Unsuck DC Metro: Waste of Money and Space?

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Waste of Money and Space?

From anonymous:

Does anyone in Metro management have a brain?

Have you seen those "Rush+" posters everywhere that have the new Metro map in the background?

Did it ever occur to any of the Einsteins at Metro that those posters could have also been used as actual, useful maps to explain Rush+?

Instead, Metro PR wizards plopped a HUGE Rush+ logo right in the middle of the map, rendering the whole thing mere clutter on the wall.

If anyone at Metro had been thinking, they could have shrunk the logo just a bit and put it in the lower right, making a perfectly useable map in addition to being a promotion of Rush+.

They seem to have gotten these asinine posters up everywhere and pretty quickly. I read it's going to take months to switch out all the official maps.

Way to go, Metro!

No one there thinks, and that both infuriates and scares me.

Comments (51)

Logging you in...

Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout

Logged in as

+15 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 672 weeks ago

Thanks for this. I'd never thought about it, but you make a really good point.

+17 Vote up Vote down

SammyDC · 672 weeks ago

Thanks for the post. Ditto the sentiment. The gates at MetroCenter are covered with round Rush+ stickers -- sometimes 2 or 3 stickers on the same gate. Cost a pretty penny to make those stickers and it just looks like graffiti from a grade school party. One nice large map with explanation near the kiosks or the farecard machines would be useful, but not the ugly, expensive overkill.

4 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+24 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 672 weeks ago

Hey I have an idea! Pull off any extra of these shiny, new Rush Plus stickers on the gates and use some to keep the doors on the 1000 series shut. LOL!

Oh wait, both are pointless. :-P

+4 Vote up Vote down

dezlboy · 672 weeks ago

Stickers? Bring back the shamrocks. How about hearts for Valentines Day?

+5 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 672 weeks ago

The Cherry Blossom stickers were so fun and festive and successful and popular with all riders that they are continuing the theme.

+1 Vote up Vote down

RGG · 672 weeks ago

Speaking of those stickers on the faregates: Am I the only one that thinks that, if you look at them from a distance, they look similar to the breast emblem on a KKK member's robe?
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/april/travel...

I'm surprised this hasn't drawn the attention of a certain Ms. Jeter.

+17 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 672 weeks ago

You expect Metro to think? You must believe in slavery!

+7 Vote up Vote down

reislingnrunning 1p · 672 weeks ago

Speaking of wastes of time -

I was at the NY Ave metro station last night around 10:45 and had to wait 25 minutes for a Shady Grove bound train. I get it - it's late - but 25 minutes between trains? Just a bit crazy if you ask me. And once a train did finally come, it was only 6 cars and was 3/4 full already!

Why does Metro continue to run 6 car trains? EVER? There is ZERO cost to adding 2 more cars and you add another 25% capacity to each train!

Dumb.

3 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

ObserverDC · 672 weeks ago

Metro lacks the electrical capacity to run all 8 car trains at rush hour. I do not know if the problem also affects normal service, but I really don't think it can.

-1 Vote up Vote down

Adam L · 672 weeks ago

Metro also doesn't reconfigure its cars too often. Running all 8 car trains during non-rush period means that those trains would get a lot more wear and would probably fail sooner. Best to leave them for rush hour until Metro has more cars.

+1 Vote up Vote down

n2deep · 672 weeks ago

it takes electricity to run 8 car trains. and the power grid cannot support all eight car trains. plus there is not enough cars to pull it off.

+2 Vote up Vote down

GreenLineRider · 672 weeks ago

To be fair, the metro plus is the extension of the yellow line and readjustment of the orange line. That is shown in the posters (ie: yellow and orange changes are darker colors)

2 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+17 Vote up Vote down

PRguy · 672 weeks ago

These posters could have been used to explain what will undoubtedly be a complete fustercluck.

The dashed lines mean nothing.

+3 Vote up Vote down

GreenLineRider · 672 weeks ago

The dashed lines are not a new concept, they refer to rush hour only service.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Arnaud · 672 weeks ago

I guess the firm in charge of printing the posters and stickers must belong to a close relative of one of the top executives at Metro...
Metro is not better than a Mafia!

1 reply · active 672 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

n2deep · 672 weeks ago

metro has their own print shop. not an outside job

+6 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 672 weeks ago

What they could have done with the money is not increased the fares of those traveling from blue/yellow line destinations south of Arlington Cemetery to Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom, and Farragut West in order to lessen the ire of those customers from Rush-Plus.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Designergrl · 672 weeks ago

First off, they're ugly.

Second, someone decided "clean" was better than informative.

Third, it's neither.

-35 Vote up Vote down

Getreal · 672 weeks ago

The person posting this, has got to be kidding! Is this what upsets you? Really? I see a divorce in your future & several marriages.

6 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+30 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 672 weeks ago

OP here. If you're fine with Metro flushing your money down the toilet on stupid signs like this, can you please pick up my annual tab for the upcoming fare hike?

Didn't think so.

-28 Vote up Vote down

Getreal · 672 weeks ago

You have the option of driving a car, one you own, one you lease, you can bike, walk, etc., be sure you notify your auto insurance to be honest with them on the amount you drive, if you decide to stop using Metro.

I don't like fare hikes either. But, it is not the posters that is the cause of the fare hikes.

+21 Vote up Vote down

noYOUgetreal · 672 weeks ago

No one said it's the posters causing the fare hikes. It's the idiotic DECISIONS that's making them lose money every year.

I see stupidity in your future & several dumbness.

-13 Vote up Vote down

Getreal · 672 weeks ago

I have no plans taking after you!

+2 Vote up Vote down

anon · 672 weeks ago

Please don't breed.

+4 Vote up Vote down

DCRider · 672 weeks ago

Everyone's tax dollars get poured into metro whether they ride it or not. So regardless of whether or not an individual uses metro, they're paying for it anyway.

+8 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 672 weeks ago

Poor tourons! And we thought they were confused before.

3 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Phan · 672 weeks ago

I'm not a touron and I'm confused. I live in Rosslyn. I have no idea how I'm getting to work once this starts.

+3 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 672 weeks ago

My apologies. I’m not a touron either, but I don’t have the luxury to figure out when Rush +/- happens. I need to get to and from work as quickly as possible. Since this is Metro we’re talking about, I don’t have the luxury of waiting for trains to come and go whenever the feel like it. Unfortunately, I have to suck it up and pay whatever fees they bury me with. For those of you who are able to avoid Rush +/-, I hope you are able to. At least someone will be able to save a few cents from being given to Metro.

-1 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 672 weeks ago

No offense, but what? Leave for work 10 minutes earlier? How does this change "how" you're going to get to work?

+2 Vote up Vote down

Drew · 672 weeks ago

I don't see the problem with these posters. The big circle keeps the tourists from thinking it's the current map, while it still shows the bits that are changing for people who care. Whether the new map actually explains rush+ usefully is another matter...

+1 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 672 weeks ago

The whole problem with this is they are making such a big deal out of something that is relatively minor.

For almost all customers, the optimal "strategy" has not changed. It's just that the train you are on will either be slower, faster, or you might not have to get off your train to transfer.

Rush Plus is basically just a substitute for a new "Brown Line" that the RAC suggested back in 2008: http://wmata.com/about/rac/racdocs/docs/Blue%20Li...

0 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 672 weeks ago

Brown line proposed in 2008: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/1290/met...

0 Vote up Vote down

dubious · 672 weeks ago

What's Vegas line that Rush+ will be a total disaster?

1 reply · active 672 weeks ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 672 weeks ago

It will be hard to get a good handle on that since first you have to separate the Rush Plus disaster from the General Metro Disaster.
(Though I am sure Metro will hire a consultant to look into it. )

+8 Vote up Vote down

Red Liner · 672 weeks ago

Quite bold of Metro to claim they're reinventing rush hour when they're not doing ANYTHING to improve the Red Line.

1 reply · active 672 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 672 weeks ago

Since the red line doesn't share tracks with any of the other four lines, there isn't really much they can do other than their perpetual track maintenance and tie/switch replacement.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 672 weeks ago

Every time I see them, I think it an announcement that the Canadian rock band, plus a special guest have an upcoming local convert.

4 replies · active 672 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 672 weeks ago

Concert, not "convert."

-2 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 672 weeks ago

Which might be the only thing WORSE than whatever it is that Metro is presenting.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 672 weeks ago

This RUSH fan disagrees with you. Bruce Springsteen would be much worse. So would Justin Bieber.

+6 Vote up Vote down

jkuchen · 672 weeks ago

No, it could be worse--they could have taken Paula Abdul's "Rush, Rush" and made it into "Rush, Plus"--just think of the possibilities!

Rush, Plus
Hurry hurry Blue Line come to me
Rush, Plus
I wanna make it...wanna go to the Armory

I'll stop here before I get even sicker....

+5 Vote up Vote down

DuhWeMakedUhPoster · 672 weeks ago

The rush+ stickers are a daily reminder of the fresh hell that's brewing.
Historically, WMATA's logistics problems have proven fatal. What happens when you throw in a few new variables to an already fustered cluck? Ugly fustered clucklings.

Why can't WMATA hire some decent graphic designers? If this is what you're getting out of your current designers, fire them! (Or this may be HiPPO syndrome, which actually makes more sense than it being the designers' fault)
DC has an abundance of graphic design firms—and some good ones, at that.
But, really, what do you expect?

+6 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 672 weeks ago

I really have to disagree with this. It pains me because I hate the way WMATA does business but we all know if they didn't put these posters out, people would complain that WMATA never told the public about the changes. It's a lose-lose situation. With the tourist season upon us, I think it makes sense that they chose posters versus maps because there would be quite a bit of confusion if it appeared as though the service changes were already implemented.

Putting the logo in the corner would help as much as putting a "no eating or drinking" icon on the bottom of the map: just because it's there doesn't mean people would see it. The logo in the middle makes it visible.

We all fault Metro for not keeping us in the loop. And when they do, we fault them for spending money to keep us in the loop. As much as I hate WMATA, I have to side with them on this one.

3 replies · active 672 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 672 weeks ago

Well, at least it's a break from the never ending barrage of information regarding track work! It's not to say that all of this information regarding track work isn't helpful; to me it's just seems like it's the ONLY information Metro is willing to share. Never mind the delays, the break downs, the malfunctions at least the ONLY information we will get is about track work! :-P

0 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 672 weeks ago

I agree with you there! Someone needs to do an informal study across a few hours to see how often PIDs actually display train information.

+2 Vote up Vote down

PutALogoOnTop,Done! · 672 weeks ago

While you're right that the ad should not be just the map, the point you're missing is that these -could- be productive rather than just an advertisement for rush+.
Just like the OP said: "Did it ever occur to any of the Einsteins at Metro that those posters could have also been used as actual, useful maps to explain Rush+?" (While I also disagree that just putting a rush+ logo in the corner would not be very effective, someone could have thought a bit longer on how to convey useful information to their (captive) audience.)

Putting a huge rush+ logo in the middle of the rush+ map is just plain lazy and wasteful. Wasteful because it's redundant (the stickers convey as much info as this does) and it's taking up space for revenue, and lazy because whoever "designed" this just plopped a logo bubble on top of the new map.
This is the fault of the graphic designer (or a "graphic designer"). Considering WMATA's paying the graphic designer, it's WMATA's fault.

+1 Vote up Vote down

nel344 · 672 weeks ago

Doesnt thisjust mean that if there are snafus on the orange, blue, yellow or green lines, that everyone on those lines is screwed?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Neenya · 672 weeks ago

I've been super excited about moving out of DC on 6/4 so I never have to deal with this inevitable clusterfuck. And then I remembered my federal tax dollars are still paying for it. So that's a bit of a downer.

1 reply · active 672 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 672 weeks ago

Well, I've been super excited about my commute from Springfield to Chinatown being improved without a 13-15 minute headway to transfer to yellow. So that's a bit of an upper.

+1 Vote up Vote down

SammyDC · 672 weeks ago

I commented yesterday on the ubiquitous Rush+ stickers on the faregates at MetroCenter (some gates had 2 or 3 stickers on them). This morning I noticed a lot of the stickers had been removed. What I hadn't noticed yesterday was that some of the extra stickers were covering the green arrow/red stop which indicates which way the gate is directing customers. I guess it's better today.