arrive.

Is that enough?

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· 702 weeks ago

I would not let him date my son.

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Frustrated rider · 702 weeks ago

He seems to miss the point entirely. 800 to 900 people were arriving at Rosslyn every 4 minutes. How many were able to exit, and how long did it take? By my count, there are 150 steps on the escalator between the mezzanine and street level, Why were 800 to 900 people being offloaded into the Rosslyn station every four minutes while the escalators weren't functioning, leaving thousands of people to climb those steps?

As far as I'm concerned, Metro completely failed to calculate the platform capacity in the Rosslyn station, much less communicate with the crowd about how or when we would be able to exit the system.

It seems ludicrous to me that a Metro spokesman was focusing on "convenience" - As a commuter who came into Rosslyn on the lower level at about 5:45 - I wasn't concerned about convenience. for the 30 minutes it took me to move from the lower platform to the upper platform (where I took a blue line train to Foggy Bottom) I was focusing on getting out of the station without being crushed. That's not a matter of convenience - if there had been any kind of panic, it's matter of life and death.

1 reply · active 701 weeks ago

You Said It · 701 weeks ago

+1000000000

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none · 702 weeks ago

"Even more efficiently?"

Digging out of Rosslyn with a shovel would have been more efficient.

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body language · 702 weeks ago

Constantly looking left, constantly touching face= lying

1 reply · active 702 weeks ago

UnSuck Fan · 702 weeks ago

Paging Dr. Cal Lightman!! He does have a Twitter page so I know we could get in touch with him. ;-)

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UnSuck Fan · 702 weeks ago

I'm too tired to make a partially coherent thought, but here's only part of what I have to say:

Are you serious???

I don’t know what’s more important; addressing the overcrowding on the platforms and in the stations or addressing the attempted suicide. In either case, let me just say that either way, WMATA should have some freakin’ clue how to handle both by now as both have occurred on the Red Line. From these past experiences, SOMEONE should be able to glean SOME information SOMEHOW!!

Okay, so technically no one knows how to handle someone attempting to kill themselves by jumping in front of a train, but at least WMATA should have had experience with turning trains around, setting up shuttle buses, making loud, clear announcements, and either having enough staff on hand to give instructions or sending out more staff to help out at each station. (Of course it's just past midnight so I'm pretty sure I'm talking in my sleep as I make these suggestions and I'm dreaming that this is what WMATA would do if they had their stinkin' act together!!)

Oh the Incompetence · 702 weeks ago

When emergencies happen, Metro employees disappear. I, too, arrived @ Rosslyn about 5:40. Amazing to see all 4 escalators not working, stop-and-go foot traffic up the stairs, an elderly and slightly overweight woman ready to have a heart attack climbing the escalators. Employees should have been at bottom of each escalator: "We're sorry, but escalators automatically shut down due to the traffic. Please: slower passengers on to the right, faster passengers to the left as you go up the escalators." But, no.

Oh the Incompetence · 702 weeks ago

The Orange Line train dumps us off @ Rosslyn @ 5:40. There's not enough space on the platform to unload everyone, because no one is moving. Fine, but Dear Mr Train Conductor: Don't have the gall to yell at the passengers to get of the train when THEY CAN'T. Unbelievable. "Even more efficiently"? Put your head outside the train and LOOK at the crowds on the platform.

Oh the Incompetence · 702 weeks ago

Re: Suicides. There ARE subway stations (Moscow, Nagoya etc) that have glass/see-through walls with doors at the edge of the platforms. The doors open when the train's doors open. These prevent suicides. You CAN prevent these things.

5 replies · active 701 weeks ago

Sam · 702 weeks ago

I saw a documentary on the History Channel about the Singapore subway and one of the lines they've constructed (I want to say their Circle Line) had these. I thought they were one of the coolest things ever. Their trains are also unmanned and automatically go in and out of service based on ridership. And their stations are brightly lit! And the whole 29-station, line was built for USD 7B!

jkuchen · 702 weeks ago

I've been on Singapore's subway. Not all stations have the enclosed platforms with doors in them, but most of the newer ones do. It is a very, very nice system.

But remember that even in automatic mode, it would be next to impossible to get our system to stop the trains in such a way that they could line up with the doors every time.

Glenn · 701 weeks ago

why not? they pull all the way up to the end of the platform now. We know where the doors are going to be. But the problem would be that all trains are not the same length. And it would be one more thing to break down.

These systems are in place on lots of newer train systems. Copenhagen's subway has them. Bangkok's subway has them.

Sam · 701 weeks ago

How would it be next to impossible? I would agree that in manual mode, it might be next to impossible. But in automatic mode, the train SHOULD stop in exactly the same spot every time. That's part of the concept behind automation.

And how do dozens of international transit systems get it to work?

efroh · 701 weeks ago

I actually like that Metro trains are run in manual mode now since it's much easier to know where the doors are going to open. When they ran in automatic mode, the trains didn't seem to have a fixed stopping point and you could never reliably predict where the doors would open. Since manual mode means that all trains pull up to the very end of the platform every time they enter a station, it's very easy to know exactly where the doors will open.

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@Hell_on_wheelz · 702 weeks ago

If the escalators have some mysterious capacity limit why isn't it posted?
(Afterall, there is a capacity limit posted in elevators.)

mike · 702 weeks ago

On Tuesday morning I was late to work because my train got offloaded at Ballston. I got caught in the madness at Rosslyn on Tuesday evening. Last night, I came home at 7 and my trip was delayed by 40 minutes due to an issue at Rosslyn. I haven't seen my daughter since Monday. I am so frustrated with Metro right now and he gives bs answers in this interview. I want changes. I want accountability. I want to be able to get to and from work in a reasonable amount of time.

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hrh king friday 13 · 702 weeks ago

"After-action analysis".... aka Metro wiping the sh*t off thier dicks after f*cking the public's ass.

Guest · 702 weeks ago

Check out the guy's body language...looking around, touching his face...looking totally uncomfortable. Must be a sucky job to have to lie about WMATA's epic fails. No one's buying your crap, buddy, so shut the hell up!

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Guest · 702 weeks ago

In light of all the "Occupy" movements that are currently going on, I suggest "Occupy WMATA Headquarters." We're all fed up with their B.S. and we're concerned about our safety. But unfortunately most of us have to keep riding Metro every day, because we don't have any other choice. If they're not going to make changes voluntarily, maybe we, the people have to force them.

SoBa · 702 weeks ago

What a weasely, slimy, lying sack of shit. He's the perfect Metro spokesman.

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Steve · 702 weeks ago

Dearest Daniel, I wish the switch malfunction at Rosslyn caused me a 5-7 minute delay. Instead, it caused me a 40 minute delay. It took me 80 minutes to get from Vienna to McPherson, a trip that usually takes less than 40 minutes.

I must have been imagining the additional 40 minutes I spent on the train. Silly me.

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blsarn · 702 weeks ago

n2deep · 702 weeks ago

fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, fidget, fidget, scratch, scratch, fiddle, fiddle

1 reply · active 702 weeks ago

n2deep · 702 weeks ago

i bet there were a lot of people watching this interview from the top floors of the jackson graham building thanking god it wasn't them doing the interview!

SammyDC · 701 weeks ago

Did Stessel actually say that "those 8-car trains ... arrive every four minutes" ?? Just what Orange Line has HE been riding lately? Regular 8-car trains? Every four minutes during rush hour? I don't think so.