OPINION: Enough With the Obama Farecards

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the views of this site. Thanks to contributor Tim Casey.

An open letter to Metro GM John Catoe,

I forgot my SmarTrip card this morning and was surprised to find out you’re still selling the Barack Obama commemorative farecards almost two months after the event. Enough!

It was kind of gimmicky to begin with, and even if you still lost money Inauguration Day, I can’t blame you for thinking a little souvenir might generate some extra revenue, you know, by people keeping their farecards with a little money left on them. Hey, that might have benefited all Metro riders.

But the inauguration was a long time ago, so what’s up with continuing to sell Obama’s image, Mr. Catoe?

Even if you think Barack Obama is a swell guy--and upwards of 60 percent of Americans do-- I don’t think we should lionize or glorify him. We should respect him, but with a good dose of skepticism, as we should have with all politicians. But how much respect can Obama get with his mug on a farecard? And for that matter, Mr. Obama, why would you want to be the poster boy of a transit system littered with incompetence and mismanagement?

To replace the President on the farecards I propose adding McGruff the crime dog. Metro owes him that at least.

Tim Casey

Metro's press release on Obama farecards

Other posts by Tim

Escalator Forecast: Heavy Sucking With Intermittent Unsucking

It's a mixed day for Metro's escalators. Metro's list of out of service escalators and elevators sometimes can be more depressing than its list of train breakdowns, but today there are signs of hope and, sadly, more evidence that the sucking is nowhere near ending.
First, the good news.
It would appear that for the first time in a long time, all escalators at Foggy Bottom are working today. (Thx brendenchaney and madb0o)
Second, contributor Tim notices signs of hope from Wheaton, which has the longest set of single-span escalators in the Western Hemisphere, according to Wikipedia.
Wheaton, Tim writes, has been down to one working escalator for over three months, and even the working one is temperamental. One of the other two was undergoing a major repair, and while originally slated to be back in service by March, is supposedly going to be ready to go at the end of this month. That promise is looking good, he writes since almost all of the escalator plates are installed. The other broken escalator, effectively serves as a very long StairMaster.
And now the bad news from contributor "CS":
A small but telling incident: Today, for at least the third consecutive rush hour, one of three escalators on the south side of Metro Center that join the Red and Orange/Blue platforms was closed. Regular riders know, of course, that escalator problems are legion. But this closure took place in Metro’s marquee location, so that day after day, many thousands of riders have run into a human logjam, missing trains, etc. If I were Metro management (or John Catoe himself), I would say: “Of all places, it is simply unacceptable that this kind of interruption take place for the better part of a week.” And I would surely bust hump to get the thing open again. But all that has greeted riders this week are the familiar yellow barriers and no sign of any urgency that repairs are being attempted. (Even a sign acknowledging the problem, and explaining that, say, the parts are on order from Australia would help.) The fact this calculus escapes Metro shows why management ultimately doesn’t get the service culture it purports to embrace. Yes, escalators will naturally break down. But that’s a hardware problem. After that, the issue is management -- a challenge Metro evidently is still not able to meet.

DC is not alone with escalator woes.


Photo: buschap

Beware of Early Last Trains Sunday Morning

From reader Tim.

We know it's easy to lose track of time when you're out having fun, but remember the 3 a.m. shutdown is going to come an hour early Sunday. At 2 a.m. Sunday, it will really be 3 a.m., and Metro plans to close right on time.

So down that last one early, or if you're not out partying, and are looking for something fun to do at 2 a.m., wait outside a Metro station and laugh at the poor drunken souls who are stranded.

"Metro officials want to remind customers that daylight-saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8. At that time, all clocks are moved ahead one hour. When that happens, it will become 3 a.m., and the Metrorail system will close."

Read the entire release here.

The Metrorail system is open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Other posts by Tim: here

Bravo Red Line Riders!

By Tim Casey, contributing writer

Every now and then, you'll read a story about people walking by a dying or dead person without giving so much as a glance, but today I saw something on the Red Line that restored my faith that there are some decent people out there.

If you go through Chinatown at all, you already know that the escalators this week have been especially horrible, at least on the Glenmont side.

As I was making my way toward two non-working escalators, I saw a man take a tumble down one of them and whack his head in what looked and sounded bad. After a second of everyone staring wide eyed, three people rushed over to help the man while everyone else calmly waited without a single complaint. They quickly helped the visibly shaken man to his feet and aided him down the rest of the way while trying to determine if he needed medical assistance. Given the recent tragic death of Natasha Richardson, that was a good idea.

Bravo Red Line riders!

Other posts by Tim

Our First Dispatch From the Red Line

Thanks to Tim.

Metro's perpetual repairs continued this morning. At Wheaton Station, two of the three escalators are down; one has been for weeks due to repairs and entirely closed off, the other consistently breaking every other day. In a seeming effort to piss off riders further, the elevator decided to go out as well. You'd think at one of the deepest Metro stations such as Wheaton, working escalators/elevators wouldn't be too much to ask. But then again considering half the Metro board declines to take Metro regularly they probably don't even notice.

Anyone Want to Make One for the Red/Orange Lines?

From the NY subway, but could be used for the Orange and Red lines.

Thanks, Tim, for the heads up.

Down is Not Always Out at WMATA

The Washington Post is reporting that Carla Proctor, the bus driver involved in the accident with the jogger, has been fired. In most cases, that would be the end of the story, but it's not always so with WMATA where terminations can often lead to happy endings!

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents 10,000 current and retired Metro rail, bus, maintenance and clerical workers, publishes sporadic newsletters, which are posted for all to see on the union's Web site.

In addition to the standard "message from the president" and event information, the newsletters also feature a section called "Grievance Updates" in which there is a list on the latest wins (W) and losses (L) the union has had with employees who've found themselves in hot WMATA.

If you count up the Ws versus the Ls, you've got a Super Bowl team in the making! Carla Proctor may be back behind the wheel before you know it!

These are taken straight from the newsletters.

June, 2009
Settled: 37
Dropped: 6
Arbitrated: 11
Stipulated Settlements:
William Page - W - Termination reduced to 15 day suspension
Vincent Lawrence - W - 16 hours overtime at double rate
Gilbert Giuliani & Dwayne Wright - W - Four hours overtime for each day shift worked under
altered schedule

June/July 2009
Settled: 37
Dropped: 13
Arbitrated: 11
Stipulated Settlements:
Paul Cousins - W - 10 Day Suspension Reduced to 5
Billy Wright - W - Grievant Made Whole
Tim Hoepful - W - 5 Day Suspension Made Whole
Gregory Johnson - W - 7 Hours Overtime
Andres Acosta - W - 1 Day Suspension Reduced to Reprimand, 1 Day Back-pay
Terry Bradley - W - 5 Day Suspension Reduced to 2 Day Suspension, 3 Days Back Pay
Katrina Johnson - W - Suspension reduced, Charge Reduced, 3 Days Back Pay
Zachary Coleman - W - Run Pay for Train Run 501 and Run 21 - Glenmont
Robert Winston - W - Reprimand Reduced to Interview - Reinstruction
John Whitaker - W - Reinstated, No Back Pay
Belynda Bowman - L - Promotion Issue
Vernice Headen - L - Termination
John Pfiefer - L - Sec. 104G IME Issue

April/May 2009
Settled Grievances for March : 30
Arbitrated Grievances for March : 5
ASE Award -W- No demotions, less ASE’s required Stipulated Awards
Sharon Dennis -W- Reinstated position as interlocking operator
Tonya Beatty -W- 2 days back pay
Patricia Ramdass -W- 10 days back pay, suspension removed
Allen White -W- Reinstated, no back pay
Walter Maddox -W- Reinstated, no back pay
Karen Bryant -W- Reinstated
James White -W- Suspension reduced, 1 day back pay
Kendrick Oyola -W- 20 days back pay
Arbitrated Grievances
Donta Fiddermon -W- 5 day suspension reduced to written warning, 5 days back pay
Alexis Bobo -W- 9 hours back pay
Boyd Way -W- Reinstated to ELES apprentice program
Eugene Garritt -W- Reinstated
Tobius Henderson -W- Changed to an interview
Aaron Hood -W- 4 hours of back pay
Charles Cofer -W- 5 days back pay, removed from record
Stanley Simmons -W- 1 day back pay, removed from record

December/January 2009
For the Month of December
Arbitrated:17
Settled: 45
Dropped: 34
W-DeMarkus Henry– Settlement Agreement- Reinstated with back pay from 9
W-Roderick Marsh –Settlement Agreement Suspension Removed-back pay
W-Clark Darden-Settlement Agreement preventable major reduced to minor-3 days back pay
L-Luis Salazar-Arbitrator ruled against the union-Authority had legitimate right to assign
escort assignment.

Other items:
Graham aide arrested (WaPo)
Riders say they were locked in station last night (NBC4)

The Case of the Missing Ad

From Tim:

Call me a daredevil, but I always ride in the first car of trains. They're definitely less crowded, and I'd rather walk a bit further than feel like a sardine.

Besides, does putting the least safe, most likely to telescope, cars in the middle, where most people are, make any sense at all?

Anyway, this morning, as the train was pulling up at East Falls Church, I got a quick glimpse of a Charles Schwab advertisement facing me from in the operator's cabin of car 6006 as it was pulling up.

It was being used as a "privacy screen," probably to keep people from taking pictures of the operators. Considering they operators' cabin is already tinted, I'm not sure why they do this.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but a little while later, I realized I was in a car obviously sponsored by Charles Schwab. There were ads everywhere, and sure enough, one of the little square ads, the one closest to the operator's booth, was missing.

I'm sure advertisers don't appreciate this, and that can't be good for the bottom line.

Other items:
FFX Co. looks to buses. (WaPo)
5, no 3 percent of your fares will never be used (Examiner)

Tardy Slips

Looks like even more fun on the Red Line this morning, although this one's not on WMATA.
With all the delays, we started wondering if people have ever gotten in trouble at work because they were held up by a Metro malfunction? We’ve had a few close calls, and yesterday’s fun on the Red Line was a real nail biter.
If you have a jerk for a boss, there's hope.
While not advertised on the WMATA, a.k.a metroopensdoors, Web site, Metro can actually provide you with a letter, on a "case by case basis" explaining the reason for your delay providing it was longer than "15-20 minutes," according to a customer service representative.
Given the difficulty customers have trading in demagnetized fare cards, we think it'd be a nightmare to have to deal with WMATA for something like this, but it's nice to know there's a hail Mary option given the regularity with which the ailing mass transit system goes berserk.
Perhaps WMATA could look into the system set up by the Long Island Rail Road (part of New York’s MTA). They have an automated "late letters" service they claim can get you an excuse letter the same day. Check out more about it here. (Scroll down a bit.)
While Metro’s system is not nearly as advanced, if you find yourself chronically late because of Metro and getting in trouble for it, you can try to get your boss off your back by calling Metro’s customer assistance line at 202-637-1328. Let us know how that goes.--Tim Casey

Touching Tweet of the Day:
@atiyah9369 Morning twitters I am praying for a good commute day...

Other news:
For all three of you going to the Nats game, some good news.
Interesting piece on the poorly designed bus system (Goodspeed Update) thanks @seanr1978
GGW's 12-minute Metrobus map