It's Not Just Phones that get Snatched

Metro Transit Police show off their paramilitary look during a terrorism drill.

From Virginia Ron:

I got on the Orange Line at Smithsonian heading to Vienna at 3:45 p.m. yesterday. I was on the last car. There was a group of rowdy teenagers up near the front of the car.

As we approached Metro Center, they got quiet and then all rushed off the train.

Next thing I witnessed was a gentleman in business attire jump up and run after them.

Evidently, they had grabbed his briefcase.

As I looked out the window, I saw his laptop, and God knows what, spill out onto the platform.

Before I could exit to assist, the train operator closed the doors and moved on, apparently oblivious to what just happened.

I was shocked and yelled to my fellow passengers "That guy just got robbed!"

The sad thing is, no one cared. If they did, no one responded.

When I got to Vienna, I reported it to the station manager. He said he would call it in. However, he did not write any of what I said down on paper, so I wonder if that report really was sent.

This could have happened to anyone. Now, I am seriously questioning my safety while riding Metro.

Other items:
The full, "no metro" report (WMATA)
Green Line corridor to power DC economy, study says (Examiner)
Board mulls fare increase options (WaPo)

Don't Let Metro Fool You

Here's a budget slide Metro will try to float to the Board during today's meeting as a rationalization to hike your fares.

I can hear it now: "Look, it's not that bad, and we've already gone up 18 percent, and we're still near the bottom."

Metro does look cheaper compared to all those other big bad transit agencies, but with the others, BART excepted, that "base rate" is actually a flat rate that will take you as far as you want to go, unlike Metro, which charges you based on distance.

That's a pretty big difference, I think.

This chart compares apples to oranges. It is misleading and dishonest.

But given the Board's lack of knowledge of how the fare system here works, they may just take the bait.

Metro's average rail fare in September of last year, according to this PDF, was around $2.63 ($2.65 for 2011 according to this), significantly higher than those other transit agencies.

Additionally, according to a source, most of these other systems allow free transfers between rail and bus, except LA Metro, which has no free transfers for anything, and BART, which doesn't have a bus system.

Furthermore, the source said, most of these systems, again BART excepted, have monthly passes that reduce your average fare if you are a frequent rider.

Thanks, Metro, for giving us and your own Board the real story.

Read more about using low base fares to mislead here.

Other items:
Could fare hikes be even higher? (Examiner)
Purple Line impact would be greater than previously believed (WaPo)

Dumb and Dumber

Yesterday, the Washington Post, in an effort to be relevant, I guess, hosted a "Hangout with Dr. Gridlock" on Google+ featuring Metro boss Richard "Dick" Sarles.

The production quality was about what you'd expect from a newspaper trying to do TV, and the answers from Sarles were as predictable as gravity, but what really stole the show, for me at least, was the question from the one, plain ol' rider on the panel. He was supposed to represent riders and riders' perspectives.

With his big chance to ask the Metro honcho tough question during the rather short 30-minute chat, what did he come up with?

"Why are some stations center platform and why are some stations side platform?"

Gah!

I'd like Unsuck readers to try to come up with a worse question.

I'll get the ball rolling:

Why do trains have wheels?
Why don't Metro trains have cabooses?
Why is the subway underground?

I'll send the dumbest five to Stessel.

I should warn you that I don't anticipate a response since he still hasn't coughed up the full $200,000 "report" on " what if there were no Metro" even though he said he would and, like all of you, I paid 16 cents for it.

Other items:
Metro hiring 1,000 more (WaPo)
Look at all the Metrobus accidents (WTOP)
Riders say they will abandon Metro (Examiner)

Just Freaking Scary

A source sent me these photos of a broken brake assembly or friction ring.

The crack, which appears white in the top photo, runs the entire way around the inner part of brake disc assembly inside the bolts and a little bit outside of them in the upper left. The center part is separated from the friction ring (the shiny outer part), as you can see in the black space in the upper left, just outside the bolted area.

The source said that after tapping the cracked part with a hammer, it fell completely off into the pieces you see in the latter photos.

It was found Friday morning on car 3273 at Shady Grove during an daily safety test and external visual inspection during which there was an emphasis on looking for things like this, the source said.

Adding to the unease of a brake cracking like this, the source said that since there is no rust along the crack, the failure was probably sudden and not over time. Records show the part was put into service on July 15 and had been last inspected on Dec. 10.

The source said his best guess as to what's going on is that Metro got a batch of bad parts.

The source also pointed to the pocking visible on the cast metal, saying that to him, it looked like bad quality, probably from a low-bidder.

He said that given the amount of parts Metro orders, they are bound to be bad batches from time to time.

Metro seems to contradict this notion, with their flack Dan Stessel telling the Washington Post that the "incidents involve different designs and different manufacturers."

A retired Metro source who used to work in car maintenance said they refuses to ride Metro after seeing the quality of parts that were being put on the trains.

Kind of scary.

The same morning this brake was found, there was another friction ring incident on a train carrying people, and that afternoon, Metro announced an inspection of all 2000, 3000 and 4000 series cars, 464 in total.

Back on Dec. 20, there was another friction ring incident during the commute that sent one of these huge metal slabs flying down the tracks and into the third rail trapping hundreds in the tunnel.

Yesterday, Metro announced the inspections had been completed and said they had replaced more than 290 friction rings.

Other items:

• "We are asking everyone to contribute.”--GM Sarles on major fare hike proposal that includes no cost cutting apparently (WaPo)
• Metro says fish smell not from brake pads (Examiner) (Note: I circled back with my sources who said Metro's explanation was "BS" and that sewer gas smells like rotten eggs. Another source said there had been a sewer gas problem on the Red Line a while back and that it smelled like sulfur. One source was puzzled why Metro would say sewer gas, which can be toxic and is flammable at higher concentrations. My plumber said sewer gas smells like rotten eggs.
• Metro says Sarles caught employee eating and/or drinking (Examiner)
• This. (NSFW)

SmarTrip Customer Service or Disservice?

Photo: mr_t_in_dc; shop: Andrew

I've heard from a lot of people about the hang up issue at SmarTrip customer service.

If you've lost your SmarTrip card, or had one stolen, what has been your experience in getting the money transferred?

From @TeganAnn:

Since moving to DC in February, I have had to transfer monies from a lost, stolen or defective SmarTrip card a few times, so I am used to the procedure.

I lost the card in late November, but assuming I just misplaced it in my office, I didn’t think much of it until the following week when I logged onto the WMATA system. Lo and behold, someone in Maryland had picked up my card and was using it.

I was about to call the 1-800 number to get the money transferred, but they had the new system to report your card online, so I did that.

I immediately got an auto generated email which said "your card XX has been reported as lost or stolen." I proceeded to wait for my funds to be transferred to the new card.

The following week, I stopped off at a SmarTrip charge station to try to load my funds, but it didn't work.

Finally, I logged back into the system in December and found the card still in daily use.



This is when the fun began.

Finally, I decided to call the 1-800 number. I had done so in the past, and it had never been awful in comparison to the other joys of WMATA.

I started off around 10 a.m. and got the "all of our agents are busy" message. I was put on hold and then heard "goodbye" and was hung up on.

I tried six more times, and the same thing happened after various amounts of time on hold. The longest was five minutes.

On, my last try, the hold time quoted was 20 minutes. Around 25 minutes later, I was able to reach an agent. To her credit she was calm as we went through the transaction. She had to place me on hold twice to track down my email in the system to verify my story.

She was able to transfer the money from the date I reported the card as lost. I was out $20, and the person with my card had a good month of free rides on the Metro’s dime.

When all was said and done, I had been on the phone for 45 minutes.

I can’t say I'm surprised the online system is set so it an email is generated, but nothing is done.

Metro is really moving forward on this one.

Other items:
Metro's suicide prevention program: Delayed (Examiner)

Too Much of a Given

Original image: Matt Johnson

There are many Metro station managers who are helpful and seem to take pride in their jobs. On the other hand, there are far too many who are not only indifferent to customer concerns, but downright hostile and abusive to the very people who pay their salaries.

The reason? In many cases, the station manager slots are where Metro stores problem employees. One has to wonder about the logic of making your worst employees the face of the organization, but that's exactly what Metro does.

According to a very reliable source, here's the rap sheet on a guy who STILL, UNBELIEVABLY works at Metro as a station manager.

• Hired as a bus driver and is involved in an accident
  
• Gets "fired"
  
• Gets reinstated as a bus driver
• Gets "fired" again for another accident
  
• Gets transferred to become a TRAIN OPERATOR! (Safety first)
  
• Accumulates enough infractions (wrong side doors, platform overshoots, running signals) to be disqualified from ever being a train operator again
• Becomes the face of Metro as a station manager and as such:
  
• Gets a 5-day suspension for disrespecting a Metro Police Officer
• Gets a 5-day suspension for using a cell phone while on duty
• Gets a 5-day suspension for regularly taking 2-3 hour lunch breaks
  
• Gets a 10-day suspension for locking someone in the station after closing (This was overturned because Metro lost, or couldn't find, the film from the video cameras at the station.)
• Gets a 12-day suspension for falling asleep on the job after his picture was posted on this blog. (He apparently successfully fought that punishment off after going to the doctor and afterward claiming he had sleep apnea. The other station manager pictured claimed the same thing and got off as well, the source said.)
• But none of that mattered because he took several months of disability leave after "spraining" his ankle.

He's back on the job now.

Every time you swipe, a portion of your money goes to him.

Thank you for "choosing" Metro.

Other items:
It has been 50 years since subways (not Metro) were automated (Railroad.net)
Cameras alone don't reduce crime in parking lots (Fierce Homeland Security)
Well liked operator unmasked (WJLA)

What's that Foul Smell?

Why does the orange/blue platform at metro center smell like a fish market? CC @wmata

— Andrea Zak (@andrea_zak) December 30, 2011

Nice AM ride on inbound @wmata Orng line but car reeked like a fish gut pile. Was it me?

— Rob Stewart (@stewartrob) January 3, 2012

Anyone know why Mt. Vernon Square and Chinatown smell like a fish market? @unsuckdcmetro #WMATA

— David Earl (@dtearl) January 4, 2012

@dtearl totally smelled that yesterday at metro center too, smell carried all the way to l'enfant plaza... Ughhhh!

— Ashley Starks (@AshleyJStarks) January 4, 2012

@wmata Why does Archives smell like fish?

— Squarely Rooted (@squarelyrooted) January 4, 2012

PSA - Gallery Place lower platform smells strongly of rotting seafood this morning. #wmata

— say 'Eye Em Gōph' (@IMGoph) January 4, 2012

Looking these tweets, it would appear Metro broke into one of the remaining boxes of organic brake pads.

According to a source, Metro, in an effort to reduce brake dust (Metro said), ordered a whole bunch of organic brake pads not too long ago. The source said they recalled 10,000 were purchased, but couldn't be sure of the exact number.

What Metro never bothered to find out before making the purchase was that the pads, when used, caused a horrible odor similar to rotting fish or decaying flesh.

Seriously, when you smell these things, you'll come to appreciate Metro's regular, acrid smokey brake smell for how relatively inoffensive it is.

The source said Metro tried to return the stinking lot of pads when they realized the awful smell they caused, but the vendor would not take them back.

Another source said Metro has been using the odoriferous pads in dribs and drabs so as to "not stink up the entire system."

Yesterday, Metro told the Examiner they didn't know what caused the smell, but that it was nothing to worry about.

So, next time Metro smells like a fish market late on an August afternoon, you now know it's probably not a dead animal, or worse.

Thanks, Metro. Next time, shop before you buy.

Other items:
Get ready for weekend track work (WMATA)
Man struck by train (Fox)
Metro sends armed robbery warning 1.5 hours after it happened (Twitter)

Cracking

Illustration. Via Flickr

From anonymous:

I took an unexpected trip to L'Enfant Plaza this morning (and wound up being 40 minutes late to work) all thanks to Metro.

I live in Crystal City and work in Rosslyn, so usually I take the Blue Line north to get to work. Today, however, both Blue and Yellow lines were backed up--apparently one of the rails on the Yellow Line bridge between Pentagon and L'Enfant had cracked, so they were single-tracking over the bridge.

As a result, half the Yellow Line trains were normal trains to Ft. Totten, while every other train were "special" trains to Smithsonian, which we were told--repeatedly, by the conductor--would run like a Blue Line train.

Since the platform at Crystal City was packed due to the backup, and I had to wait a ridiculously long time for any train at all to show up, I got on one of those special trains. Again, the conductor repeatedly told us that it was a special Yellow Line train to Smithsonian, so it would run like the Blue Line.

Well, you can probably guess what happened. After a start-and-stop trip through Pentagon City and Pentagon--during which there was a lot of stopping and holding and "moving momentarily"--suddenly we were outside on the Yellow Line bridge. At this point, the conductor told us the train was now a Yellow Line train to Ft. Totten.

If they were going to change the train, couldn't they have said something to us before we left Pentagon, so some of us had the chance to get off? How can they tell us they're going to take us in one direction and then, with no warning, change our destination with passengers on-board?

In the end, I had to get off L'Enfant, transfer to the Blue Line and head all the way back out to Rosslyn. Good thing I have understanding bosses, otherwise I could have lost my job.

You Give PR a Bad Name

From Bryan:

I'm sorry, but is it too much to ask Metro to have someone on its overpaid, oversized communications team take 15 minutes to write up a quick press release summarizing the dramatic changes to SmarTrip/SmartBenefits in 2012?

I mean seriously, these were pretty major changes and left a lot of people scratching their heads. Did anyone else see the lines at the Metro office in Metro Center?

And yes, I realize Metro was forced to make the changes, and I realize this has been in the works for some time, but the communication was terrible, nay inexcusable.

I heard several people at work talk about Metro "stealing" their money, and my employer was pretty good about letting us know what was coming. Apparently, not all were the same as Twitter was lit up with many slamming Metro.

Way to let your rep sink even lower, Metro. And for no reason. Talk about low hanging fruit and a missed opportunity.

I think at least a friendly reminder (press release) about changes to SmarTrip would have been merited-- as well as a tweet or two before the holidays to reinforce it.

If I were @wmata, I'd tweet about #SmartBenefits changes, including autoload and purse separation. Some are still confused by the changes.

— Kurt Raschke (@kurtraschke) January 3, 2012

Heck, even after the fact, Metro could have linked to/tweeted the Examiner article, which did a pretty good job of summarizing the changes.

I mean Metro goes apesh*t, over the top nutso advertising over track work with those stupid and probably super expensive banners at all the stations, but this was an even bigger change to the status quo and for many, many more people, but Metro was silent. I went back over their Twitter feed--nada. Same on the website. WTF?

Just what are we paying these people to do? Where the hell is "^BA" anyway? Isn't he getting paid some exorbitant amount of money to tweet? Write a press release dude.

A major change how things work, a super suspicious ridership who thinks they're being ripped off, and ZILCH from Metro.

I'm not a PR professional, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I know Metro failed big time with this. It's as if they don't value their riders one bit.

I can almost see the conversation in the Metro PR department now.

Someone: Should we advertise the big changes coming to SmarTrip to our riders again?
Someone else: Nah, F*ck 'em.

Isn't that pretty much the whole Metro attitude about everything?

The whole communications team should be embarrassed, but I know embarrassment is not an emotion many Metro employees are familiar with.

Other items:
Metro, union prepare to face off for contract negotiations (Examiner)

Trapped in Twinbrook

From Dave:

On the afternoon of Dec. 27, I got to my car at the Twinbrook parking lot in Rockville at 6:13 p.m. I know this because I called my wife, telling her I could stop at the store to pick up dinner. I didn't exit the parking lot until 7:01. Why? Because I was held hostage by Metro.

When I pulled out of my space, I drove toward the exit and immediately knew something was wrong. There was a line of 20 cars in front of me, none of them able to exit.

I immediately knew what was wrong.

The SmarTrip reader wasn't working.

I know this because the same problem happened a few months ago, only this time it was worse.

When the SmarTrip reader isn't working, Metro doesn't just open the gate and let you out.

Instead, they make EACH car fill out a form stating that you're unable to pay prior to exiting. This form is meant to be used when someone doesn't have the money or SmarTrip balance to exit a lot.

This allows the parking attendant to take down the drivers information, and lets the attendant open the gate.

It should not and is not intended to be used when Metro's machines are malfunctioning and can't read a SmarTrip card.

The form is long, cumbersome, and takes several minutes to complete. When 50-plus people are trying to exit a parking lot, you can immediately see the chaos that would result if each of those cars had to fill out this form before leaving.

How can Metro justify keeping each car in their parking lot for that long?

Why should the riders be held hostage for so long because of a malfunction of Metro's machines?

I had money on my card to exit. I even told the attendant I could pay in cash.

It didn't matter.

He refused to let us go until I filled out the form.

I asked him what he would do if there was an emergency. He didn't seem to care. He said I should call the police and maybe they'd let everyone leave. But his supervisor wouldn't authorize him to raise the gate.

To make matters worse, the second gate to exit was blocked by the parking attendant's car.

When this happened a few months ago, no car was parked in the other exit lane. When another customer asked what would happen if he just drove out, the parking attendant said "nothing," so he did just that. Seconds later, the other 20-plus cars did the same.

This time, that wasn't possible.

I called Metro's customer service number to try to see if they could do something. I spoke to a representative, and he seemed helpful--at first.

He took down the information I provided about the situation and contacted his supervisor.

What did his supervisor suggest?

He said they'd send another parking attendant out to take down the information so they could speed up the process!

Unacceptable!

When I asked what else could be done, he told me nothing.

He didn't care about what I and many others were going through. He wouldn't let me speak to his supervisor. When I told him that this is why the agency he works for is failing, he couldn't have cared less.

By this point, I had been waiting for about 30 minutes. Everyone waiting was honking their horns as if their life depended on it. People were getting out of their cars yelling.

I seriously thought a mob might form.

If I had been driving an SUV, I would have driven around the gate, but unfortunately my sedan didn't seem like it could make it, especially with all of the mud around from the rain all day.

By this point I was so frustrated I called the Rockville police's non-emergency number. They were helpful and sympathetic, but had to transfer me to Metro Transit Police, since it was their jurisdiction.

When I spoke to Metro Transit Police, they said they'd send someone over. Whether or not they ever made it, I don't know.

I finally exited the lot at 7:01. When the parking attendant asked me to fill out the unable to pay form, I wrote a few choice words on it, and he opened the gate, and I left.

I was finally free after being held hostage in Metro's parking lot like a caged animal because their machines were malfunctioning.

I've been riding Metro for almost eight years. I've experienced a lot of horrible things done by Metro during that time, but this takes the cake. This is an all-time low, even for Metro.

The parking attendant supervisor who wouldn't authorize the gate to be lifted should be fired, Metro should issue an apology to each person impacted by this incident, and each rider should be able to park for free for a year as a result of this inexcusable action.

This is just further proof that Metro doesn't care about their riders, the customers that pay for the agency to exist.

This might be my breaking point when it comes to Metro. In 2012, I might be exploring other ways to get into downtown DC each day.

At least when you're stuck in traffic driving, you made that decision, where as with Metro they make the decision for you.

Other items:
Dude, where's my SmarTrip balance? (Examiner)