Tell you what, when I can use my TMobile phone to contact my office when I get stuck in Metro for over 35 minutes, as we did this morning, I will believe the "customer service" chant. When the trains don't stink, I will believe the "customer service" chant. When the Blue Line no longer has 4 car trains during rush hour, I will believe the "customer service" chant. When I can ask a station manager a reasonable question and get a less than hostile answer and/or no "are you stupid" look, I will believe the "customer service" chant. When elevators no longer stink of urine for weeks on end, and all of the escalators work at least 85% of the time, and my daughter isn't afraid to ride the bus, and most of the SmartTrip fare machines work all of the time, and .... you get the idea; then I will believe the "customer service" chant.

Since I keep getting kicked out of Metro's question post page, I'll ask the question here. I was going to ask Mr. Stoner if any thought has been given to making several spaces at stations such Franconia/Springfield and Huntington reserved for longer-term parking. For example, I fly a lot from National, and live close to the Franconia stop. It would be pretty convenient for folks like me to park at these stations for a few days, instead of hassling with parking at the airport or taking an expensive cab ride. I'm sure that I'm not the only person who would find this approach a good one. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Know this would never get answered by metro (and rightfully so), but just thought I would put it out there since I have always noticed it: Doesn't it seem like an inordinate number of metro employees are overweight? Serioulsy, I have never seen a station manager who looks like they weigh less than 250. Why is that?

I've parked at Franconia-Springfield before for a weekend flight north. I've also been at the stations on the blue and orange lines picking up friends and there were still a lot of cars. Seems to me you already can.

I believe you can park overnight on the weekend because parking is free then. They restrict it to 24 hours during the week because they charge by the day and they have no other way of policing how much you owe. I either drive to Reagan and park there or I park at my office downtown (where I have monthly parking) and take the subway back out to the airport.

well..this morning the orange line was so bad i walked to dc from courthouse..i have no email alerts which i signed up for...and on their website there is not a word about it
on the web site it also say track work will be suspended in dec....and in another place it says there will be track work this weekend

metro service is rapidly detoirating..it is not reliable even a little bit.

anyone notice all the condos being built along the orange line?..I shudder to think what the orange line will be like in a year or 2.

I travel the buses and rails everyday. The problem with the rails is not so much Metro but the riders. The doorway areas are jammed and the middle is empty. Not only do riders collect around the door area but in the doorway itself thus reducing an entry and exit to one person wide. Then we also have riders with bikes or strollers during rush hours. Also the riders who pull a luggage bag to and from work. The bag takes another standing spot and creates a tripping danger.I can't fathom what they would 'pack' for work but since they are mostly overwieght, it must be food.
The buses are another adventure. I would say most drivers are friendly and helpful. But the are some who are downright dangerous. I have seen many times when the last person steps onto the bus, the drivers will floor the gas sending that person into a sprint to the rear or a deathgrip onto a pole. Coming to a stop is the same in reverse. If you are seated you must hold onto you things or watch them fly off the seat or your lap. And if you are standing, you are going to the front of the bus like it or not.I know this is a driver problem because most other drivers can driver smoothly and safely. In the private sector they can weed out bad workers, but in WMATA they have a lifetime job.

Metro busses can also help with cutting down other traffic congestion.
Are they trained to pull into a bus stop with their rear ends sticking out into the travel lane? If they actually pulled into their designated space, traffic would flow much more freely.
I know that sometimes there are cars parked to close, but even when they are not, I have seen far to many busses doing this for it to be a coincidence.

Thanks very much to Flying Metro and Rich for their responses re: parking at Metro stations for more than 24 hours. I really appreciate them.

Recently I subjected myself to commuting by rail and bus (East Falls Church to Tysons Transit Center) while my car was (and still is) in the shop, and I have never been so disgusted with service from a governmental entity, except the TSA. Nasty station attendants (EFC, WFC, Dunn Boring), trains that were toxic factories for mold and mildew, and rude bus monitors (is there another word for the obese who clock arrivals and departures?). In San Francisco and Toronto I never hesitated to use mass transit, but not here in my native metropolis!

SCHEDULE: I want to know what is the point of using government money for printing up schedules for the public when the R-1 bus from Fort Totten is always late or the R-5 (4:03) never shows up until 4:16, I was told one day by a bus driver that he does not go by metro schedule but is own schedule, "WHAT'S UP WITH THAT".

After vacationing recently in Paris, and having lived previously in London and in Boston, and now with 5 years of living in Arlington under my belt, I see a dire need for a more extensive Metro subway system.

Technically, the Metro has 5 lines, but when you factor in the shared track for the Blue/Orange, Blue/Yellow, and Yellow/Green lines, with only the Red line having its own tracks for from end-to-end, we ACTUALLY have only THREE Metro lines.

This, with a population exceeding 5 million in Greater Washington. London, with 12.5 million people, has 12 subway lines. Paris, with 11.5 million people, has 14. Both systems go all over their metropolitan areas, with stops not just in the downtown core, but also throughout their equivalents of the 495 beltway.

The reason why the Orange Line is nearly at capacity is not just due to all the high-rises, condos and townhouses in Arlington, but because it has to share the same track with the Blue Line from Rosslyn to RFK Stadium.

Who lacked the foresight to avoid this problem by giving the Blue and Orange lines their own tracks from end-to-end, without their having to share the same track through all of the District?

We need AT LEAST that problem solved, which will necessitate digging another tunnel in the District (for example, routing it so it goes from Stadium-Armory to Union Station to the new convention center to K Street, swooping down to the edge of Georgetown and then in its own Potomac tunnel crossing to Rosslyn).

Ideally, we should build another TWO lines, one that would allow for the Yellow Line to no longer share track with the Blue or Green, and another route, perhaps the proposed Purple Line as long as it meets up with all the other lines at various points.

That's another thing... look at how the Tube (London's subway system) and Paris Metro have all the lines meeting up with each other throughout the system and not just at a handful of stations. That would help alleviate the huge logjams at Metro Center and L'Enfant Plaza at morning and evening rush.

And, a final suggestion. More commuter rail trains. THREE MARC lines and TWO VRE lines just isn't enough for the number of people we have living here. Perhaps build a VRE terminus at Rosslyn or expand the Old Town Alexandria station to handle this, where riders could then transfer to the Metro, since most of them do anyway at Union Station?

I notice comments here by people using trains and buses. Nothing on the para-transit service which is substantially mediocre and continues to be affected by numerous adverse problems.

Do these town hall meetings include discussions on this component of the "Metro" service in the National Capital Area? I'd be curious if anyone would respond. Thank you.

I notice comments here by people using trains and buses. Nothing on the para-transit service which is substantially mediocre and continues to be affected by numerous adverse problems.

Do these town hall meetings include discussions on this component of the "Metro" service in the National Capital Area? I'd be curious if anyone would respond. Thank you.