The Clocks are Back

VIA@NOTrynaBRude:@unsuckdcmetro So I finally get to see @wmata do something useful with my money. pic.twitter.com/A10OVRNH 

Last summer, Metro started installing flat screen monitors throughout the system. For months, they remained off, serving only to to block the kiosk clocks.

Yesterday, some of them appeared to come to life--as clocks.

Hopefully, Metro has more ambitious plans for them, but they've been tight lipped about what these displays will eventually show. 

Other items:
Dull rail board member defends nepotism (Examiner)
DC disputes Metro's account of rock throwing at buses (Examiner)

Where's the Dupont Escalator Party Now?

Transit grade: F. New escalators already out of service at Dupont South. pic.twitter.com/AdeWBjUM #wmata (via @MT2DC) 

It seems like just days ago that Metro's GM Richard Sarles was out at a live streamed ribbon cutting celebration when the Dupont South escalators opened after over eight months of repair.

Actually, it wasn't even a month ago that Sarles said the following:

This project is just one visible example of how we re working to improve safety and reliability throughout the entire Metro system. Thanks to projects like this, along with improved maintenance across the system, we are seeing results. Escalator availability today is above 90 percent, an increase of 8 percent over last year.  

The ever elusive Sarles was nowhere to be seen yesterday when riders reported all three escalators were out during the evening commute.

Here's what Metro riders had to say: 

Other items:
Metro noncommittal about future closures on Veterans/Columbus Day (Examiner)

Automatic Train Operation Coming Soon

Metro is aiming to restore Automatic Train Operation (ATO) on the Red Line December 1, said a source with in-depth knowledge.

ATO, which basically takes the train operator out of the equation and ostensibly provides a smoother ride, was suspended in 2009 after the Ft. Totten crash that killed nine people.

Over the past years, Metro has been replacing hundreds of Automatic Train Control modules along the Red Line. Put simply, the modules are small radios placed along the tracks that tell trains to stop, go, speed up or brake. Fundamentally, they are supposed to keep the trains from colliding. The system failed on June 22, 2009. When working properly, these modules can allow for Automatic Train Operation.

During a Nov. 1 meeting of the Safety and Security Committee meeting, Metro's number two, David Kubicek said "the Red Line, for all practical purposes, is done."

But don't get too excited for smoother rides just yet.

Another action Metro took after the 2009 crash, namely bellying the1000-series cars in a PR stunt, will likely eliminate any smoother ride ATO might offer.

According to another Metro source:

Even though the engineers say they brake and accelerate the same, we out here know better than to buy that line of bullsh*t. All one needs to do is stand on the train in the middle where anything is coupled to a 1000 series. All you hear and feel during [acceleration or braking] is the train couplers bucking, and on some, you actually feel it in your feet.

Oh, and don't get your hopes up for a return to ATO on the other lines any time soon.

At the  Safety and Security Committee meeting, Kubicek said it would be two to three years before ATO could return to the other lines.

He said 900 ATC modules needed to be installed on the Orange and Blue lines while another 220 were needed on the Yellow and Green lines.

Kubicek said the warranty on the new modules was one year, but could not give information about their failure rate when pressed by board member Anthony Giancola.

A source in Metro tells me the failure rates are very high on the new modules. That doesn't mean another crash is iminent, but it could lead to more delays.

"It's brand new stuff, but it's garbage," said a source. "Metro signs the contract and buys it. We're stuck with it. [Vendors] just install it and leave, and the next morning the stuff starts to fail. For all the money we're spending, we should be getting better return on our investment."

As an interesting side note, the Silver Line is being built with Automatic Train Control modules made by a different vendor from the ones Metro is installing.

Other items:
Potomac Yard Metro station could cost half a billion (Business Journal)
MoCo backs away from bus system (Examiner)
Man struck by train lives (Examiner)
Transit groups slams Metro for Veteran's Day service (Patch)

Did Metro Do Something Right?

There have been a lot of positive comments about the new bus seats being spotted on Metrobus lately.

From Brittany:

This morning, my usual D1 (bus 4404) transformed from a regular commuter bus into some sort of posh VIP bus/limo.  While this isn't the lap of luxury, the plush seats are definitely an upgrade from normal Metro plastic. It was an older bus so I'd really love to know when and why this revamp was done. 

When did @wmata upgrade the 💺 on the 🚍?! I'm over here feeling like I'm about to head on a journey!!! lockerz.com/s/259069836
— Miss Arielle M Dixon (@ADixonPR) November 5, 2012

WMATA is trying to be all faaaancy with these city buses. Carpeted trains and now cushioned bus seats? I ain't mad.lockerz.com/s/259166855
— Sandra F (@SandiLVAMA) November 5, 2012

Other items: 
No parking at Silver Line stations in Tysons (NBC4)
MoCo looks at bus rapid transit (WTOP)
Metro takes a year to build a staircase, NYC performs 'magic' (NYTimes)

$1,818 for Public Information!

From C.S.:

It’s no secret that despite great public puffery to the contrary, Metro remains the very prototype of the closed, Stalinist bureaucracy. But even acknowledging that, Metro’s day-by-day tactics in how it executes its shut-out-the-public strategy can still be stupefying,  as recent events have once again shown.

All of which leads to an Unsuck challenge to Metro’s board of directors. More on that in a moment.

Faithful readers will recall that Unsuck filed three public record requests with Metro for information of vital concern to riders. One was about doors on Metrorail cars, which so often don’t work, throwing trains out of service and regularly delaying many thousands of riders. Another was about the affliction of manual train control, and when the system will return to automatic operation.

The third, to which Metro has finally provided a response, was about safety and reliability issues after Metro began the practice of placing its oldest cars in the middle of trains following the fatal Red Line accident. (Still no responses on the other two.)

We filed that third request in July 2010. Compelling rider interest couldn’t be plainer. Safety issues can get you killed, of course. And there has been long-running concern, reiterated again recently, that “bellying” the older cars is contributing to alarmingly low reliability for Metro trains, which causes all manner of delay.

It was 2 years, and over two months after we filed the request – under a Metro public records policy that requires the agency to repond in no more than 20 working days – that Metro recently delivered up a complete response to our request. After lo those nearly 800 days, here’s how it shakes out:

No urgency: Metro’s records policy allows for expedited consideration of requests,  including for matters for which there is “an urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged WMATA government activity.” Despite rider deaths and system meltdowns, Metro said there’s nothing urgent about what we wanted, as it denied Unsuck’s request for expedited treatment. The agency also refused to consider an appeal of its denial.

Nothing to see here: Metro’s policy provides a fee waiver if the information sought is “in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations of WMATA and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” Even though Unsuck, a free public website with no revenue or paid staff, would have distributed the information publicly; even though local news media regularly pick up on items that Unsuck breaks first; and even though Unsuck provides the most regular, critical coverage of Metro (no brag, just fact) of anyone in Washington, Metro said it could not determine whether the records sought would be disseminated in a way that will contribute to public understanding. (In turning thumbs down, Metro had insisted on independent evaluation of how many hits the Unsuck site receives, even though the agency’s records policy has no such provision. The agency also cited shaky case law to support its position.)

Just pay up: After denying any urgency, and refusing to provide any fee relief, Metro nevertheless deigned to say it would be willing to fulfill the request – just send a certified check or money order for $1,818.

So, folks, that’s the ground game – how Metro puts on its fantasy goggles and twists its own procedures to keep things close to the vest.

So, if as a long-suffering rider, you might like some information about the safety or reliability of the trains you’re riding, not only doesn’t Metro think that’s important, but it also wants to hold you up for the privilege. Metro is willing to spend hundreds of thousands of  dollars of your money to roll out things like its “Forward” or “Rush+” propaganda campaigns. But if you want to learn about things that could kill you, or that regularly delay your travel, sometimes for hours, then you’ve got to pay extortion to the same outfit that creates the problems.

All of which leads to the Metro directors challenge.

Plainly, the Metro staff, headed by cloaker-in-chief Richard Sarles, is out of control (on this and so many things) and will do what it wants. That leaves only the board.

Unsuck will now provide all the details of this request to each of Metro’s directors. We’ll ask them to stick up for the riders they represent. We’ll ask them to request in their own name, under authority of their position as director, the exact same material that Unsuck has sought, and to provide it to Unsuck if they get it.

We’ll see if even one director has the guts to step forward. (It’s worth noting, even though some directors don’t seem to understand, that the Metro staff works for the board, and not the other way around.)

And we’ll name names and let you know the results.

Also by C.S.

Other items:
Interesting article on Metro's legal status (Maryland injury Lawyer)

Rider Declares Independence from Metro

From Paul:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the bands which have connected him with his mass transit system, and to find alternate routes to work, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Travel and of Travel’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of the DC Metro area requires that he should declare the causes which impel him to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Metro customers are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are timeliness, safety, and a cost-efficient means of transportation.--That to secure these rights, mass transit systems are instituted among cities, deriving their just powers from the appropriate governing body, --That whenever any mass transit system becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of an aggrieved person to forego mass transit as a means of transportation, and to drive to work, thus maximizing  their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that mass transit systems long utilized should not be abandoned for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer delays, while delays are sufferable, than to right themselves by finding alternative means of transportation. But when a long train of delays and fare hikes, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to inconvenience riders without relief, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such forms of travel, and to provide alternate means of transportation for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these riders; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former method of going to work. The history of the present Metro Rail System is a history of repeated injuries and even deaths, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Incompetency. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Metro has refused an open accounting of its internal deliberations.
Metro has instituted a bizarre and cruel pick system for escalator repair, thus causing such repairs to be of an unduly long duration.
Metro has repeatedly caved to the local union, thus enabling boorish, discourteous and even illegal behavior among its employees.
Metro has increased fares with no corresponding improvement in service.
Metro officials repeatedly deny malfeasance, its public relations representatives insisting that, to quote Kevin Bacon in Animal House, “all is well.”
Metro service has continually deteriorated, to the point where riders must now factor excessive delays into their travel time.
Metro officials refuse to provide adequate security, rendering certain stations and sections of the system completely unsafe for travel.
Metro’s flawed initial design and lack of a third rail means that future systems will be insufficient, and riders will continue to experience lengthy and unnecessary delays.

For these and other causes, and because now I have a parking pass and can drive to work, I consider myself a free and independent rider.
Signed this 31st day of October, 2012, AD.

Stopping Optional

Other items: 
Audit shows more contracting irregularities (Examiner/full report)
Metro wrong to cut bus service after rock attacks (WaPo op/ed)

Riders Report Early Metro Shutdown

UPDATE:

We made a mistake in our closing time Saturday night & we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience. #wmata (1/2)
— @wmata (@wmata) November 5, 2012

The system closed at 3 a.m. EDT when it should have closed at 3 a.m. EST. Our deepest apologies to customers. #wmata (2/2)
— @wmata (@wmata) November 5, 2012

Did Metro really close at 2 a.m. on Saturday/Sunday despite saying they would close at 3?

Several riders reported getting stranded. WTOP tweeted that Metro apparently had a change of plans at the last minute.

Maybe Metro forgot to turn their clocks back.

 

@unsuckdcmetro they told us trains would run the extra hour last night, last train was prior to 2am, stranding tons of people on U st #wmata
— Jennie Conroy (@DrJLCPhD) November 4, 2012

@drjlcphd @unsuckdcmetro seriously. That was ridiculous.Locked entrance to DuPont way before 3 too. #wmata
— Emily Schultz (@eschultz206) November 4, 2012

DC Metro:clams to be open until 3am but the last train citybound leaves clarendon at 1:35.What a load of complete shit.@wmata fail.
— Michael J. DiAmore (@MJDiAmore) November 4, 2012

@wmata just called @wtoptraffic center -- Metro is not staying open until 3 a.m., despite what they announced earlier this week #WMATA
— WTOP(@WTOP) November 4, 2012

Other items:
Metro will go for emergency funds to pay for Sandy shutdown if available (Examiner)

Communication Problems Continue to Plague Metro

Via @Mags4059: @wmata fail. DuPont circle metro @unsuckdcmetro pic.twitter.com/INXF1ZP4

 From Teo:

My evening commute from Judiciary Square to Bethesda generally takes 40 minutes, but yesterday, it took over an hour and a half.

Part of the reason was an apparent track fire near the Friendship Heights station and the accompanying single tracking.

Part of it was a breakdown in communication between Metro and its customers--and other Metro employees, it seems.

Almost immediately after getting on the train, we were informed that we would be single tracking because of the fire, so we did the customary long waits in the stations with the doors open.

However, once we got to Tenleytown, the train operator informed us that she had been asked to run express past the next few stations but that the train directly behind her would run all stations.

I got off and waited for the next train.

I got on that one and went one stop when the train operator of that second train informed us that he would be running express to Grosvenor, but that the next train would run all stops, so I once again exited the train.

The third train finally entered the station and ... didn't stop, but rather went right through.

The Friendship Heights platform was getting pretty crowded by now.

Then the fourth train came through the station and also didn't stop.

Finally, I got on the fifth train of my evening and took the train the one mile to Bethesda.

Assuming they weren't lying to us, why wasn't there better communication between the drivers and central on this issue?

Had I known I'd be stuck at Friendship Heights as trains bypassed the station, I would have likely gotten out and taken a bus or a cab home. I could've even done that the first time I disembarked a train under false pretenses at Tenleytown.

Oh, and to top it all off, once I got to Bethesda, one of the escalators was temporarily stairs and the other escalator came to a screeching halt halfway up the ride.

Glad I had the privilege of paying the $3.50 fare for all that excitement.

Other items:
Great Toles cartoon (WaPo)
Full Automatic Train Control years away (Examiner)

Reprogramming Faregates: 'Not Hard at All'

Dan Stessel told the Washington Post that Metro didn't "have enough time to reprogram the fare structure to match this afternoon’s service level" on Tuesday when the system reopened. Consequently, riders were charged peak (rush hour) fares between 3 and 7 p.m. while only receiving Sunday levels of service.

I read Stessel's comment to mean Metro didn't want to charge rush hour fares, but that it just couldn't be helped.

A tipster in Metro told me they didn't think Stessel was telling the truth.

"They 'reprogram' the faregates four times every weekday, again late night Friday, again Saturday, again late night Saturday and again Sunday and Monday," they wrote in an email. "I don't know the details, but it doesn't make sense that it's some complicated thing."

So I checked with another source deeply familiar with Metro's revenue operations.

"How hard of a process is it [to change over the faregates]?" I asked.

"Not hard at all. It is done on-line from a central location," the source said.

"How long does it take?" I asked.

"Maybe 10 minutes," said the source, adding "Metro does not want to lose the money."

I emailed Stessel asking for an explanation of the process to reprogram the faregates. He did not respond.


Other items:

Metrobus drivers asleep at the wheel (Examiner)

Silver Line corruption goes on and on (Examiner)
Bethesda elevator delayed (Bethesda Now)