On Apr 8, 2:32*am, Martin Edwards wrote:
Tom Sherman wrote:
Martin Edwards wrote:
Tom Sherman wrote:
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Jym Dyer wrote:
=v= I've lived in NYC while being tight on cash, and $2/pop for a
subway ride can be painful, but not prohibitive.

Try DC. *Trips are up to $4.50 each way. *Even more if you transfer to
a bus, or if you park a car at a station. *You also have to pay $5.00
for the SmarTrip card, *in addition* to the fare value on it! *They
even charge extra for secure (enclosed) bike parking, though you can
park your bike on a U-rack for free and take your chances.

They've raised the rates once so far this year, after a series of
public hearing at which the public was unanimously against any further
increases and pointed out that Metro was lying about past increases.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if not for the chronic delays. *Typical
was what happened the last time I was foolish enough to try to get
somewhere on a weekend, about a month ago. *I entered the White Flint
Station. *After about a quarter hour, during which there were frequent
announcements about "minor delays" on the line due to routine
scheduled maintenance, a train showed up headed in the correct
direction. *I boarded it, intending to transfer to the Orange Line
at Metro Center.

It went out of service at Friendship Heights. *Everyone was chased
off, after which the train just sat there without moving in either
direction. *Everyone was told to catch the next train on the opposite
track. *We did so when it arrived after about another 15 minutes,
though it was very crowded. *It was going in the wrong direction,
back the way I came. *I got off at the next station, Bethesda, and,
along with many others, asked the guy in the kiosk how to get to Metro
Center. *He said to catch the next train heading in that direction.
I did so when it arrived after about 20 minutes.

It went out of service at Friendship Heights. *Once again, the train
just sat there blocking the track, and people were told to catch the
next train on the opposite track. *The station platform was very
crowded. *The sign said the next train would arrive in 18 minutes;
the destination was blank. *Rather than continuing to go in circles,
I exited the station and, along with many others, waited for the next
bus heading downtown.

A 36 bus arrived after about 20 minutes. *It was almost empty when it
arrived, but it was absolutely packed when it pulled out, leaving most
of the people waiting behind for the next bus. *I was able to board,
but had to stand. *In the crowding, two of my four grocery bags got
torn, making them much harder to carry. *The bus slowly made its way
downtown, occasionally stopping to let someone off, which wasn't easy
with all the crowding. *People waiting to get on at each stop were not
allowed on due to the crowding, which got some of them quite upset; I
gather that they had been waiting for a long time and all the buses
had been too full to let them board. *Metro obviously hasn't bothered
to add any additional bus service during the Red Line fiasco.

Finally, the bus let us off at the 17th Street entrance to the
Farragut West station -- which was closed. *Fortunately, I was
familiar with that station and knew there was another entrance which
is open on weekends. *Some people followed my lead. *Others gave up
on Metro and called taxis. *It was an 18 minute wait for the next
westbound Orange Line train, but once it arrived it proceeded without
further incident.

There was also scheduled maintenance on the Orange Line, but
fortunately for me it was at the east end of the line. *Of course I
did have to pay two train fares and one bus fare, and spend over five
hours traveling less than 20 miles.

This trip could have been done in less than half the time (and much
less aggravation) on a bicycle.

These "minor delays" are on almost every line on almost every weekend,
and frequently at mid-day on weekdays, too. *They don't deign to tell
us about these delays until Thursday or Friday, and might forget to
update their website at all. *They do mention that their online trip
planner is not reliable during these delays. *So if you're aiming for
a bus that runs just once an hour, you will arrive at a random time,
and may have to wait up to 59 minutes for the next bus.

The scheduled delays aren't just for essential maintenance. *The
system has been wired so that cell phones will work in the tunnels.
But only Verizon cell phones. *And now, nearly every week, there's a
message on Metro's website such as:

* Metrorail customers traveling between the L'Enfant Plaza, Capitol
* South and Potomac Avenue Metrorail stations should add up to 20
* minutes of travel time for their trips because Metro is providing
* Verizon Wireless track access to conduct normal contractual
* maintenance and emergency work on its cables. *Inbound and outbound
* trains will share one track between these locations.

I don't see why all Metro customers should be repeatedly
inconvenienced for the benefit of one private phone company and
its customers.

Think of the Verizon stockholders!

There are also plenty of unscheduled delays. *For instance any time
someone reports an abandoned package, the line it's on is shut down
for hours while police "secure the scene," which consists of waiting
outside until, if it was a bomb, they figure it would have already
gone off.

Fares continue to get higher and higher, and levels of service get
worse and worse. *There's no end in sight for either trend. *I think
the whole of Metro management should be sacked.

Gee, why doesn't everyone use the inexpensive and convenient mass
transit in the US. If one did not know better, one would think that
the system was intended to be run badly to make mass transit look bad.

Ok, smartass, try living in Lafayette for a week without a car.
Southern Comfort my ass.

Where is Lafayette and why would I even want to remotely consider living
there?

Tu ne sais rien de ta patrie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Darn, my French is getting bad. I had to look up "patrie". I was
thinking that meant "You don't know your father" which I thought was a
subtle way of saying "you *******". But alas, that's not what it
meant.

But Tom has a point, at least with the "why would I want to live
there" part. And I would also add the "why without a car" to that.