A Metro Accountability Site?

Metro says it's is creating a new Web site to allegedly show you where and how it is going to spend the stimulus money. The site will apparently be at http://www.wmata.com/stimulus, but there's nothing there yet.

Here are some of the projects Metro says it will use the stim money for:
• Replacing Metro’s oldest diesel buses with new hybrid-electric buses
• Replacing crumbling platforms
• Installing SmarTrip purchase capabilities at more Metro fare vending machines
• Enhancing bus garage security
• Installing technologies to improve bus route and schedule information
• Rehabilitating the oldest stretch of track in the rail system
• Replacing the Southeastern bus garage
• Updating train arrival signs on platforms and mezzanines
• Replacing the Metro Center Customer Sales Facility
• Expanding and replacing vehicles for paratransit service

On this list, the only one that really interests us as a rail passenger is the track rehab. The rest seems, well, frivolous considering the breakdowns Metro is plagued with.

In other news:

• We didn't take Metro this morning, but we got a boatload of Orange Line tweets about problems. We'd love to hear from any of you out there who rode the Orange Line today. Bueller?
• Metro is adding service for the cherry blossoms
• Metro announced a strange sounding collision between one of its buses and MARC train. Read the Metro version of the even here.
• New bus facility opens in NOVA.
• Metro to correct structure displacement near Cheverly Metrorail station
• No beta testing for NextBus

Metro Announces Bus Service Changes

We don't use the bus, so we can't weigh in on the impact of these changes. We'd love to hear from bus users about what kind of effect you think these will have.

Metro also announced it will begin tweeting rail delays. Not sure why they're announcing this as we've been getting an annoying quantity of tweets about Orange Line delays.