Unsuck DC Metro: The Yin and Yang of Metro

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Yin and Yang of Metro

I heard this sentiment from several readers.

From G.:

Contrary to your last poster, I thought Metro did a pretty good job with Sandy. I think it was a good idea to stay open until closing on Sunday, for example.

Also, the alerts they sent out were good, except for a few I got about 10 times in a row. Thank god I have unlimited texting.

Since I have no car, I was also very happy to see Metro open up yesterday at 2. It's got to be hard to stop and start a system like that.

I was pretty pleased with Metro until I read MTA in New York was waiving all fares yesterday.

Contrast that to this line on the Metro website: "Please note: All regular weekday fare policies will apply, as will weekday parking rates."*

Ugh. Really? Not even weekend fares for weekend service?

Yeah, DC didn't get hit quite as much, but I think Metro could have at least made a gesture to the few people who were going out to ride today and waived fares. What a PR win that would have been.

I mean it's kind of like saying 'hey we're in this with you. Come enjoy a free ride as we get life in DC back to normal.'

Another missed chance for Metro.

I guess you have to take the good with the bad, but for me, this washes all the good away.

*Some reported being charged full, rush hour fares because Metro had not reset the computers. (Confirmed here)

Comments (26)

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+13 Vote up Vote down

BrianKal · 647 weeks ago

We had to make up the fares lost Monday somehow to support my over $600 daily salary. And my driver to avoid riding with all you scum. -Sarles via Stessel

+4 Vote up Vote down

anon · 647 weeks ago

What a bunch of crooks.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 647 weeks ago

I am sure the statement(s) from metro about recovering from the storm will be comedy gold compared to the pictures we are seeing from the NY system. Which will probably be fully up and running while metro is still using Sandy as a catch-all excuse.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Dan Stessel · 647 weeks ago

The important thing is that Metro got you where you're going.

You're welcome.

+11 Vote up Vote down

Paul Zummo · 647 weeks ago

Last day using this wretched service. What a glorious day.

+3 Vote up Vote down

scofi · 647 weeks ago

MTA is waving fares (for buses). dont expect their system to be open for a few days. and other sections to be closed alot longer

2 replies · active 647 weeks ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 647 weeks ago

After what we have seen of their stations I would call having any of it up in a few days to be great work!

+5 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 647 weeks ago

Especially when you consider that if Metro flooded, it would be months before they got back up to speed.

+17 Vote up Vote down

Neenya · 647 weeks ago

To be fair, the New York City subway system isn't working. At all. It's just buses - the fair is waived, but they have to handle everything the subway normally would and it's a complete disaster (That said, I think MTA is handling this very very well). I walked the 50 blocks to work this morning just because I didn't want to deal with it.

Charging rush hour fares while offering Sunday service is completely unacceptable, but I don't see anything wrong with charging fares today. Just thank every deity you can think of that Metro didn't flood like NYC - if it takes a year to build a set of stairs, I can't imagine how long it would take to drain a tunnel, fix any damage, and restore switches and other electrical things.

1 reply · active 647 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 647 weeks ago

What do you mean 'fix'? They would probably just do something like abandon the affected areas and board them up. Well, maybe not permanently, in a decade or so we would have limited service. The raw sewage would never be cleaned but people would say it smelled better than the other stations.

+15 Vote up Vote down

Ny'er · 647 weeks ago

To be fair, the NY Subway is better than Metro even when it's not running. ;)

+10 Vote up Vote down

seriously? · 647 weeks ago

sorry, I can't side with the poster on this one. There are so many things to complain about WMATA, but to sit here and complain because MTA has waived fees in NYC and you had to pay full cost is ridiculous. Really, complaining about an extra $2 when so many other people are dealing with far worse issues because of this storm. Individuals have lost power, property, and family members and you want to complain because WMATA ran weekend service a day and a half after the storm and you paid weekday prices. It's just pathetic and makes you sound like a spoiled brat.

You should gain some perspective. NYC is facing some of the worst damages it has seen in years. You paid full fare price for public transit. Boo hoo.

2 replies · active 647 weeks ago

-5 Vote up Vote down

really? · 647 weeks ago

You don't believe in paying for what you get?

I've got a Smartrip with $20 on it. You can have if for $30.

Message me here.

+6 Vote up Vote down

seriously? · 647 weeks ago

Of course I believe in paying for what you get. I also think that there's more effective and intelligent ways to raise the point that metro is overpriced, poorly managed, public relations defunct, etc. than to say: "NYC got their buses for free for a day while the city is facing a natural disaster, BUT I have to pay FULL price a day after the storm."

It just sounds like crying for the sake of crying and I think that we, as a community of some of the most highly educated individuals in the nation, can benefit by elevating the debate on this site. Bottom line, I just think it's a very bad take at the issue and won't advance the discsussion.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Kaye · 647 weeks ago

I think WMATA actually did a good job handling the hurricane. Honestly, they could have kept the system running on Monday morning, and I'm very glad they didn't- it meant that no Metro rider was stuck at work or trying to rush home early on Monday afternoon, and likely prevented a lot of hassle and possible injuries. Since cabs were charging a $15 surcharge, I don't think weekday fares (on a weekday) is terribly unreasonable. It'd be better if fares were reduced, but the explanation is palatable.

2 replies · active 647 weeks ago

-3 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 647 weeks ago

I could buy an argument if they did it on Monday. What is their excuse for yesterday afternoon? Was there a ghost of Sandy following her?

+3 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 647 weeks ago

For a lot of people it was still not safe to get to work yesterday. Or they were busy keeping their houses from falling apart. A lot of people have bosses that are pretty inflexible about not coming into work, so having the Metro closed makes it a lot easier to justify staying home for them.

Furthermore and more fundamentally, Metro presumably used yesterday to make sure all the tracks were clear of trees etc.

Finally, OPM shut the government yesterday, and a lot of Metro riders are government employees or contractor. Metro would have been running a lot of empty cars and thus bleeding a lot of money by running yesterday.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Kara · 647 weeks ago

NY is starting some of their service at 2 tomorrow ... no way metro can be that fast!

1 reply · active 647 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Neenya · 647 weeks ago

6am for the subways actually, 2pm for commuter rails. Trains are only running every 10 minutes (unlike WMATA, for MTA that is not rush hour service ;)) and my line's still out, but I am impressed nonetheless.

-4 Vote up Vote down

dcnative · 647 weeks ago

Maybe all the New Yorkers in the DC area should go back to New York and take their obnoxious attitudes with them.

1 reply · active 647 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Crabby · 647 weeks ago

... Because us Washingtonians like our public transportation crappy.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Lisa · 647 weeks ago

The problem is that this an all too typical example of Metro making customers pay for its own mistakes.

Can't adjust the fare structure for Sunday service? The correct solution is NOT making everyone pay peak fare, it is to let them ride FREE.

It's not passengers' fault that Metro's fare system is dysfunctional.

1 reply · active 647 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 647 weeks ago

I also find it hard to believe that there is not a button that they can just press to set everything to a holiday or weekend fare schedule.

Then again this IS Metro and that would be an EXTREMELY efficient way of handling things.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Elizabeth · 647 weeks ago

Wow...can't blame Metro on this one...they FINALLY put the safety of the riders first! You It is not right to complain that Metro disregards the safety of the riders, then bitch when they actually do something smart by erring on the side of caution. If this storm had landed a bit further south or the storm from the west had come a bit closer, it would have likely been the DC area devastated instead of NY/NJ- we wound up being spared, but that is not something you can count on in these situations. Charging regular prices? Give me a break- I was glad they reopened, really just as a test run to see how everything was working before the morning rush. It may have been nice for Metro to cut riders a break, but in all honesty, WE already got a break with the storm- it's ridiculous to berate Metro for this particular incident, complain about REAL Metro issues instead of being petty. Thoughts and hope to those impacted by Sandy and to all the first responders that have been and are dealing with it...

+5 Vote up Vote down

ttj · 647 weeks ago

All of you giving Metro the pass need to realize that there are a lot of people in the District highly impacted by a few bucks. Charging peak screws those people the most.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Spooky! · 647 weeks ago

Spooky!s a bit of mental reach, but the facts that there are people suffering from the result of a storm and that Metro overcharged for poor service are true yet separate facts.

It is shortsighted to say, for example, "eat your peas, there are people starving in China."
Whether we eat our peas or are thankful that Metro was running at all, there will still be people starving in China (and even here in the US!) and charging rush fare for weekend service is unfair.
There are countless examples of the above; some complaint will always seem petty compared to another. No one's complaining that Sandy didn't hit hard enough to paralyze Metro--the issue is that people were treated unfairly by an entity that routinely neglects its patrons.