If we must go with 4 car trains, can Metro communicate where the trains are going to stop? Saturday night, a 4 car Orange Line train pulled all the way to the front of the station. This caused 80% of the passengers to run towards the last car as it was closest. The operator did not even wait, causing those who couldn't make it to an open door to endure another 6 - 8 minute wait.

I couldn't agree more about the weekend trains. I am fortunate living in the city where I don't have to use metro that often, but made a trip from Dupont to Chinatown on a weekend night. This "experience" was much worse than a rush hour metro commute would have been. Many people either couldn't get off the train at their stop or unable to get on to the crowded trains in time. Maybe its better at areas where 2 lines pass through.

People ride the metro during non-rush hour? Why?

Metro is totally useless off-peak. Waiting 30 minutes for a train is your idea of fun?

The four car trains on the red line were a nightmare on Saturday afternoon. From Union Station to Metro Center the trains were completely full, with people left on the platforms. The train had to sit at the stations for well over a minute for people to get on and off.

I used to enjoy riding Metro with my dad during our special day together during summers as a kid. He'd take the day off work and we'd ride Metro. Now, that I'm nearly married, my fiance and I don't ride Metro as much this year as we did last year. Here are the reasons why.

1. Long waits. 30 minutes for a train during off-peak hours which if you do anything in the city at night, is bound to come up.

2. Station managers. Enough said.

3. Train drivers. Speak clearly. This is a pet peeve of mine because I know how to speak into a microphone and be understood. It's not that hard. I'll be more than happy to teach Metro drivers how to speak clearly, or better yet, record all of the train announcements for them.

4. Crammed cars. Four cars following a Caps or Wizards game, or a show at any theatre downtown. Come on, are you serious! Saturday night I was driving home on 66 at 4 p.m. and saw a 4-car train pulling into Vienna that was packed.

5. Ignorance of Metro as a whole.

So here it is, 5 reasons not to ride Metro, beyond the parking costs, shorter trains, bad communication, and inconvenient scheduling (I've never had less than a 20 minute wait coming off the Red to Orange at Metro Center following an event at Verizon Center).

Here's a very simple question that I'd love to get a real answer to from someone at Metro.

NYC has had an underground subway since 1904. Metro opened in 1976. How do you do something so bass-ackwards SEVENTY TWO years after it's already been done before? (Metro's propensity for reinventing everything on their own, starting with the wheel, after years of experimentation and planning, notwithstanding.)

It almost seems like Metro is trying to kill itself in off peak times. I used to just plain avoid metro on the weekends with all their track work and long waits, but I've been using it more because I have to now on the weekends. It is such a painful process and I hate it. And now it is even more painful cause the 4 car trains are jam packed. I rode 3 times this weekend and never once saw anything other than 4 car trains. I would have rode 4 times but I couldn't stand to wait another time so I took a cab. Figured I could pony up 10 bucks for a cab to save myself 40 minutes.

It may not be so bad if you can just take one train, but if you have to transfer its just horrid. I waited 12 minutes for an orange line, then another 15 for a blue line.
Also it would be helpful if they stop the 4 cars in the same place... it seems the drivers have all forgotten how to stop the 4 car trains already. I experienced a lot of people having to run down the platform cause the train went way past the center point of the platform to the ends.

If I knew I was only going to have to wait at most 5-6 minutes during off peak, I think I would be a lot more willing to take metro during off peak, but knowing it is going to take 45 minutes to get some place on metro versus 5 via cab, I'm probably going to start going more towards the cabs, and if I don't have to go anywhere, I'm just gonna stay home or walk.

I bet we end up with 2 car trains again soon.... doesn't metro remember how horrid that was.

2 - 4 - 6 - 8 car trains? Why is it always even numbers? Why can't they try 5-car trains? That would be some sort of a compromise (between 4 and 6) or 7-car trains instead of 8-car trains? Obviously 9-car trains and 3-car trains are out of the question.

Odd Number Dave,

Train cars come in "married pairs" which cannot be seperated. Thus, only multiples of 2 (aka, even numbers) can be used. The propulsion and braking systems are shared between the two cars requiring less mechanical equipment but still permitting significant amounts of flexibility with use of the cars.

Why don't they run smaller trains, but more often, during off-peak times? The long waits (especially if you have to use more than one line) are a huge reason that people don't use Metro on the weekends if they don't have to.

Why is it that they can't stop 4 car trains in the same place, but they'll lurch 6 car trains ahead 2-3 feet at a time to get it "just right"?

Why do they even need to lurch the trains forward? Inevitably they end up further forward than they "should". As long as the entire train is in the station, so be it.

(Of course, BART manages to have the door locations marked on the platform--how can Metro not have equal accuracy?)

"Why don't they run smaller trains, but more often, during off-peak times?"

I wonder that too. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that they then have to have more train drivers, which probably costs more than the trade off in cost... but maybe not if reducing 6 to 4 cars on weekends saves like a million bucks.

"They're paying the same fare they've been paying, and their getting smaller trains that often will be more crowded, no matter what the overall figures are."

Along these lines: When metro is seriously delayed during rush hour for mechanical reasons (I understand they can't control the weather or sick passengers), why am I paying rush hour fare? Why do I need to pay a premium for non-premium service?

Twice last week, the red line had mechanical difficulties and waits for trains ran 7-9 minutes. Is that a long time? No, but rush hours fares are supposed to mean service every 2-3 minutes, at most.

And why, oh why, can't they change the fare machines so that if you enter a station and exit within so many minutes (say 10, at most) you aren't charged? We've all had the experience of waiting for a train and then hearing the dreaded "sick customer" announcement. I should be able to exit the system without paying $1.35 for a ride.

Note, though, that it appears that these 4 car trains will be used during peak times as well. Twice last week, between 5 and 6 pm, the blue line into VA had only 4 car trains.

Kevin's comment is just one example of the LIES told by Metro. Didn't they recently announce with some fanfare that there will be no more 4-car trains during rush hour? Apparently, that was just a lie. What Metro says it will do and what it actually does often bear little resemblance to each other.

I too dread the 4 car train service. I know Metro isn't a tried and true for profit venture, and its fate is somewhat tied to area governemtns, but this should be scuttled. Its poor csutomer service to have long waits (they aren't quite as long as some commeters write) and shorter trains for customers. Add to that the prospect of fare increases and the perception is that Metro leadership is out of tiuch, or just plain wrong.

Increased ridership should equal increased services and train frequency. Not the other way around.

I can back Kevin's comment up too. Last Friday, I think it was, I was dismayed to see two Orange Line trains (one 6 cars, one 8 cars) arrive into Farragut West within 5 minutes of each other, and then every 8-10 minutes or so there was a Blue Line train. Even though it was after 5 p.m., I was the lucky gal who got the 4 car BL train after waiting for 10 minutes. WHA?

Again last night (Monday night) - there were some 4 car trains out to VA during evening rush hour

Kevin, you are just imagining things. Service is consistent and exceptional. Those weren't 4 car trains, they were 8 car trains with 4 invisible cars.