Metro May Run a Surplus?

This is the kind of thing that drives us crazy about WMATA. First, the idea of major cuts is floated. The thinking there must have been to make these bus cuts go down a little easier. Oh, and we can't forget that WMATA contemplated using stimulus money to cover the budget gap.
Now, the DC Examiner is reporting that Metro might run a $9 million SURPLUS due to increased ridership.
WMATA, we realize your situation is not enviable as the ugly stepchild of MD, DC and VA who can’t seem to get their acts straight either and like to jerk your chain, but cutting service and reporting a budget surplus doesn't jive in riders' minds, and it makes you look bad.
Perhaps a little better estimating on potential revenues might be a step in the right direction. For “Metro TV” the potential ad revenue was projected at “between "$16 to $178 million.” For the high tech projecting ads at Farragut West, between “$84,000 to $168,000.”

Public Hearings and the Chopping Block

We just came back from one of Metro's six public hearings to discuss the budget and service “adjustments.”
First off, we have to say that Metro did a FANTASTIC job with signage. There was no way you weren't going to find this meeting.
Ostensibly, the meetings—this one was chaired by Chris Zimmerman and attended by Metro GM John Catoe--are held so that the public can get on the record with their views and Metro can consider those views when making final decisions.
As this was our first time, we didn't know what size crowd to expect, but since Virginia has relatively been spared the rod by some of the bus cuts, perhaps there was little interest and 40 or so was about what to expect.
The tone at the hearing was very civil, almost somnolent, so we'd hardly call John Catoe a brave man, as others have, for facing the public.
After hearing several passionate pleas to save certain bus service, particularly the 10A, we were left wondering if bus routes are easy targets for the budgetary ax because buses generally serve a lower socioeconomic demographic, one that is less likely to be engaged, speak English or voice concerns over losing service.
On the other hand, we see a lot of near empty buses (and trains) around at night, and we've always wondered why bus stops are so close together. Seriously, there are places where you can see three or four stops down the road. That's ridic, but it probably wouldn't save much money to space them out.
We get back to a point we've made before: If buses and trains could keep a schedule, Metro could cut service frequency, but allow users to plan their schedules accordingly. From all that we've experienced and heard about on this blog, that dream remains distant.
We did come away with a new appreciation for the complexity of Metro's budget.
A couple of other items of interest came up, and we'll blog about those later.

Other news:
Shocker! Dulles rail line completion delayed

NY's MTA To Increase Fares, Cut Service

Some pretty dramatic developments with New York's Metro Transit Authority, which today voted for major fare increases as well as service cutbacks, according to the New York Times.

"The fare hikes on the subway and buses, including an increase in the base subway and bus fare to $2.50, from $2, will take effect on May 31.

Commuter rail fares will increase on June 1. Tolls on the authority’s bridges and tunnels will also go up, with the increase taking effect in mid-July.

The service cuts are far reaching. They include the elimination of 35 bus routes and two subway lines, the W and Z. Off-peak and weekend subway, bus and commuter rail service will also be cut back. The city comptroller’s office Web site allows you to search for the cuts by zip code."

Are these the kinds of tough choices WMATA needs to make, albeit on a smaller scale, yet can't? Can WMATA continue to look at the fringes to bridge its budget gap? Will the stimulus money keep WMATA from having to make any kind of choice?

Weekend Roundup

Here's a rundown of Metro news from the weekend:

• A new App for DC Metro for you iPhone geeks
• For you fans of NextBus and here and here
• Cleveland likes Metro
• Running out of time to make service cuts
• Much ado about the Purple Line

Photo: John Morris

Does Catoe Ever Use Metro?

After reading this, you may come to the same conclusion that we did: that he never has.

The Washington Post has an article summarizing some ideas WMATA has for saving money. Basically, it's the same stuff Dr. Gridlock talked about yesterday--fewer buses, fewer trains--but what really struck us was this quote from Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr.

"This is the first time we've recommended service cuts," Catoe told the board yesterday, talking about the current budget cycle. "We don't want to do any of this," he said. "But we have a shortage of revenue and we looked at what could we do that would have a minimal impact on service."

Service? What service? Metro can't even get us to work on time, and we think that has more than a "minimal impact" on many riders' lives. He's starting to sound like the train conductors one reader mentioned who tell you the train will be moving "momentarily" knowing full well there's a major delay down the track. Metro would do well by leveling with its customers.

Also mentioned in the article is how "managers outlined how they had found more revenue and expense cuts to shrink the gap from $73 million to about $29 million."

Where did that $44 million come from? According to the article, "finance officials readjusted their estimates by budgeting more revenue from such measures as eliminating paper transfers. They reduced operating expenses for items such as preventive maintenance, relying on capital funds instead."

Metro's financial arrangements would be hard enough to understand without the smoke and mirrors games Metro seems to like to play.

We LOVE the caption on the photo here.

It's Surreal

UPDATE: According to the Orange Line Twitter feed, service on the line is apparently still disrupted. While we imagine that's no longer the case, it'd be nice if they tweeted that they'd fixed the problem!

We haven't been keeping this blog for very long, and we don't use Metro every day, but over a very short span of time, we've already had the pleasure of three major delays or problems on ONE line, the Orange Line. Here's one, and here's another.
Today, it was because "a piece of track equipment derailed before the rail system opened this morning," according to a Metro press release we got once we were at work nearly an hour late! Missed an important meeting to boot. Thanks Metro!

We also thought, well, perhaps we should have joined Metro's Orange Line Twitter feed and perhaps that would have saved us some headache. We, along with a whopping 241 other people who follow the feed, would have known something was wrong, but not the extent. Metro doesn't seem to realize there is a limit to the number of characters allowed in a "tweet." Nothing about delays mentioned--at all!

It's beyond the point of ridiculous for a major metropolitan mass transit system to have this many failures.

Just look at the past four work days:

• Feb. 12
• Feb. 13
• Feb. 16
• Feb. 17

Unacceptable!

Then add Metro's good cop/bad cop routine about how great they were over the Inauguration and then trial balloons about possible service cuts, and you get a picture of a transit system in crisis and woefully mismanaged. At this point, you have to wonder if funding given to Metro is just money down a rat hole.

Aren't there any other people out there who' d like to help us document stuff like this? Personal stories pack so much more punch! Doesn't have to be long, just a sentence or two about something that struck you on your commute.

In other news:
Gotta love GGW's optimism on a day when Metro can't even get the basics down. Check out their "fantasy" Metro map.

Photo: John Morris

Metro is NOT Looking at Service Cuts

Reminder: avoid Pentagon this weekend!

According to this Adam Tuss story on WTOP, Metro is not looking at service cuts--yet. Last night the board held a meeting to discuss its $154 million budget shortfall. Here's the key quote:

"We are not talking about service reductions yet," Metro Board member Peter Benjamin said. "What we are doing is trying to find out how much might be needed, and see what other reductions might be made first so that we don't go out and say to the public that we need to make a change that we really don't need to make."

Say wha? Didn't Metro just spend the last couple of weeks getting everyone worked up over possible cuts? I guess the game plan was get everyone in a tizzy to rally support for the ailing mess of a transit system. That might work, but instead, we think it undermines broader support for WMATA in the long run, making Metro look repeatedly incompetent and mismanaged. It's especially dumb, we think, to play this strategy after almost non-stop boasting about how well the record inauguration crowds were handled.

According to The Washington Post story on last night's board meeting, "Metro staff workers have compiled a $325 million list of "shovel-ready" capital projects, including bus priority corridors, rail cars, buses and maintenance. Metro expects to make the list public next week at a regional transportation planning board meeting." This comes in anticipating of stimulus money the service could receive.

Quick hits:

• Apparently Metro accessibility played a role in DC United deciding to put their new stadium in Md. as opposed to DC.
• Interesting GreaterGreater article on how contributions to employee pension funds make up a large chunk of Metro's budget gap. The site calls for Metro to be "prudent," a trait we've never seen from the service.
• Oh and most importantly, Metro has posted a new audiocast.
  

Metro's Drunken Pole Dancers

Does Metro really want to cut late night service?

As many of you know, Metro floated the idea of shutting down service after 10 p.m. on weekdays and curtailing some late night service on the weekends as a way to save money. While we think a total cut of these services would certainly be bad for the service's image, Metro might want to take a look at what shutting down service could unleash on our roads.

For the ladies:



And for the men:



More drunken Metro shenanigans:
This is REALLY DUMB
"Spider Monkey"
Yet another pole dance

Now we know why there are so many poles on Metro!

Another Trial Balloon

There certainly are appropriate times to float trial balloons, especially if you're going to be eventually giving some bad news, but Metro seems to think it's the smart thing to float out every negative idea for saving money given the dire financial straits in which it finds itself. First it was cutting service, and now it's charging for parking on the weekends.

We think the problem with this PR approach is that now everyone is going to remember the uproar, further deepening the negative image Metro has among so many, particularly those who would pony up real money, like say the Virginia legislature. Even if tomorrow someone were to magically put Metro's books back in the black, many people would still be irate that it was even considering service cutbacks or charging for parking on the weekends.

At least Metro seems aware that charging for parking could deter many from even riding. How much revenue would really be generated from charging for parking on the weekends?

Do you think these "nightmare scenario" trial balloons help or hurt Metro?

Photo: John Morris

Gotta Love Toles

Click cartoon to see legible version on the Post site.

Dr. Gridlock's service cuts Q&A from earlier today

Some standout statements:
Does Metro simply hate its riders?
Accusations that Metro was already cutting trains on the Orange and Blue lines

Overall, it's a very telling piece about how the system is perceived.

Metro Board Chairman Interview

Prepare for Drunk Drivers

If you've ever been grateful to Metro for getting you home safely from a night of a little too much celebration, prepare to for over fork a cab or take your chances behind the wheel. According to this WTOP article, Metro is considering stopping service at 10 p.m. on weeknights and "cutting back" late night service on weekends. Also on the table is reducing the frequency of trains during rush hour. I don't know about other lines, but for Orange Line riders, this must sound like exactly the right way to go!

For a system that has to fight three public relations wars at once, in the District, Maryland and Virginia, these moves would add to the perception that the system is fundamentally mismanaged or flawed and just unworthy of funding. That perception may or may not be correct--we think it is, but think the solution is more funding and better service--but these days sadly, perception is what counts, and money is scarce. That said, there do seem to be a lot of empty, late night trains during the week, as this photo demonstrates. What was the per rider cost on this guy?

Metro realizes the bind it's in, according to the article.

"All of the possibilities are unpleasant," says Metro Board member Chris Zimmerman, who represents Arlington. "We have more people riding than ever before, and we are providing a higher quality (of service) than ever before, but we may have to tell people that service is being cut. It is a heck of a thing to do."

We might have gone with something stronger than "heck," but you get the idea.

It should be noted that transit systems in Chicago and New York City are facing even larger budget gaps than Metro and are considering fare hikes.

Examiner story
Washington Post story
Greater Greater Washington
Does WMATA need a bailout?

Do you think these proposed service cuts are a step in the right direction?

Photo: John Morris

A Collection of Thoughts

Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post has collected several readers' opinions about Metro here. The gist is that Metro is crazy to be cutting back services at a time when ridership is up. Several suggest trying to increase ad revenue, but when you look at a typical Metro car and station, where would much more advertising go? One reader suggests cutting back escalator services. Seems to us that many of them are de facto cut. What are your thoughts?

Beyonddc.com's view

Photo: John Morris