WAMTA Requesting Another Billion of Taxpayer Money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fare evasion is a tiny part of WMATAs budget issues and they’ve gone ahead and installed new fare gates everywhere if that’s your issue

It's not just the budget. The atmosphere of lawlessness begins with the fare evasion. Though I did save about 6,000 over a theree year period once I saw it was payment optional.

[Anonymous]

One of the problems is the union contract. Metro should force a strike during the summer when ridership is low, fire all the strikers (try a little Reagan courage) and then hire new workers under a more sustainable compensation structure.

[Anonymous]

1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

+1

All true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

+1

All true.

All of those "facts" are actually opinions.

[Anonymous]

1. WMATA is a great transit system. If you look nationally, we have one of the best transits systems in the country.

2. WMATA has problems.

If you are pro transit then you want to take the great transit we have and fix it, not starve it of funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
1. WMATA is a great transit system. If you look nationally, we have one of the best transits systems in the country.

2. WMATA has problems.

If you are pro transit then you want to take the great transit we have and fix it, not starve it of funds.

This.

Likes: New roaming (and highly visible) security details. New gates that discourage scofflaws. Phone app works fine. New 7000 series. Clean stations.
Dislikes: Leftover food wrappings in cars. Occasionally waiting too long for doors to open/close. Can't rely on board arrival time signage during rush hours. Can't use phone app for secured bike shed.

As you can see, the dislikes are pretty minor compared to having access to a world class subway system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

+1

All true.

All of those "facts" are actually opinions.

NP but you’ve really seen station managers and others doing productive and useful things at the metro? I’ve mostly seen them ignore fare evaders and ignore customers. A few times they had to swipe me out for free because no machines seemed to work to put money on my card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

+1

All true.

All of those "facts" are actually opinions.

NP but you’ve really seen station managers and others doing productive and useful things at the metro? I’ve mostly seen them ignore fare evaders and ignore customers. A few times they had to swipe me out for free because no machines seemed to work to put money on my card.

Disagree. I frequently see managers/assists outside their pods helping people access the gates.
However, I probably should have added to my "dislikes" above the difficulty first-time users have in getting a fare card. The fare machine instructions are not intuitive and confused passengers (primarily tourists) take up an inordinate amount of time from managers/assists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand I am a big supporter of public transport and wish the US had much more.

On the other hand metro has been a mismanaged dumpster fire for decades and can’t even bother to collect fares.

Why did you vote in a DC city council who “decriminalized” fare-evasion and turnstyle jumping on Metro?

Periodic reminder that there is no such thing as a DC "city" council.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. There is nothing about being pro-transit that requires you to be pro-WMATA

2. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more dangerous now than it was years ago

3. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH leas reliable now than it was years ago

4. It is plainly a fact that Metrorail is MUCH more expensive now, for a MUCH less safe and reliable product, than it was years ago

5. It is also plainly a fact that Metrorail employees are grotesquely overpaid and completely impossible to fire. A “station manager” who is a non-supervisory union employee and manages nothing makes $80k. A clerk in a bus depot, and BTW not a driver, makes $90k. They have eight different categories of fare cash handlers and the get $80k. A WMATA cop starts over $60k and moves up to $121k PLUS overtime (Comment from a prosecutor: I will never make as much as a WMATA police sergeant.).

You might support what you think is public transit. But WMATA is merely public employment.

+1

All true.

All of those "facts" are actually opinions.

NP but you’ve really seen station managers and others doing productive and useful things at the metro? I’ve mostly seen them ignore fare evaders and ignore customers. A few times they had to swipe me out for free because no machines seemed to work to put money on my card.

Yes. Many times. Helping me, and also helping others. I have literally never yethad a negative interaction with a station manager, and I have had many positive interactions.

[Anonymous]

Would love to see some of those "plainly a facts" from PP backed up by actual data, but I'm sure that isn't going to happen...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. WMATA is a great transit system. If you look nationally, we have one of the best transits systems in the country.

2. WMATA has problems.

If you are pro transit then you want to take the great transit we have and fix it, not starve it of funds.

This.

Likes: New roaming (and highly visible) security details. New gates that discourage scofflaws. Phone app works fine. New 7000 series. Clean stations.
Dislikes: Leftover food wrappings in cars. Occasionally waiting too long for doors to open/close. Can't rely on board arrival time signage during rush hours. Can't use phone app for secured bike shed.

As you can see, the dislikes are pretty minor compared to having access to a world class subway system.

Does WMATA run trains now?
I gave up after years of station closures for wet escalators.