Washington DC metro..
 

In my recent visit to DC, I noticed that Metro trains are very poorly maintained. Torn seats, mismatched color seats, torn and worn out carpets, unbelievably dirty doors, peeling paint, .. could go on and on. Also, fares have gone up substantially and I calculated very little financial incentive for people to take the train as opposed to their cars. Often there is delay, escalator out of service (try walking up a non-moving escalator if you are a senior citizen, particularly at some of the stations), track repair, and other inconveniences.
I usually feel safe and comfortable in DC metro but this time, it was a disappointment.
Are there any other complainers/lamenters about the decline of mass transit systems?

Hmm, I use the Metro rail and bus service pretty frequently as I have the misfortune of living in DC, and while it's not up to snuff with Tokyo or Hong Kong, I don't notice many of the issues you've pointed out. Maybe the 3 years I endured in NYC have inured me to minor inconveniences and filth.

In re driving in DC being better than Metro, are you kidding? Have you tried driving and parking here?

Btw, this should likely be in the DC forum.

Probably better in the DC forum, but I find the DC Metro to be reasonably clean. Cars are of all different ages so sometimes you'll notice the older ones which are quite worn. They are due for a complete overhaul over the next 7-10 years. The escalators? yea those are always broken. Elevators are also constantly out of service.

Did you use Metro on the weekend? It's extremely inconvenient on the weekends with all the maintenance they do. It's a system that is designed for the commuter and it's a big issue for WMATA on how to match the needs of riders who rely on Metro to get around.

Also - driving in DC is a nightmare.

Really, that's an issue for you?

The Metro subway car design is from a previous generation where people took care of property. It is unsuited today. Today's subways should not have cushioned seats and carpet.

I kind of disagree with the OP. I have taken the Metro now and then for the past 5 yrs and 5 yrs ago, the Metro definitely needed some kind of facelift or refreshment. In the past 2 yrs I definitely have seen them put in some improvement with the older cars with newer cars and there aren't as many delays on the tracks anymore. I kind of wish though, that some of the cars would go through 1 am (usually the last trains are ~11pmish), I guess that would be my only gripe.

I lived in D.C. briefly a few years ago on an assignment and never really noticed any of those issues on a consistent basis. Obviously there are a few that are more worn than others.

As far as the car issue, it would not have been an option for me, the metro won hands down (cost and convenience).

I disagree as well. The seats might be worn, but it's not like the seats in my car are brand new. And I have no idea what "calculations" you are doing if you found very little financial incentive to taking the metro as opposed to driving, not to mention the hassle of parking in the city.

Please follow as the thread moves to the Travel->Washington, D.C. forum. Ocn Vw 1K,, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

this complaint, like most of your posts, is completely unfounded. picky as i am, i find the metro to be quite decent, and a great asset to the city. there is no reason to pick it apart, and no reason to sespond, other than to ask the readers to check your other posts.

I was not complaining but was only expressing what I saw during my recent trip. I took the yellow-red lines from DCA to Bethesda and back and in between I took three side trips, including one on the Orange line.
The mismatched seats were not a complaint but many tourists were pointing to that; that's why I mentioned it.
I do like public transport (DC metro in particular) and my comments were mostly-what went wrong-why is it this shape-sentiment. I paid about $4.55 per trip during peak hour and calculated that the distance in terms of miles traveled would be equivalent to 1 to 2 gallons of gas depending on the car. I am a strong believer in mass transit and was in no way suggesting that people should drive.
In three different trips, I saw torn seats (not just one or two seats-many), lose and dirty carpets, massive amount of dirt/dust on doors etc. I have been visiting and using DC Metro for the past 25 years and I felt that there is a decline in the quality. My posting was not to annoy other members.

I ride the metro regularly and I think it would be best described as "tired."
The chronically broken escalators are my biggest beef. One thing I've always thought interesting is how dark it is. In my travels I find most subway platforms quite bright but the DC metro always seems to be strangely dark.

Relatively speaking, I think the Washington Metro is still one of the best in the U.S. for cleanliness. Certainly, I would take it any day over the Baltimore subway, SEPTA, BART, or CTA, and on most days NYC Subway, LA MTA, or MBTA.

I ride all five lines regularly, and there are some patterns. I cannot say I have seen a torn seat in 3 or 4 years. The carpets do get dirty on wet days, although I do not think it is noticeable worse compared to 10 years ago. What I do notice is that by 10am many cars are papered over with discarded issues of Metro and the Examiner. On one ride between Metro Center and Wheaton last month this was no exaggeration; even by the doors there was more newspaper than carpet to the eye. The station manager gave me a long stare as I stuffed my armload of papers into the idiotically small slots on the recycling bin.

Back in the day, I actually appreciated coming across a discard Wall Street Journal or Washington Post on the long ride to Shady Grove, but the habit of leaving them behind didn't carry over well into the age of the free tabloid and increased ridership.

Metro is also working through a substantial backlog of deferred maintenance, which is well documented not only on UnsuckDCMetro and DCist but the Post. There is a story this morning on heavier usage and manual control possibly contributing to the epidemic of rail cracks in the last few months.

As far as lighting goes, I actually prefer the dimness of the stations, which is part of the system's architectural style. I believe the designers wanted to avoid the harsh fluorescent glare that characterizes most stations elsewhere.

Infrequent visitor/rider of DC Metro but my general opinions:

• Trains/platforms are very clean
• Trains are somewhat unpleasant looking and starting to show age/wear similar to some train stations (inoperable escalators, elevators, etc.) however, very functional
• Customer service at stations is somewhat deplorable
• Must improve the entrance/exit farecard situation. It seems about a decade behind everything else in the world.
• In my limited experience quite a few slow downs/delays for no real reason. I understand it isn't a major subway system but reliability is a big deal when deciding between subway/cab.

They already have RFID cards. SmarTrip.
http://www.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/

Sorry - my statement wasn't referring to RFID (which I obviously have never utilize).

It is simply difficult to easily follow origin to destination for a tourist/visitor and what options are available with the cryptic brown box machines/POS. Touch screen is preferred over using +/- to add/remove fare and figure out peak vs. non-peak is more like a railroad vs. a subway system.

I fully comprehend the locals are use to it or purchase weekly passes but not a friendly interface vs. most/many other subways.

+1 - After looking at OP's other posts, looks as though this is someone who travels around the country looking for problems. And, of course, if one looks hard enough, one finds them.

Metro is neither Acela First nor EuroStar, but it's a generally functional, relatively clean and relatively cheap (yes, prices have gone up, but not even close to commuter gas costs) travel method.

As someone who uses metro daily (with a transfer to a bus these days, sigh), I see some issues.

I've never seen peeling paint or torn seats. I do see dirty carpets and a lot of people ignoring the no eating or drinking rules and leaving partially empty food packages behind on seats. Unlike some cities, we have relatively few obnoxious drunks on metro most of the time.

I hate the dim lighting as it makes it hard to read while waiting 15+ minutes for a train at very off peak times.

But I will still take it over driving in the District. And, as far as cost goes, daily parking in the City runs about $30.

Best metro ever

The newspaper situation seems to be gradually improving as people move over to e-readers. I also have never noticed on a torn seat even though I use the system several times a week -- vandalism on the system is nothing compared to Chicago.

The carpets are gone on a few of the very newest rail cars, although I've only seen the new floors once or twice.

Some stations have had lighting upgrades in recent years, and it makes a huge difference. Many escalators are due for replacement, and are being replaced; luckily for me, I don't often use the deeper stations so it's not an issue.

I agree that the customer service is not very service-oriented. However, you have high standards if the second busiest subway in the USA isn't "major." ;)

Wow; I live in DC (and walk to work most days so only ride the Metro occasionally) but would have bet that Chicago (where I have lived years ago) was a much busier system. That said, Metro is not especially friendly to visitors with weird station names, bad signage, terrible escalators, and odd track repair schedules that seem excessive. But the quality of the cars, including seats and carpets, is not one of the top issues for me.

In reality DC is a busier system (by passenger count) vs. Chicago. Chicago is significantly bigger system and 24 hrs but covers a lot of dead zone and doesn't have as busy a suburb and daily commute ridership which feeds into the system at DCA or Union Station on a daily basis.

No bashing of DC Metro just too frequent of derailments/safety issues, poor customer service and horrible fare interface for such a popular tourist destination in the US.

I'm in Washington frequently and, having tried driving there once, have taken the metro (and the occasional bus) ever since. Weekend track work is certainly an issue (as it is in NYC and London), and in general I find weekend service on some lines and/or at some hours too infrequent, but for me the real problem is the escalator malfunctioning, which is scandalous.

Some observations from a long-time, daily Metro rider:

The system held up remarkably well for about 30 years with almost no maintenance, but then things started to come apart pretty quickly.

There is a suspicious element to much of the current maintenance work. It invariably takes 3-4 months to rebuild an escalator, during which time there is rarely any work being done (this is painfully obvious as we trudge up and down the adjacent "staircase"). Why can't they get it done faster and why are so many escalators simultaneously in need of rebuilds? This is a huge problem because the system relies on its escalators. Elevator rebuilds are even slower.

In June 2009 they discovered that the automatic system to prevent collisions doesn't work and nine people died. They haven't fixed it and have begun to blame the manual operation that has been in place since then for the increase in rail problems. Heads should have rolled over this.

Cleanliness is not much of an issue. The stations are designed to need minimal upkeep and the trains are pretty good for their age. I certainly see less eating and garbage dropping here than in NY or Chicago.

The fare system has become too complicated, partly because of the "peak of the peak" surcharge. I think that's supposed to go away.

The SmarTrip cards are pretty good and I think they're supposed to get (or maybe have gotten) better with automatic adjustment for special deals like daily unlimited options (a la Oyster) or even other uses (Passmo).

Station service depends on the Station Manager. Mine (Cleveland Park) is wonderful.

I've never heard anyone call the Metro dirty - especially anyone who has used subways in other major cities. The normal knock on the Metro is that it doesn't go anywhere you want to go.

My only gripe about the Metro is the fact that it probably will never reach IAD in my lifetime (due to overdevelopment and the millions of tolls it requires to get there by car :rolleyes:)

http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/

+1

Millions of tolls? Where do you live where there is even one toll to get out to Dulles? I live in DC and can ride the Dulles Access Road without a single toll at all.

I am 0 for 4 in attempts to use Metro. All leisure trips, not a commuter. Track work or unexpected breakdowns have screwed up what was to be a pleasant outing for the last time. I drive into DC.

I would prefer to take Metro. DC fuzz can give you a night in durance vile just for sniffing the wine cork at dinner. Never mind having legal blood alcohol. But it's a 45-minute drive vs a 2-hour plus marathon for off-peak hours. So I risk jail to support the arts in DC.

At least until they bag me. Then my season tickets to the Shakespeare theater and to the Cathedral Choral Society plus my substantial donations will drop in favor of arts venues in Virginia.

Total embarrassment at the fares they charge. And the interval between trains on weekends and evenings is pure annoyance.

Also pretty lame that they shut down before last call.

Even I would have a hard time recommending that someone take transit from Reston to the Cathedral on a weekend. That's not the sort of trip that Metro serves well. Transit will not work for every origin-destination pair. Both system expansion and transit-oriented development will bring more such Os & Ds within reach of the system, so that it can capture a greater share of all trips.

Deferred maintenance will always be a problem as long as politicians get votes for ribbon-cutting new things but not for scrubbing old things. The escalators probably would have needed replacement this many decades in anyways.

Historically, Chicago was a collection of factory-town neighborhoods knit together by streetcars (now buses); the "L" and the Loop, even though they're how outsiders see Chicago, weren't part of everyday life for most locals. The "L" only carries a third of regional transit passengers; almost half ride CTA buses, and the rest are on Metra trains and Pace suburban buses.

Contrast that to Metrorail, which carries over half of regional transit riders; buses carry 45% and commuter rail a scant 2%.

I was being sarcastic.

My point being it is so much easier to access BWI or DCA compared with IAD.

very provincial statement.

not much fun from reston, . not fun from montgomery county either to dca.

Compared to the Chicago el, which I take Mon-Fri to the loop, the DC Metro is amazingly clean. I am in DC about 5 times a year on business and usually take the metro- but I am in DC proper or occasionally Arlington, so it's a different ball game coming in from the suburbs. Last year I took my elderly mother who will not use escalators- she has a fear of the them and we ended up having to use cabs- trying to find the elevator at street level was sometimes very difficult and far out of our way in the larger stations and it was just too much walking.

But the sarcasm doesn't make sense when there isn't even a single toll going out to Dulles. And for quite a bit of NoVA, Dulles is far more convenient than DCA or BWI. I'll admit that as a long-term DC resident, I greatly prefer National Airport of the three.

The DC Metro is a horror. God, where to begin (and sorry in advance for venting - but I lived in DC for 4.5 years, in which I took Metro multiple times each day, and the experience still haunts me...)

First of all, the system is extremely unsafe. The 2009 accident on the Red Line (mentioned above - killed 9 people) is only the tip of the iceberg. It became public knowledge then that the automatic train signalling system - the one that's supposed to slow trains so they don't crash into each other - was completely broken, so that trains on the tracks would not appear in the system. This major problem was well known inside Metro, but they just didn't do anything about it. Before and since that accident, there's been a history of near-misses and other accidents that so far have only killed Metro workers on the tracks. The root problems remain unresolved, though, and Metro's overseers have no incentive to do so because oversight is divided up among several jurisdictions. The system should arguably be shut down totally for safety reasons, but the Feds won't allow that because their employees couldn't get to work. Unionized employees are also protected and almost impossible to fire - even if they're running prostitution rings from Metro stations! (This actually happened - Google it).

The bus system is also hugely unsafe, but that's because the drivers in the region are breathtakingly reckless, and bus drivers often have serious criminal records. This is a problem regionwide - I've seen Maryland's Ride On bus drivers refuse to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks and actually nudge them out of the way with their bus - but Metro is the worst of the bunch. For entertainment/horror value, check out the reports of the Metro driver that literally jumped out of his bus during the route to punch a guy dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog, who was doing a crime-prevention thing in Columbia Heights. If I recall correctly, the union got the guy his job back...

As mentioned before, routine (non-critical) infrastructure maintenance is appalling, particularly on escalators. I'm convinced there's huge illicit activity going on with Metro contracting. Escalators are out of service for months, sometimes they suddenly start/stop/reverse with passengers walking on them, no one can fix anything properly. This is a critical problem given that some of Metro's busiest stations are located far deep underground, so older people or those with a disability can't easily hike up a turned-off escalator.

On a more business strategy note, the system is a hybrid city subway/regional commuter rail one, which means it's not terribly convenient for city residents. It runs too infrequently during non-peak times to be a convenient way of getting around the city, and while it's trying to become more like a big-city subway, it skips a lot of major areas (H Street NE corridor and Georgetown, most notably). They've tried to make it more useful to city residents, which is appreciated, but the early closing hours are problematic, and they keep threatening to end those due to funding problems. At any rate, trains now might run only every 20 minutes during non-rush times - that's absurd for such a large city as DC.

Much of the problem is that oversight and funding are split three ways - DC, MD, VA - and Virginia Republicans, as always, balk at spending money on public services. Regional corruption and race politics also play a huge role in ensuring dysfunctional management that fails to respond to the system's serious needs - the Metro union as well as many politicians view the system as a patronage slush fund for the black community, and any efforts at reform get turned into a hugely vindictive fight for political control. The union head has in the past accused people trying to improve Metro oversight of supporting the return of slavery. Small wonder most regional authorities just steer clear of Metro dysfunction entirely, as long as there's no major disaster to respond to.

On a daily commute level, the constant delays, construction, and reduced train load mean that it my commute from downtown Silver Spring into downtown DC went from about 25 minutes to 45 after the 2009 accident; an hour isn't terribly uncommon. Also, even at a station close to the start of the Red Line, it became very difficult to get a seat during the morning commute. Almost three years later, it's still not even close to normal. The Red Line is by far the worst of the lines, in my opinion, but the problems are prevalent all throughout the system.

I moved back to NYC last year, and I feel so much calmer now that I don't have to take the DC Metro anymore. Yes, DC's trains look clean and have comfy padded seats, but the system is a nightmare if you have to deal with it every day. I think lots of DC residents overlook the city's many immense flaws either because they've never lived in a world-class city (hey, DC attracts lots of "Middle Americans" who don't much like the rest of the world, let alone NYC) or because they've just grown used to making excuses. But I'll gladly take NYC's subway at 2am on a Saturday during construction over the DC Metro at 8:30pm on a Thursday. At least in NY I know roughly when I'll make it home.