It's totally their fault that there's a switch problem, leaving riders stranded for almost half an hour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro does suck, no question. But it's not really their fault that people see Metro trains as a good way to commit suicide. They just need to learn how to deal with it and actually communicate to riders what's going on.

But it is their fault for designing a system that cannot accommodate express trains.

Their fault as in WMATA's? I suppose, but Metro broke ground in 1969. The people whose poor planning resulted in the congested mess we have today are long gone. Holding the current WMATA board and staff responsible is like yelling at your toddler because your parents didn't invest in IBM, and therefore you don't have a trust fund and can't live a life of luxury.

And let's not forget, building stuff costs money. In this case, lots of it. Metro had the opportunity to include a third track in the Silver Live, but the local governments wouldn't hear of the extra expense. I'll bet it was the same in the 60's when the original Metro was designed. So when your trip to Dulles in 15 years takes 45 minutes longer than it should, and you miss your flight, because of single-tracking, put the blame where it belongs - on the local governments who don't adequately spend on mass transit.

the escalators never work, when they do they are painfully slow. it takes several minutes to get off the platform at bethesda.

I hate it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro does suck, no question. But it's not really their fault that people see Metro trains as a good way to commit suicide. They just need to learn how to deal with it and actually communicate to riders what's going on.

But it is their fault for designing a system that cannot accommodate express trains.

Serious lack of vision on the part of planners.
Serious lack of taking the mass transportation and road issues of this region seriously, now. It is a mess around here. Total, utter chaos on a daily basis (I've done metro and have driven).
It's shameful the amount of serious attention and money that is dedicated to these issues.

I tend to agree with 10:16 - it's not really their fault that some asshole decided to jump in front of a train at the beginning of rush hour. Just like it's not their fault that I was late to daycare pickup (and charged) because the people on the 38B (which I took as a plan B) can't bear to walk more than 1/2 a block between unscheduled stops. Lots of assholes to blame for my crappy 95-minute commute to Arlington yesterday.

I didn't realize there were express trains in 1976.

Anonymous wrote:Metro does suck, no question. But it's not really their fault that people see Metro trains as a good way to commit suicide. They just need to learn how to deal with it and actually communicate to riders what's going on.

But it is their fault for designing a system that cannot accommodate express trains.

Better than driving.

Metro does suck, no question. But it's not really their fault that people see Metro trains as a good way to commit suicide. They just need to learn how to deal with it and actually communicate to riders what's going on.

Anonymous wrote:it does suck. the worst i've been on anywhere in the world. i'm always shocked when people talk about how great it is. it's a shameful welcome to new visitors to our nation's capital, much like reagan airport was when i moved here in 2008 [don't know if it has improved since then].

What's the problem with DCA? I've done business travel all over the world, and I would still put it on my short list of preferred airports.

I realized how awful it was after being in London and taking the 'tube'. I couldn't believe how much more efficient it was than our metro.

it does suck. the worst i've been on anywhere in the world. i'm always shocked when people talk about how great it is. it's a shameful welcome to new visitors to our nation's capital, much like reagan airport was when i moved here in 2008 [don't know if it has improved since then].

Carry a book with you. And a candy bar.

Make that inconvenience a small vacation.

Get out. it sucks.

Hate it hate it hate it hate it. Yesterday was just a stinkin' mess, and then this morning, a switch problem causes us to sit for 25 minutes.
Why do I live here? I hate this metro system.