Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please... This is clearly a lack of planning.

In Sao Paulo you can switch trains and go from one side to the suburbs to the other for just one flat rate. And you can transfer to bus and from bus for free. And when we say suburbs it's like going from Southern MD to Frederick or Leesburg for one flat fare.

The price of the fare is close to half of what costs here in DC area.

That's not planning. That's the size of the subsidy.

Look at the construction around Tysons... Do you think that's good planning? LOL

Once again, the initial plan was to bury the track. That proposal was quickly dinged because - wait for it - it cost too much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please... This is clearly a lack of planning.

In Sao Paulo you can switch trains and go from one side to the suburbs to the other for just one flat rate. And you can transfer to bus and from bus for free. And when we say suburbs it's like going from Southern MD to Frederick or Leesburg for one flat fare.

The price of the fare is close to half of what costs here in DC area.

That's not planning. That's the size of the subsidy.

Look at the construction around Tysons... Do you think that's good planning? LOL

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Carry a book with you. And a candy bar.

Make that inconvenience a small vacation.

and wear a diaper

Yes! Late at night a few years ago I was stuck waiting for 20 minutes for train after I entered the station, then had to switch lines to the red line and take it out to the suburbs. After a night of drinking. I've never been so close to peeing my pants in my life.

But what really annoyed me was when metro found out years ago that employees were pocketing the money from the parking garages. So they installed the smartrip readers at the parking lot exits instead. I still just think of all of those years when I was handing over my $5 and imagine it going into someone's pocket.

Anonymous wrote:Oh please... This is clearly a lack of planning.

In Sao Paulo you can switch trains and go from one side to the suburbs to the other for just one flat rate. And you can transfer to bus and from bus for free. And when we say suburbs it's like going from Southern MD to Frederick or Leesburg for one flat fare.

The price of the fare is close to half of what costs here in DC area.

That's not planning. That's the size of the subsidy.

Oh please... This is clearly a lack of planning.

In Sao Paulo you can switch trains and go from one side to the suburbs to the other for just one flat rate. And you can transfer to bus and from bus for free. And when we say suburbs it's like going from Southern MD to Frederick or Leesburg for one flat fare.

The price of the fare is close to half of what costs here in DC area.

Shame on DC's metro system!

Anonymous wrote:

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

I'd argue that it's the fault of VA and MD legislators, who moan and wail about their share of the maintenance, and then refuse to pay the cost for their residents who ride.

You know that your fare doesn't come close to covering the cost of your ride, right? You either need to pay more in fares, or hassle lawmakers to fund the actual cost.

How is that different from the district moaning and wailing about their share? I smell a DC snob.

I gave up Metro two years ago after the Fort Totten accident. After 22 years of riding it, I just couldn't stand the unreliability a minute longer. Driving is a dream. I experimented with lots of routes, and found the ones that get me downtown in less time than the trip to Metro and the subway ride itself took. I did my bit for public transportation, but no more.

A neighbor of mine also committed suicide by Metro. Shiver.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Move your can and WALK up the escalators....

The metro system in DC is a shame to this country!

Anonymous wrote:
Carry a book with you. And a candy bar.

Make that inconvenience a small vacation.

and wear a diaper

Anonymous wrote:Better than driving.

Totally agree. I live and work and near a metro, and don't have to change lines. It is pretty efficient and over the past 15 years of taking it, I've only had a few nightmare stories. Overall, I love it and it's been pretty reliable. My co-worker drives in from my area, and while our door to door commute in the morning takes about the same, he admits his evening commute is 30 minutes longer than mine. No thanks.

Plus it encourages me to walk more, enables us to be a one-car family even in the suburbs, and though it is expensive, it is cheaper than parking downtown.

Sorry you had a bad experience though OP! Hope your afternoon commute goes better.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Seriously.
I was in Shanghai last spring and their metro system was WONDERFUL. LOVED it!

I'm only an occasional user of DC's metro (maybe a few times a year) and I find it so confusing. Since I only use it occasionally, I generally buy the paper tickets instead of the Smart card, and I find the ticket machines confusing as hell too.

Penny a gallon gas tax. All across the metro service area, for dedicated funding to metro. That would give us a needed cash injection. But yeah, never gonna happen.

Anonymous wrote:
Carry a book with you. And a candy bar.

Make that inconvenience a small vacation.

Unless I have somewhere urgent to be (which honestly, isn't often), I'm with this poster. I don't leave home without my Nook, so I have no problem with a little delay. I've never been stuck more than 15 minutes or so and I've been using the DC Metro system since I was 14.

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

I'd argue that it's the fault of VA and MD legislators, who moan and wail about their share of the maintenance, and then refuse to pay the cost for their residents who ride.

You know that your fare doesn't come close to covering the cost of your ride, right? You either need to pay more in fares, or hassle lawmakers to fund the actual cost.