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February 15, 2008
METRO May Add TVs For Our Viewing Pleasure
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:59 pm  

Initially I was thinking METRO just raised the fares and now they’re buying thousands of LCD and plasma TVs? But then I read they’ll be earning “an estimated $16 million to $178 million over the life of the 10-year license” from advertisers on these screens.

I can dig that.

Apparently it’s not finalized, but this is one idea that I think is a good idea, assuming they don’t have audio coming out of the screens. I almost have memorized the “See it, say it…” and “Is that your bag?” PSAs blaring out the intercom system.

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February 14, 2008
Metro Protecting Drivers, or Encouraging Disengagement?
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:29 pm  

Metro bus shieldWhen I first read about the new liquor store style command centers for Metro bus drivers, I was thinking how much of a good idea it was to protect the drivers. They can be the rudest, the most ignorant and most inconsiderate people you’ll ever meet.

Sure you’ll meet a handful who actually are pleasant, will answer your questions or let you know when you’re on the wrong route, but my personal experiences have been the opposite. Sometimes you have a question to ask but don’t want to interrupt their phone conversation, which continues while the bus is moving. Most of the time if I have a question, it’s a request to let me know when we’re at a specific street so I’ll know when to get off. And most of the time, I’ll ride to the end of the route or get off too early because the bus driver simply doesn’t pay any attention to my request.

Perhaps I could study road maps and memorize the turns and identify landmarks and figure it out before I get to the bus stop, but is it that much to ask the person who travels the same streets dozens of times a day for some help?

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February 11, 2008
Metro Thinking About Rerouting Blue Line
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:12 pm  

During a recent trip to New York, I was amazed at the vastness of the subway system. It takes you virtually anywhere you could possibly want to go in New York. You have many options to get to the same point. And it’s a system that was built decades before technology made mass transit what it is today.

Granted there’s no elevators and escalators, that I saw anyway, and it’s a dingy, dirty, rat-crawling dungeon, but it works and works well. I returned to DC and took a look at the Metro system map and it all fo the sudden looked so elementary.

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February 19, 2007
A Book to Change Your Views About Metro
  Category: METRO, Recommended Reading   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 5:18 pm  

The Great Society SubwayRecently I was killing time while waiting for “The Last King in Scotland” to start at E Street Landmark Cinema. I went around the corner to Barnes & Nobles and saw a book about specifically Metro. Considering I just moved here a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize how young the Metro system was and what was involved in making it a reality.

The Great Society Subway is a book that takes the history of Metro back to its roots, explaining the debate a mass transit system (be it a lot of buses or a subway system) versus more highways. Can you imagine 6- to 8-lane highways cutting through the heart of the city?

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January 7, 2007
Metro Train Derails, Crashes in Mount Vernon Station
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:33 pm  

Metro passenger injured in train derailmentLooks like John Catoe Jr. is going to have his hands full when he takes over Metro, if he hasn’t already. The former number two for the Los Angeles mass transit system was chosen by the board of directors to lead the agency and since the announcement, two Metro track workers were struck and killed by a Metro train, a two year project costing half a million dollars is virtually useless, and now, a train derailed yesterday, jumping the tracks at the Mount Vernon Station.

Only one passenger was reported in serious condition, 20 of the 100 or so passengers were reported to only have minor injuries. The station and a few others on the same line were shut down with no word on when they’ll be back up and running.

December 30, 2006
Ft. Totten Now Serviced By Yellow Line
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 8:34 am  

As I left work for the last time this year, I noticed something a little different with some of the signage. Some of the poles that direct riders to where to go to get on whichever line they’re looking for, instead of Huntington, I noticed they said Ft. Totten. I’ve read about the proposed idea of extending the Yellow Line after rush hour, but I didn’t realize it was already in motion.

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December 9, 2006
2 Years, $500,000 Later: 2 Inches Too Short
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 2:54 pm  

I’m not exactly sure how this happened, but the thought of the two year half million dollar project at the Metro Friendship Heights station behind a failure is mind-blowing. Not so much because no one used the station; it’s being heavily used. Not because it was aesthetically ugly or over-budget or behind schedule or anything that was uncontrollable.

The Metro buses simply won’t fit into the station.

November 16, 2006
Contemplating Karma While Stuck in an Elevator
  Category: DC in General, METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:26 pm  

I’ll admit, I’ve been warned before, but I didn’t heed to the advice. Stay out of the Metro elevators. Especially if you’re in a rush. At first I thought it was because some of them smell like human urine. But after this morning, I realize it’s because sometimes, getting out will take a while.

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November 15, 2006
Welcome Home, John B. Catoe Jr.
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 10:32 pm  

John Catoe on the bus
One of the things that quickly earned my respect for former Metro interim director Dan Tangherlini was when he chose to use his own system to commute to work. But Dan’s not the man at Metro anymore, joining Adrian Fenty’s team. Instead, we welcome home John B. Catoe, Jr., (on the right in the photo above) who grew up in public housing complexes in Northeast and Southeast Washington and graduated from Spingarn Senior High School, to lead DC’s Metro system.

And he’s going to ride the system to work.

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November 13, 2006
Blue Line to Mt. Vernon Station on a Regular Basis?
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:21 pm  

MetroDan Tangherlini has moved on to greener pastures, but Metro isn’t wasting anytime moving forward. Jim Hughes, Metro’s chief of operations, announced a plan to use the blue line more effectively by splitting its route to have some trains head up to Mt. Vernon station using the Fenwick Bridge (I didn’t know it had a name) that the yellow lines uses.

The suggestion apparently has been around for some time, but with 184 new cars coming, it’s not feasible to actively pursue such an idea. I don’t benefit from it directly, but I do know that Rosslyn station is busting at the seams. And getting from Columbia Heights, or worst PG County northeast of the District, to Ronald Reagan International Airport or anywhere southwest of the District serviced by the blue line is a joke.

I sure wish the proposed idea helped out with the green line in the morning!

“Everything goes to the Pentagon, through Rosslyn and over to Largo. … The idea is to take a number of those trains and split them off at the Pentagon, go over the Yellow Line bridge and have them come through the eastern part of the city,” Hughes said, noting the details would be presented to the Metro Board of Directors in January at the earliest.

Photo by The Anti-ZIM.

November 6, 2006
Dan Tangherlini Prepares to Join Adrian Fenty
  Category: Our Elected Officials, METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:04 pm  

Dan TangherliniWell, when he got to Metro, it was obvious he was on a mission. Dan Tangherlini, while serving as interim manager, brought a sense of change, a feeling that someone is thinking about the riders and hope that one day riding Metro would be virtually worry-free.

And now, he steps down (in anticipation of Adrian Fenty being elected mayor tomorrow) to serve as city administrator. Though I hate to see him go ,considering I ride Metro every single day, I’m glad to see he’s going to be in a position to have an even larger influence in Washington, DC.

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November 4, 2006
Finally, Checking Metro Train Arrivals Anywhere
  Category: METRO, Bookmark This Link   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 12:00 pm  


Photo by nj dodge

It seems like every morning when I set out for work, I find myself hustling down the street, crossing the street (along with everyone else) though the sign says “do not walk,” dodging the campaigners passing out flyers, flying down the escalator, zipping through the faregates, racing down another set of escalators or stairs just to get to the platform for the sign to say the next train doesn’t come for nine minutes.

Metro is helping eliminate that problem by allowing everyone to see when the next train will arrive in the station via the Metro website or even your mobile devices. ‘Bout time!

All you do is visit the Metro station’s individual page and clicking on the “Next Train Arrival” link. It automatically refreshes every 30 seconds so no need to worry too much about Internet drag.

October 31, 2006
This Is Not The Time To Say No
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 12:36 am  

The Purple Line Proposal

After witnessing the impact of the protests at Gallaudet University, Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan took the easy way out. Instead of admitting that the studies for the proposed Purple Line would be delayed two years, he nipped it in the bud and blamed it on the computer and said everything will be on time.

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October 22, 2006
If You Gotta Go at Metro…
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 9:41 am  

While riding the Metro last night, an announcement was made that I haven’t heard before. One I hope was just a courtesy announcement and not in response to anything. We were at Metro Center Station sometime just before midnight when over the P.A. system…

“Attention Metro riders. There are restrooms located on the upper level. There are public restrooms located on the upper level of the Metro station. Please do not use the platform.”

October 19, 2006
Getting Reacquainted with Metro Rail
  Category: METRO   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 10:35 pm  

Corner of Metro Center Station
Photo by TotallyAverage

One of the priceless features of the new digs is being directly across the street from a Metro station. Though the trains are literally elbow to elbow (and at times butt to butt) by time the green line arrives at the Waterfront station, it sure beats getting on a bus just as crowded, especially while waiting for it in the rain.

Sometimes I have to wait a train or two before I can get in where I fit in. Though I understand why people do it, it still annoys me that people will stand right at the doors instead of moving to the middle. When the trains pull off and I’m not on it, those standing in the middle of the car have plenty of elbow room to read the paper, turning the page and not hump someone else.

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