Top 10 things to make the DC Metro Better!
So having been an avid metro rider most of my adult life I think that the DC metro is decent. One positive for the DC metro is that it is clean. I have been to Asia and Europe and I would rather eat off the floors of our metro platform Vs. riding the ones in Europe and Asia. So this post stems from a collaboration of things one is my new found obsession with reading Unsuck DC Metro. I have found that I am not the only with gripes about the metro nor am I getting the worst of it.
1. Stay open later!
Seriously Midnight on the weeknights and 3 on the weekends. I know DC is conservative but come on. If you work at a law firm, bar, hotel, financial firm, hospital, and many more you might not get out till after midnight. This then turns into you driving in and home putting more cars on the road. It also protects people from drunk driving around the city on the weekends. The hours clearly need a change it should be 3:00am on the weekdays and somewhere around 4:30 or 5 on the weeknights.
2. Get some better customer service!
The metro is a business and should be run like one! You cannot cuss or yell at customers. Here are two links to incidents that I could not believe happened Here (Question One) and Here ( Flipping the bird metro style). If you don’t get a chance to read those cases you are missing out. It is very disturbing that someone coming out of town would get that kind of experience.
3. Accurate Train times!
On many occasions I have been going down the escalator towards the metro and see the sign saying my train is coming in 5 minutes. Unfortunately when I get to the bottom I see the stupid train moving off the platform. Seriously how hard would it be to accurately track the train times with today’s technology this should be a simple task.
4. Fix the escalators !
I go to the mall all the time and I rarely see the escalators broken. Why is it that at least twice a week the stupid escalator is broken. I usually run up the stairs but for those who don’t it’s pretty ridiculous especially if you are going to Rosslyn or Wheaton which have the longest ones.
5. Fix the Elevator Outages seriously!
There are constantly more elevators not working than working. Can they at least switch that equation around. The handicap people that have to use those must be frustrated on no end with that crap. Everyday there is a 3 minutes long announcement about how every stupid elevator is out of service.
6. We need longer trains!
During rush hour, special events, sporting events, and other mass influx of people the trains need to be longer. I remember a while back when the Cherry Blossom festival was going on I had to let three trains pass me up before I was able to get on one. Come on Metro it is not like these things happen on a whim. Metro should prepare for these types of events with longer trains and more trains.
7. The metro Board member need to be more involved!
If you are on the board of something shouldn’t you be using or have used it. Some of the people on the board of the metro don’t ride it. I am no business expert but how are you supposed to make decisions about something you are not using?
8. Fix the red the redline!
I know we had a crash on the redline recently and I am no engineer but the poor people taht ride the redline are supposed to add an hour to their commute. Thats crazy so if you live in Maryland and are going to DC on the metro god bless you. A two hour train ride both ways you should buy a bike and start riding to work.
9. Fix theTwo trains going to the same place back to back!
Why does this happen? The second train is always empty because the first one picked all the people up. This has got to be one of my pet peeves. It is so pointless. They should always alternate!
10 . Fix the A/C
Everyone knows how hot it gets in D.C. in the summertime so why doesn’t the A/C ever work on the trains. I am already sweating from being outside then you put me in the sauna that metro car turns into when then the air is broken. Not very pleasant on my way to work.
After griping so much about the metro system I can say that it has made progress. I just think they could take a lot more advice from the riders and less from people that never ride it! So lets hear what you think!
Tags: 10 things, 10 things to make the DC metro better, dc metro, DC metro better, Metro, metro gripes, top 10, unsuck dc metro, unsuck metro
you are right on with the escalators. i used to have to commute to dc from centreville and i think there was at least one escalator out at the vienna station every day for over a year. what’s worse is that they have a sign as to when you can expect the project to be done…once it reaches that date, they just change the date
I agree completely–and would also add that they need to expand the lines to more areas of the city and suburbs. Use some of the local road funds to beef up metro service and keep it cheaper–the only way to get more metro ridership and less congestion on the highways.
Also, some well maintained public bathrooms would be nice! It’s excruciating after a night at the bars to be waiting fifteen minutes for a train, then riding another half hour or so, with no chance to use a bathroom the whole time.
These are all great suggestions on where Metro could improve. But I think that Metro gets it pretty tough. Not a month goes by where I don’t hear some Metro official talk about lack of funding on news radio, but then when there is some accident or some other oversight, people flip out. Metro will have a tough time maintaining its current standards, much less improving, with a continued dearth in public funding.
One can imagine I read it twice. While I am not as proficient on this subject, I tally with your conclusions because they create sense. Thanks and goodluck to you.