The funny thing about JetBlue is they didn't need to do that. On a recent flight from Boston to DC, one of our TV monitors didn't work (it stayed on the map channel so we could track where we were during flight). Well, they flight attendant gave us extra drinks and snacks, a couple of sets of headphones and then told us to go out to the counter to get everything taken care of. We went out front and they gave us each $5 off the flight. Keep in mind we only paid $35 for the flight. We were told that it's based on the amount you paid so if it was a $70 flight, we would've gotten $10 back. 15% back for your minor inconvenience.

I love JetBlue, have flown them on several occasions now and will fly them again. Metro on the other hand is starting to get too high on themselves to the point they are forgetting about what they need to make the system run, people. Either by inconveniencing them or trying to run them down (sorry, almost got hit twice this morning).

I absolutely agree with Jarrod. JetBlue obsesses about good service in areas where other airlines don't even try. JetBlue once gave me a free flight to compensate a weather delay beyond their control. I am very loyal to them and fly JetBlue whenever I can.

By contrast, I have been car-free for ten years but I am shopping for a car now (after two years in the DC area) because of MetroRail's crowding, unreliability, abysmal weekend service, and lack of security.

I am in favor of Metro bill of rights! We pay for the fares (tax dollars + out of the pocket). We deserve to have a better service. How about a performance improvement analysis for the Metro?

I am giving up on using Metro for commuting. I used to ride the Orange Line into the city but soon will be moving into the city and just walking to work. I will not likely have that luxury if I eventually have a family -- at that point I have decided I will just drive to work. Metro is not reliable and ultimately seems to care little about those of us coming in from Arlington and Fairfax Counties.

Plus we know the types of people that run Metro and work at the stations. Their promises mean nothing to me. I see them look the other way all the time now when people bring in open food containers and soda (and eat them in the station and rail cars.)

I've never used a car for commuting and probably will not for another couple of years since I'm moving to DC but I will have no qualms about doing it down the road. Metro just gives me no other option. They basically tell those of us living west of the city to drop dead on a daily basis.

1. Customers have a right not to get nearly (or actually) run over by Metro buses and trains.

2. Customers have a right to service that is on time but is above all safe (for both riders and drivers). Metrobus customers have a right to buses that actually serve all the waiting customers at stops (I have seen them skip stops on numerous occasions and not stop even when customers at the stop wave them down).

3. Customers have a right to courteous, or at the bare minimum civil, treatment from Metro employees.

Umm, lemme see what else....

4. Customers have a right to service that reasonably accomodates changing situations (early Federal release, weather, etc.) while still maintaining safe service.

These mentioned, there are actually a lot of Metro personnel who do in fact do their jobs and do them well -- the problem is that 1) most don't seem to be in the decision-making management strata and 2) the bad apples will of course draw more attention than the good.

JetBlue has to react fast because a potential passenger just has to call United instead of them. Metro has a monopoly on local transit services, so they can be arrogant. You can't just catch a competing train or bus system.

Metro's arrogance is disgusting. At 5 pm on Monday at Metro Center, the PA system announced that Federal Triangle was reopened, and all trains are now operating normally. What?? I was standing on a packed platform -- oh, that's right -- that's normal. blech.

I like Tim's idea of performance analysis. Maybe that could be linked to allowable fare increases. While the system probably needs more money to perform better, there are some things that could be fixed without much cash infusion. Less arrogant announcements about delays would be a start. Or having bus drivers obey traffic rules so they stop killing pedestrians.

1. Passengers should have the right to available customer service. I've never gotten a live answer when I've called the line, nor a response to an email. I've encountered a couple of quality station managers (like the very friendly and professional woman working at Dupont North at 9:00am this morning), but for the most part they're rude, angry, or just dismissive.

2. Customers should have the right to a safe bus ride with a qualified driver. The 42 line is awful. I have rarely seen a bus on this line that hasn't been packed far beyond capacity. Metro should realize that this is a very popular line that services many growing neighborhoods, and increase service accordingly. I board the southbound bus at Columbia and 19th Street, and there are usually 20-30 people waiting for EACH bus during the morning rush. The buses are already very full by that point, and many blow past without even stopping. The few that do stop are so crowded that we're often pressed against the front door and windshield, thus blocking the driver's mirrors.

The overcrowding is made worse by the drivers' hard (and totally unnecessary) braking every half block or so. When no one can move an arm high enough to grab a pole, the crowd lurches and often falls on eachother or seated passengers.

If you put safety in there, explicitly, then you will impact all the other aspects. Ive ridden subway systems in Europe where you could open the doors while the train was moving. Apparently the Europeans are less prone to falling out of trains tha we are. Metros aircraft like distances between trains is one reason for the crowding and delays.

Do you really think for a moment that Metro seriously gives a flying frack about what its riders think? In the 13 years that I've used Metro, the service has gotten worse, the prices keep going up and there appears to be no end to the countless ways that Metro comes up with to try to blow happy faces into private parts of our anatomies.

They cried that they were losing money at parking lots to thieves, yet they have yet to show how much revenue increased in parking fees since the new parking system was put into place. And make no bones about it, the reserved space fees are simply another way for Metro to get more money and inconvenience the typical rider.

Implementation of the metro card system is fine for Metro, but I'm betting that a tourist that parks at a Metro lot sure does appreciate having to pay Metro at least $5.00 extra for a card he/she will most likely not use again.

The 8-car trains that they promised years ago have yet to materialize and they keep blaming the manufacturer for this. Where was the oversight on the production lines to ensure that the manufacturer would deliver on time and on budget? Where is the penalty to the company for every day that they do not deliver cars on schedule and in perfect working order?

Escalator/elevator repairs have also ravaged the Metro budget, as they have reminded us at least twice a year. Where was the oversight and quality assurance work that should have ensured that this work was being done properly? When riders hear a scraping sound on the escalators it is usually a good sign that something is wrong, yet the escalators continue to run. A wise manager at each station would immediately implement a policy that escalators should only be running in the up direction. Save the electricity that now powers the ones running down into the stations. Frankly, I'm not inconvenienced to walk down a flight of stairs and for those that are, the elevator should be used.

As it was pointed out earlier this week, you cannot enter a station and then leave that same station without paying, even though you did not ride the train. SWpend 1 minute in the station and get charged $1.35? Puh-lease...

Yet in time of emergency, Metro plans to take no responsibility in getting the ridership out of downtown. Note that the posters that Metro puts up says that we, the ridership, should have alternate plans to get home should an emergency arise. If I rely on Metro to get to and from work every day and Metro says it is the smartest way to do so, why the opposite stance when emergency plans are formulated?!

With the waste of our time, fares and sanity, all I can say is "Thanks for ripping us off, Metro."

Since Metro is provided by DC, the users probably have all the rights they are going to get:

(1) You have the right to remain silent.

Metro is much more reliable than the roads and bridges that would be relied upon for alternative transportation. I have been riding Metro for nine years now, and, in any given year, out of probably 200 days commuting, I have encountered on average maybe five days a year where a problem delayed my trip for more than 15 minutes. Can people who drive the roads with the same frequency make the same claim?

1) If you don't get a rush-hour level of service, you shouldn't pay a rush-hour fare. When there are major disruptions/delays, the gates should be reprogrammed to charge lower fares. I don't know enough about the farecard readers in the gates--but if they can read the time you entered, it ought to be able to calculate how much longer your trip took than Metro's published trip time, and after, say, twice as long, you get a lower rate. After a huge delay, a free ride.
2) Safety needs a top-to-bottom review. I have complained about maintenance work done on platforms during rush hour, but Metro says they can't do all of this work when the system is closed. Why not? Two examples: using the floor-washing machine on the platform at Gallery Place. Nice to have a slippery platform when the station is crowded. Also: one evening there was a guy on a very high ladder, working alone, changing a platform light at Huntington. He could easily have dropped that globe on someone, or been knocked off his ladder onto the tracks.

Sometimes I think we get so used to our routines that a minor hiccup in said routine causes widespread panic. I agree, Monday was a MESS and Metro did not communicate properly. However, I found it borderline amusing how many people were seemingly crippled by the stop in Metro service.

Now I KNOW, there are some people who literally had no other options for getting home, but I could think of just a few:

1. Taking a cab
2. Taking a bus
3. Walking a few blocks, THEN getting a cab if one can't be found nearby
4. Walking period. I know Orange Liners who walked from Rosslyn to Ballston on Monday and they survived
5. Calling a friend/family member/spouse to come pick you up
6. Zipcar
7. Exiting Metro, going to Starbucks, and having some coffee while you read a book. Return to Metro in 30 minutes when all the hubub is over.

Any other ideas?

I can think of a much larger city where transit has shut down, and people walked home, hitchhiked, stayed with friends, or slept in parks overnight until they could get home. Life goes on.

Again, I'm not saying Metro didn't totally drop the ball on this one. I just think sometimes people read way too much into minor inconveniences.

Wouldn't it be more valuable to have a discussion about Metro's affects on the region? When Metro goes down, DC stops. If Metro were out of commission, on an otherwise normal DC day, traffic would standstill, yeah that's right, worse than it already is. People that ride Metro, while probably doing so for personal beneift, benefit everybody in the DC metro area whom has to get around. There shouldn't be a Metro Rider's bill of rights, there should be a focused, Government endorsed and sponsored, attempt to make Metro more reliable, (although, save for the occasional break down, or accident, Metro is already more reliable than hopping on 66 or 395), more accessable, et cetera. The tax bases in VA, MD and DC should be looking at ways to expand volume, expand service, et cetera. Mass transit is crucial for economic growth, and continued prosperity.

Are we really having a discussion about what Metrorail should do for it's passengers? How about the appropriate discussion about what and how Metrorail can do for the entire region and how to hold metro accountable to the Governments, Businesses, and People it serves.

I've been freed from Metro's issues myself since I left the full-time work world behind for part-time freelancing. However, my husband uses the Fairfax Connector bus and the Orange line to get to and from work every day. It's not just a minor inconvenience for him when Metro has a meltdown, which has happened on at least four evenings during the past two weeks. If he arrives at Farragut West to find a major delay, that also means he will miss the bus that gets him to our door. If he gets home much later than usual (between 6:45 and 7), he doesn't see our baby at all or sees her for just a few minutes before she goes to bed.

And for parents making a daycare pickup, it means they lose time with their children and get fined by their care provider if they miss the cutoff time.

When we lived in Arlington and had no kids, sure, the occasional Metro meltdown was a minor inconvenience that could be solved with a cab ride. Cab fare to Reston? Not a minor inconvenience. Taking the blue line to Rosslyn and having your total commute take two hours and fifteen minutes one-way because you ride the bus through Arlington and Falls Church? Not a minor inconvenience.

We can't wait for Metro to make it Wiehle Avenue, but wonder how the orange line track will function with dramatic increases in ridership. Metro needs board members and managers who actually ride the trains every day at rush hour and experince what regular riders do. They need to get rid of the dead wood and pour money into streamlining maintenance, improving safety, and meeting increased demand.

Thou shalt not complain.

Oh, wait, wrong list.

Why would Metro do that? They have no reason to. They can raise thier prices as they see fit and offer as little service as they see fit. Like the article says, its not like we have another option. So we get to bend over for Metro and take it, because, well, we dont have a choice.

btw, why does Metro charge for exiting the same station as you entered? Ive gone through the turnstile only to see a completely packed platform and decide to walk to the next station, but upon exiting, I get charged 1.85 for nothing.

"After stranding passengers in the downtown core and failing to provide adequate information to them, our transit authority says, "Thank you for riding Metro.""

lol monopolies.

restonmom: Don't live so far away from work if you are SO inconvienced when metro has a problem. Move out of virginia. I live on the red line in maryland and even when there are metro problems (and I think I might be delayed), the most i'm usually delayed is 10 minutes. If your kids are your highest priority, get a job that allows for a more flexible schedule so you can be with them more (compressed schedules, early start times, telecommuting). If you know you are going to be late to get the kids from daycare, have a back up plan of a family member or a neighbor you can call who could get them for you. Or just pay for the extra service. Just saying metro is the only option and then complaining about it accomplishes nothing. And if the above options are truly not possible for you, then grin and bare it.

No system is perfect, but I completely agree that metro is much more reliable then driving nearly anywhere in this area. It is quite common to hear about an accident on the roads that causes a major back up and could add an hour, or 2, or more to a trip.

I do notice that people who live in virginia seem to be more inconvienced when there is a delay on metro than any other line. I guess this is due to frequency of the trains and the ridership there. Yet another reason to dislike that state.

Hey Laura, why don't we just get rid of Virginia althogether? What exactly does your unhelpful statement add to the conversation, besides annoying many?

While a passenger bill of rights would be great, in this day and age of multiple forms of immediate and easy communication, it seems to me that there is an easy fix to letting people know about delays...and it probably would not cost much to implement it at all. Metro should allow people to sign up for a service whereby they would get an e-mail or text message advising of a delay, its length, the reason for the delay, and the anticipated time when the delay will be cleared up (similar to the Southwest Airline "Ding" e-mails?). This should also be tied into Metro's website, and websites for various local newspapers. If Metro is afraid of losing ridership for that period of time, then offer up suggested alternatives (buses, zipcar, etc). In addition, for those of us who do not have access to computers or cell phones, the station manager should be able to advise people of delays BEFORE they go through the turnstiles. The screens at the entrances of each station should simply state "Red Line Delays - please see Station Manager for details" rather than listing everything else that is going on, such as elevator outages throughout the system (its usually a pretty long, slow moving list).

Woodbridge:

I totally agree. Lets sell off Virginia to the lowest bidder, and seal the borders. What a bunch of whiners!

I hate VA!

Christine: I totally agree with you. I think that many people don't have back up plans for how to get home/ to work if metro has a problem.

I don't have a car so I rely on metro day to day. If metro were to be closed/ having major delays I already have a couple of alternate trip possiblities involving a couple of buses and walking. Yes, it would probably take me 30 minutes more to get to work (on a commute that usually takes me 20 door to door). Would I get to work a little late? Probably. But all I have to say is, metro was a mess this morning, and I would get the sudden recognition from my boss and all would be right with the world. I would say I am severly delayed less than 2-3 times a year on average. This is not an extreme amount for any employer (unless they are a totally unfeeling slave driver)

Everyone should sit down and figure out atleast 2 other alternatives for getting home from work if metro were to have a major problem. One should not include buses/trains whatsoever incase metro were to shut down completely (terrorist attack, major weather issues, etc.)

Woodbridge Commuter: Mostly my comment was in regards to finding alternatives to making your life easier, rather than just sitting there and complaining about it. I constantly read the complaints of orange line riders on this forum and sit here and wonder why they live there at all?

I'm sorry you found my comment so annoying, but apparently you are one of those types of people who get annoyed by everything in their life, yet do nothing to change it. Sorry I'm not helping with that, but you can count on lots more annoying comments from me. Though you do have the alternative not to read them. See, alternatives are everywhere.

Since we all complained about DC Metro systems. Let's let go all the current employees and start from scratch. Only hire the responsible ones.

Get rid of Metro, let it run like a real business. Not some quasi-governmental agency. BTW- Virgina, Maryland, DC and the Federal gov't all kick in for Metro. 1. why should i use something with horrible service 2. why should I have to continue to pay NOT to use it.

Well, my backup plan is to walk home, or to get to Rosslyn and see what cabs are charging. But we were lucky -- we bought a long time ago and could afford to live close in.

Laura, not every employer is flexible or allows telecommuting or whatnot. In fact, few do. How do I know? The roads are all jammed at 8 am, as is Metro. Your answer was very flippant, and your attack on Virginia very mean-spirited, and not very well informed, in light of Arlington's visible efforts and dedication to reduce reliance on cars in the county.

F Virginia.

Laura: Your comment was rude and inconsiderate. I have a flexible job, and ride the Orange Line every day, and it can be very disruptive if Metro screws up. Just because I'm delayed doesn't mean a backup person can just drop everything to pick up my kid from daycare.

On 2/14, when the govt closed at 2pm, I was in Federal Triangle at 1:55, and had until 3pm to pick up my kid. There was an empty platform when I got there. Next train: 16 minutes. No way of getting on. Needless to say, I forced my way onto the one after that, and arrived at the daycare center at 2:55. Normal commuting time: 20 minutes. After 3pm, I would have been charged $2/minute. And I could have called my husband, but didn't have enough lead time for him to get there.

Monday, I arrived in Federal Triangle at 4:08pm. Apparently the smoke was detected at 4:07, according to washingtonpost.com. No announcement whatsoever for about 15 minutes. Couldn't understand the announcement when it did come. It sounded like adults in a Peanuts cartoon. But when I saw everyone flooding out of the station (and being charged for going nowhere), I left too. Walked with everyone to Metro Center, waited another 10 minutes for a train. By the time I got to Ballston it was 1 1/2 hours after I left my office. I live close in so that I don't have to endure lengthy commutes.

And I considered taking a taxi, but downtown drivers won't take people to Virginia, because they aren't allowed to pick up return fares. And if they do, they will overcharge for the inconvenience. The last time this happened, and I took a cab, I was told the fare was $15, and was asked what I would pay.

I am interested to see how Metro plans to address morning rush hour when the new line gets built, though. It often takes 3 trains in the morning before I can get on because they fill up at Vienna (or so I'm told by friends who get on there). By the time they reach Ballston, there isn't even breathing room most days.

In exchange for paying for the privilege of not inconveniencing every driver on 66 and the Beltway by adding to the conjestion, I expect buses to be clean, safe, and somewhere close to on time. I expect the trains to be clean, safe, and likewise somewhere close to on time. I guess Metro gave up on fining people for eating & drinking on the trains. Perhaps they should go back to fines to pay for services. And silly me, I also think I should not have to listen to the loud, obnoxious man describing what he was going to do with artificial body parts to another man who was quietly minding his own business. The vocabulary on the red and green lines is beyond belief.

I think a bill of rights is unrealistic, however better service from metro is not. METRO HAS PROVEN TO US DURING SEVERAL SMALL EMERGENCIES THAT THEY ARE UNORGANIZED AND TERRIBLE AT COMMUNICATING.
Metro communication on a daily basis stinks because the sound is often too loud, too low, or inaudible. If they had just kept passengers updated with information via the platform screens, it would have aleviated the caos of trying to hear what was coming from the speakers over the voices of obnoxious passengers, But most of the screens were blank. Half of them don't work on regular days, yet metro plans to remove more seats and increase the fares. YOU, METRO, HAD BETTER GOUGE US WHILE YOU CAN BECAUSE YOUR RIDERSHIP AFTER THE FIRST MAJOR EMERGENCY WILL BE CLOSE TO ZERO AND I HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY.

In the event of an emergency on metro, your plan B should be to leave the station, head for the nearest foot locker, buy some tennis shoes and get to steppin because if they mention shuttle buses, they take forever, and the crowd is in a frenzy by that time. You are better off hailing a cab or walking.

Metro has been around for a while now. There should be no communication issues. It is really sad given that this was on the low scale of emergencies.

Nick P. said:
"Metro should allow people to sign up for a service whereby they would get an e-mail or text message advising of a delay, its length, the reason for the delay, and the anticipated time when the delay will be cleared up (similar to the Southwest Airline "Ding" e-mails?)."

Um, FYI, they do this already.

i checked wmata.com before leaving the office on monday. it said there were no service disruptions. it lied.

I've always been frustrated by the fact that you have to pay the minimum fare to exit the station at which you got on, even in the case of a delay. When I enter the system and learn that my train is delayed by more than 30 minutes, I have to pay EVEN IF I WANT TO LEAVE AND GET HOME ANOTHER WAY. This should be stopped--people should be charged no fare in that situation.

I also agree that "peak" fares should not be charged during periods of extreme delay.

DC commuters boycott metro for a day? a week?

Just another example of Metro's philosophy that is not limited to the Trains:

I was waiting for my H2 crosstown bus and it has been about 15-20 min late every day for almost a week. I asked the driver if there was a schedule change and he snapped back, "We cant be worrying about schedules...we are being watched now, so we are not concerned about schedules".

Very nice. It is nice to know that they could care less that I either make my commute twice as long by taking the trains all the way into the city (then change lines)and back out again to get to work or arrive late every day. This apathetic, rude and unreliable attitude is deplorable, and is making me question whether or not I just would rather buy a car already.

metro is a waste and i cant wait to move out of here!

Can't boycott Metro. They are unionized. They still get paid. There is an idea. De-unionize these folks and then they have to perform on their jobs.

Overall, Metro is OK. The problem is they do not take advantage of their existing technology. People complain about Monday evenings delay, what about Monday mornings delay or the Thursday before that? All Metro has to do is let people know. One gripe. the technology exist for Metro to charge a non-rush hour fare for those people that enter stations before 7pm, but train does not come until after 7. Petty issue but it is a daily $1.30 issue for me. I get to the station same time everyday, sometimes the train comes in 1 minute other 15 or more. Meanwhile, I must pay rush-hour fair. The system knows when that last rush-hour train has left the station and should charge accordingly.

Here's how to fix bus safety issue. Each bus gets two wireless cameras. One's aimed at the driver, to see if he/she is eating, talking on the phone, etc. The other is aimed out the windshield, and is a wide-angle lens that can see the traffic lights ahead and people in crosswalks. So if the driver runs a light, or tries to bully his way through pedestrians, it's recorded. The cameras can't be turned off, and broadcast to a web site that is not controlled by Metro. So anyone, including victims of Metro's safety problems, can access the videos, sorted by date and bus route. Think this would cost too much? What's the cost of more dead pedestrians?

Thank you Christine for such a breath of fresh air. I ride Metro everyday from Largo to the Pentagon. It's certainly far from perfect, but I don't have time to be annoyed my the minor inconveniences because I'm too busy being grateful that I have someplace to go where I get paid once I arrive. And, I am also grateful that when I board Metro I do so without the aid of a wheelchair, a dog or a walker.

RobGreg: The system "marks" your card when you enter the system and "marks" it again when you leave. So if you are so concerned with pay during rush vs. non rush and it's close to 7, why not just wait until after 7 to enter the metro system?

I also agree that you should not be charged if you enter and exit a station within 15 minutes, but I think this charge stems from when transfer from rails to buses (the ones you pick up in a station) were free or very cheap. I beleive it's a way to prevent people from entering a station and grabbing a transfer and taking the bus for 35 cents instead of the usual $1.25. I think metro should remove this to allow for more flexibility in deciding on taking a train, a bus, or walking.

Honestly though...how many starbucks coffees do you buy in a week? Is $1.35 such a large chunk out of your budget to have to eat it on a rare occurence when there is a major problem with metro?

Here's a thought. Transit times between stations are posted throughout the Metro system. For example, it is supposed to take 26 minutes to travel from Vienna to Foggy Bottom, my morning commute. Allow a few extra minutes for a train to arrive in Vienna and to exit the Foggy Bottom station, and we can call it a 30-minute trip. If the trip takes longer than 30 minutes (as a farecard or SmarTrip card can calculate), then Metro has to reduce the fare by 10 cents per additional minute. In extreme cases, which come up now and then on my way home in the evening, my ride home would be free--perhaps Metro would even owe me a few cents. As they teach in Economics 101, money talks, bullsh*t walks. The best way to make Metro work properly is to hit them in the wallet when they fail to do so.

Laura, you cannot transfer from rail to bus and present a bus transfer from that station if you want the discount. You have to present a transfer obtained from a different station, which is why they say to pick up a bus transfer when you get onto the Metro.

The real reason why you get charged to exit the same station is that in the early years of Metro, people had found a way to ride the trains for a minimal fare by using two farecards. Once upon a time there was no charge if you got back off. So some people found that you could ride for a minimal fare (I think back then it was around 50 cents) if you bought three farecards. When you got on the train, you fed two of them through the faregate. When you got off, you fed ONE through and the gate kept it. In the evening, when you got on, you used the third one, but when you got back to where you started that morning, you used the original card from the morning and weren't charged. You kept using these two cards each day, making sure to use the correct one at each end of your commute.

I never tried this because I didn't commute back then, but I know some people who swear that it worked. It doesn't anymore, of course, because the farecard will now time-out after a certain time and because of the charge for exiting where you got on.

Me think Laura doesn't have any kids and is jealous of all the money we Virginians have.

I have a full-time job in Tyson's, my girlfriend works in Chantilly, we live in Centreville because it's centralized for my other work. I can get to where I need to in 30 minutes in PW, Arlington, Ashburn, or Reston.

When we have kids, we'll probably stay in Centreville because I like the people and schools, plus it's close to everything we need to get to. Why should I uproot my family and pay more in rent so I can be convenienced going to a job that may not be there in 5, 10, or 15 years (which is why I run my own business on the side).

Laura, I'd love to see you have to live away from your precious, Red-line loving Metro.

This is from a post that I put on another blog's response which is quite interesting to note...

"As for not getting your $1.35 back and not get a service, think if just 1,000 people were inconvenienced and didn't ask for their money back. That's $1,350 Metro just made for free. Figure that probably 10,000 people a month are inconvenienced (is this not a reasonable number public friends?) that's $13,500 a month which equals $162,000/year. I think we just figured out how Catoe is getting his raise. I wish I could defraud people into giving me that much money every year!"

Interesting economics. New guy comes with with a raise of over $100K.

The three-card system aka Three-Card Metro did work and there were many that did it. Now with the time stamps and technology, it shouldn't take anything off the car. Though I still am a little steamed from paying $1.85 to ride from Metro Center to Gallery Place when my girlfriend was taking Metro for the first time. Seriously, can there be a pedestrian tunnel between these two stations? I could walk it faster than most trains get in during non-rush.

To Cheverly:

As somebody previously mentioned - Metro is a union shop. Good luck getting the union to agree to video monitoring.

Metro has proposed putting strobe lights on their buses - sorta like school buses. That will put all of the burdon for accident avoidance on us. The Metro drivers are off the hook.

I. Metro Management shall go visit NYC which has had an underground subway system since 1904 which does not suck nearly as much as Metro, has 468 stations, and 656 miles of track. Imagine if Metro had to manage that! The US economy would grind to a halt within a week.

II. Metro management shall attempt to learn something about how to run a mass transit system that does not suck and does not regularly bend its passengers over and insist that they take it. Metro management cannot return from NYC for at least a month.

III. Metro shall implement what is has learned from I and II here in the embarassment of an alleged *city* that is DC.

Thanks, Laura, for the not-at-all-helpful suggestion to not live so far away from work. For less than a one-bedroom condo in Ballston, we bought our modest, three-bedroom Reston townhouse in a family friendly, walkable neighborhood where we have close friends. We loved living in Arlington, but could never have owned anything there that would have accommodated having children or me working part-time.

An occasional bad day for Metro is inevitable and people absolutely should just sigh and move on without complaint when there's a delay once a month or less. But delays occurring weekly or even more frequently than that, especially during rush hour, just underscore that Metro is a broken system that no one is actually trying to fix. They're too busy collecting those big paychecks and driving--or being chauffeured to--work.

Love the suggestion that Metro managers go to NYC. Somehow a much larger system gets run much more efficiently, and I don't think magic is involved!

The generational changes in people's beliefs from the time when Metro was designed to the present are bigger than you might have thought, and they do affect somewhat the daily realities now.
Metro design thought is rooted in the 1960s, a time when policymakers and their constituent cohort were much under the influence of WW II thinking, that one could plan and achieve great things. Funding was always the obstacle to Metro. The circa-1960 design studies laid out 11 candidate lines (A-K), 256 miles, I believe. Committing funding for a system required an agreed "no turning back in the middle" plan which became the Adopted Regional System of 98 miles. What we have now is the ARS with about 10% growth. The planners and builders would not have imagined that the usage of these lines would be nearly what it is, without more lines (new routes, as well as extensions) being built.
I think they would have expected all those lines to be built by now, and probably more, with yet more in planning.
The Fred Hiatt piece a couple of days ago addresses other issues that share these roots. The center of mass of social values concerning public works has shifted quite a lot, from deciding what you want and trying to build it, to deciding what's the least you can spend without offending your own morals, and building that.
In blth frames of reference, Metro is in part a welfare system, and the service you get reflects the moral tenor of the times with respect to welfare. I don't recollect schools with trailers in the 60s, and it's not that there wasn't booming growth, for there certainly was.

My biggest gripe is why dont they tell you there is a delay before you get down to the platform and see a sea of people?! And when you try and leave from the stop you entered after seeing that, you have to pay.

One time in NY there was a big delay and we left the same station we entered and they gave us another token for a future trip. Why cant Metrorail give you a farecard for the base fare ($1.35 I think) if you want to leave! Geesh! No customer service at all!

"The center of mass of social values concerning public works has shifted quite a lot, from deciding what you want and trying to build it, to deciding what's the least you can spend without offending your own morals, and building that."

The world is a very different place. Notice that two of mankind's greatest technological achievements (putting man on the moon and returning him safely to earth, and Concorde) are both products of the 1960s. It was an era when the will do do things was there such that the money would be found. If the beancounters of today were in charge then, man never would have walked on the moon and Concorde never would have flown.

"you cannot transfer from rail to bus and present a bus transfer from that station if you want the discount. You have to present a transfer obtained from a different station, which is why they say to pick up a bus transfer when you get onto the Metro."

I meant to address this and forgot. You are correct, however (especially during rush hour) bus drivers rarely actually look at where you received your transfer. And the older machines often did not print the transfer very clearly, so potentially you could still get around this system.

Sometime I forget to grab a transfer when i get on the metro, so I always just grab one when i leave the station. I've never had a problem and I've done this a bunch.

Jarrod: You are correct. I don't have kids. But I am thinking about them and have already begun doing research into daycare centers close to my work and their costs so I can accurately budget for it when the time comes. I also have been on the look out for jobs that provide day care on premises. Again, *planning* is coming into play here.

The usual argument from Virginians is that it's too expensive to live in Maryland (housing costs, taxes, etc.). If this is the case I guess you are just stingy rich Virginians. And I grew up, work, and live in Montgomery County (one of the richest counties in the nation) so no, I am not jealous of you stingy Virginias, as you state.

My whole point, which you obvisouly seem to be missing (stupid Virginians too it seems), is that you make choices to live where you live and work where you work and travel how you travel. There are consequences that come with such things. If the priorities in your life are have a big house and to live farther out and care for your kids then yes, you will have to sacrafice your sanity, some money, and time in order to commute. I'm sorry if that is how you have chosen your life to be. So is it relly metro's fault that you have made those choices, and have not tried to plan with alternatives to the situation? I think not.

I have been using metro (buses and trains) for 13 years. I would still state it has been a very rare occurance (on average 2-3 time a year) that i have been severly inconvienced. This is living on both ends of the red line, in the city, and on the end of the green line. Seems to me, based on reading these posts, that the most inconvienence people are those who live in Virginia. So, as some of you say, if you are inconvienced on a weekly basis by metro and this is something that causes severe stress in your life (and may affect other aspects such as your children, which seem to be your priorities) wouldn't it be time to move? Or find an *alternative* to metro. Rather than just complain.

Oh and if you plan to come back at me with a "well this is how it has to be because I want can't afford X and i want a yard for my kids and my job is here and daycare charges me a million dollars a minute if i am late and there is nothing I can do about it" fine. Complain away. I suppose this is the forum for it. I'll just continue to complain about you complainers.

Hey Laura, what's your point in categorically classifying Virginians based on the comments of a few? I could say many choice words about Maryland folks I've met, but it serves no purpose. So lay off, will ya?

Second, your suggestion people just up and move is simplistic and ignores the variables that cause people to live in X and not Y. All I can say is wait till you have children. Then maybe you'll have some compassion for the complainers.

Third, complaining is a hell of a lot better than sucking it up and letting bureaucracy suck the life out of you and determine how you live your life. This nation was founded on the backs of complainers who disliked King gEorge's method of earning revenues for the Crown. Complaining lets decision makers know people are not happy. Sucking it up means things will never have a chance to improve.

Please try on someone else's lens when viewing the world once in a while. No one has the right answers to lifes problems so quit pretending you do, silly.

Laura, it's great that you're doing all this planning but in the end, you can't plan on anything. That's the secret to life. Someone once said, "What can go wrong, will. No matter how hard you plan and how many details you address, something can and still will go wrong. It's how you address what went wrong and learn from it." This was a teacher of mine paraphrasing quite a few different quotes but it's served me well. I always plan at least two routes to get someplace and even then have a map just in case.

"And I grew up, work, and live in Montgomery County (one of the richest counties in the nation) so no, I am not jealous of you stingy Virginias, as you state."
And I grew up, work and live in Fairfax County, which is richer than Montgomery County. I believe Loudoun is now above you on that same list. Stingy my rear, Loudoun, Fairfax, PW, Arlington and Alexandria provide about 90% of the funding for THE REST OF THE STATE! So if we're a little beleaguered that we're not getting full support from our taxes, then yes, I believe you can call us stingy. I just have a problem with people from Roanoke complaining about "us northern folks" coming down and trampling stuff. Hey, I paid for it.

"you make choices to live where you live and work where you work and travel how you travel. There are consequences that come with such things."
Yes, I know, I chose to live in C-Ville because I do work at the high school and with several ice rinks in the DC area and C-Ville is right in the middle geographically of all of them. I'm not complaining about that. What I complain about is when Metro does something that could've easily been avoidable but didn't learn from a past mistake (see quote above).

"I have been using metro (buses and trains) for 13 years. I would still state it has been a very rare occurance (on average 2-3 time a year) that i have been severly inconvienced."
Going on 25 for me, but don't use them much unless I'm doing an event at Verizon Center, GW or in Ballston. Just not convenient for me.

"...that the most inconvienence people are those who live in Virginia."
Uhhh, yep. The Red line shares track with how many other lines? Green line is only paired with Yellow for a few stops. Blue has both the Yellow and Orange while having very little of it's own track, while the Orange shares with blue and too has very little of it's own track. Red is a line unto itself. No worries about two Orange and then a Blue, or a Blue breaking down causing delays at Vienna. Red is set up that if a train does break down in a tunnel, they can still get by with ease and not cause too much of a delay.

"...if you are inconvienced on a weekly basis by metro and this is something that causes severe stress in your life...wouldn't it be time to move? Or find an *alternative* to metro. Rather than just complain."
Tell you what, I'll sell you anything in my house for $1 million and when you realize it's not worth $1 million, don't say anything. How will you feel then? Same thing, Metro is cheating people out of money and making A LOT by doing it. I complain for two reasons. 1. It's my constitutional right to free speech and 2. Something might get done. I run a business and without feedback, I don't know if I'm doing a good job or not. I welcome feedback of all kinds (except the high-pitched kind which does happen in my line of work) because that way I know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong so I can fix the wrong.

Too bad Metro can't do that, except on the Red line apparently.

Why? Like the U.S. Bill of Rights, it would be violated anyway. Metro, like the Government, does what it wants to do, regardless of a BORs.