Unsuck DC Metro: Tell the Board No to Lower Standards

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Tell the Board No to Lower Standards

UPDATE: We won--for now.

Board item re: rail service criteria will be deferred until September to allow opportunity for further discussion and comment.
— @wmata (@wmata) July 24, 2012

On Thursday, the Metro board will likely vote to allow Metro to lower its standards in yet another way. Here's the language from the proposal:

RESOLVED, That the Board of Directors approves headway as a Metrorail service criterion, and sets thresholds such that normal schedule headways will not exceed 15 minutes during peak service, 20 minutes during off-peak service, and 25 minutes during late night service after 10:00PM; and be it further
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.
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RESOLVED, That responsibility for defining all other Metrorail service criteria and thresholds be delegated to the General Manager/CEO; and be it further

RESOLVED, That minor service changes may be implemented by the General Manager/CEO to achieve service criteria thresholds provided that the service change does not result in an increase in jurisdictional funding requirements beyond amounts provided for in the then currently adopted fiscal year budget; and be it finally

I've written about this scheme before, here and here.

One thing that really strikes me is that nowhere in the proposal does it mention track work, which was THE MAIN REASON Metro staff told the board's Customer Service and Operations Committee they were proposing these criteria in the first place.

That seems rather underhanded to me, but then again, this whole thing is very strange.

This proposal is unacceptable and, I think, represents a huge abdication of responsibility by the board that is supposed to oversee Metro, ostensibly for US! It's a power grab by Metro GM Richard Sarles, and I can't figure out what it does to improve Metro in any way.

I urge you to write the board members expressing your displeasure with this proposal.

Here are the email addresses I have. If you have others, please leave them as a comment or email me, and I'll add them to this list for easier copy and paste.

william.euille@alexandriava.gov, mhynes@arlingtonva.us, jdyke@mcguirewoods.com, mbowser@dccouncil.us, marcel.acosta@ncpc.gov, mortdowney@verizon.net, mbarnes@ciponline.org, ahampshire-cowan@howard.edu, info@nicholscreativedevelopment.com, boardofdirectors@wmata.com, catherine.hudgins@fairfaxcounty.gov, terry.bellamy@dc.gov

Missing: Tom Downs, Tom Bulger, Anthony Giancola and Kathy Porter

Here's some suggested language for your email to the board.

Dear sir or madam,

I'm a regular Metro rider, and I'm fed up with Metro's increasing price and decreasing service.

I feel the proposed "rail service criteria" serve no purpose other than to excuse future poor performance and you, as a board member, need to stand up for the riders in your capacity as a member of Metro's governing body.

These extreme proposed headways are unacceptable. A mass transit that allows headways like this will likely continue to lose riders.

Additionally, if these headways are allowed, the hardest hit will be those who have no alternative to Metro.

I want Metro to succeed. The region depends on it. Instead of allowing Metro to build in excuses for performance that should never be acceptable, you should be pressing Metro to raise the bar in every aspect of its service.

Please do the right thing for area riders and taxpayers by rejecting this proposal.

Sincerely,

Comments (21)

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+9 Vote up Vote down

@Hell_on_wheelz · 661 weeks ago

In my opinion the two most important parts of this resolution are:

"responsibility for defining ALL other Metrorail service criteria and thresholds be delegated to the General Manager/CEO"

AND

"provided that the service change does not result in an increase in jurisdictional funding requirements "

Overhead? Salaries for the people @ JGB? Sarles nearly $1000/day compensation?

Nothing in there about controlling costs, responsible management ... just don't send the jurisdictions any increases in funding requests and you can do what you want.

Essentially: the goat can tend the cabbage! Service be damned - as long as the politicians aren't on the hook to put more money on the table, Sarles will be free to do with transit what he pleases.

And so far what Sarles pleases has been to institute demand management schemes that include sky-rocketing fares and plummeting service.

(cont)

+11 Vote up Vote down

@Hell_on_wheelz · 661 weeks ago

People have asked me - why would Metro use demand management on bus and rail? LOOK AT WHAT IS WRITTEN - less buses and trains=less "jurisdictional funding requirements"

And EVERYONE is missing the 80 passengers/car minimum rush hour requirement included in this proposal.

THINK.

What in the world would Metro need a MINIMUM rush hour body-count for??
(HINT: more service cuts)

+5 Vote up Vote down

Average Customer · 661 weeks ago

Wait until a 7PM start for a Nationals game and the game gets out after 10PM and these criteria hit.

You think it's bad now? Just wait

1 reply · active 661 weeks ago

+13 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 661 weeks ago

Of course they will just blame any issues with games getting out late on the games themselves, not on them.

After all, games should let out during rush hour and not be on weekends, right? Deviation from that is a phenomenon.

+2 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 661 weeks ago

Is there a way to recall the board members who vote for the resolution?

+5 Vote up Vote down

AngryRider · 661 weeks ago

But if WMATA can't reach their standards, how will the board get their performance bonuses?

+4 Vote up Vote down

@NoPants_McGee · 661 weeks ago

Email sent. Thank you for bringing this to light!

+5 Vote up Vote down

FedUpGreenLineRider · 661 weeks ago

Thanks for all you do, Unsuck! Email sent.

+6 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 661 weeks ago

Board Members.

Should you vote to approve this decline in service you will be failing
to do your jobs by failing to represent the riding public against the
WMATA managers. 25 minute headways is abysmal service. The fact that
the Washington DC subway is not 24 hours is bad enough in itself, but
for WMATA to increase wait times between trains is unforgivable.

We the riders DEMAND LOWER headways between trains at all periods and
we want 24 hour service.

+4 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 661 weeks ago

Email sent. Here is what I said (I altered your example somewhat to individualize it), but I did send a mass email:

While I mostly ride the Metrobus, I am an occasional user of Metrorail. Based on some of the decisions I see coming from the Metro board and management, it is clear that many of the people who make decisions about Metro are neither. This is a problem. Many transit users, including me, are fed up with increasing fares and decreasing service.

I feel the proposed "rail service criteria" with extreme proposed headways serve only to excuse future poor performance. That is unacceptable. A mass transit that allows headways like this will likely continue to lose riders. In fact, I read every day of people who have abandoned Metro and chosen to drive because the service has degraded so much.

The proposed headways and decreases in service also hurt those who have no alternative to Metro.

Metro has been called America’s Subway, but in the past few years, the system has become a shadow of what it once was. The region depends on a successful transit system. However, to be successful, the board and management should find ways to improve every aspect of service rather than building in excuses for poor performance and unacceptable delays.

I urge you to do the right thing for area riders and taxpayers and reject this proposal.

+3 Vote up Vote down

horseydeucey · 661 weeks ago

2 replies · active 661 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 661 weeks ago

One of my all-time favorite movies!

Thanks!

+2 Vote up Vote down

horseydeucey · 661 weeks ago

It's great, isn't it?
It also features a cameo of what I like to think is our very own, local "Bunny Man."

+4 Vote up Vote down

geust · 661 weeks ago

Any board member that votes for this will find themselves labeled as the board member who voted for service cuts, because this whole thing sets the table for service cuts.

+2 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 661 weeks ago

Stan-derds…..? Stan-derds….? Stan-derds? Oh, standards! Uh, nope! Not in the WMATA manual; therefore we don’t have any. We just make them up like we do everything else!

+2 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 661 weeks ago

I always read about service cuts and really long headways being blamed on money. I have always wondered how much money it actually costs to run a train through the system. It seems to me that instead of running every 3 trains an hour for 20 minute headways they should run 6 and just have them come every 10 minutes at night and on the weekends so that everyone is happier with the service.

The reason I have always thought this is because the fixed cost of having the metro system must be MUCH greater than the cost to actually run a train through the system, even when considering all the lines at all hours of the day.

Also, does anybody understand why it takes so long to provide single track service when normal service is already building in huge headways?

Sorry for the rant, but maybe someone who has some understanding of the system can explain.

BTW I personally think Metro rush hour service works fairly well unless something breaks when considering the system design constraints they have.