monkey nonsense

i think to the occassional rider, the DC metro system looks to be a pretty good system. it’s really clean (both station-wise and train-wise) and has plenty of cushioned seats. it has an electronic board which tells you how far away the next train is. really, it sounds pretty nice compared to older subway systems.

but i think for daily commuting, the DC metro system SUCKS for the following reasons:

1. Trains come as “often” as 15 minutes apart during rush hour. This has happened to me multiple times, in the morning and in the afternoon. Honestly, waits over 5 minutes long during rush hour are ridiculous. Ridiculous because you would think trains would run more often during rush hour. Moreover, if trains come so infrequently at peak hours, the waiting platform AND train both become overcrowded (see points #3 and #4).
2. Trains frequently get delayed. Of course, delays are inevitable and a hassle. But the DC metro’s delays get to be ridiculous some time! So one time, I got on the train at my station (2nd to last one from the end) only to immediately hit delays. Where was the problem on the track? 7 stops away!! When a major delay occurs, my 25 minute commute can end up taking twice as long. On a more regular basis, there will ALWAYS be delays around the VA/DC border for reasons beyond my comprehension! The train I’m on, regardless of direction into or out of the city, will ALWAYS come to a stop in the tunnel and wait for a few minutes because “the train in front of us is being delayed”. What causes these massive delays? Particularly when point #1 occurs! If the previous train left a good 5 minutes before, why does my train suddenly become stuck behind it only seconds into the trip?! (seriously, one time, the back half of the train was still at the platform before we got stuck in the tunnel!
3. Have you ever gotten to the metro station only to not be allowed in because the waiting platform got overcrowded so they started having people wait upstairs (but inside the turnstiles), which eventually lead to the overcrowding of that area so they stopped letting people get into the metro station? This has happened to me MULTIPLE times! The platforms in the DC metro aren’t terribly small! But this is what happens when you have 10-15 minutes between trains DURING RUSH HOUR!! With the constant flow of people coming into the station, the platforms get unreasonably crowded.
4. Since trains come so infrequently, once a train comes, it’s likely already packed! But that doesn’t mean that people will just let it go without trying to shove themselves on it. They don’t want to wait another 10 minutes for a train so they try to squeeze on! So the train gets overcrowded and everyone’s all up in everyone else’s space. AND THEN the train hits delays! Stop in a tunnel! With little air circulation! And everyone all up in each other’s space! Please don’t touch my boob… or my butt… or my entire body! It doesn’t matter! There’s no separation between people
5. There is no monthly pass. Fare is calculated based on distance/time. If you ride the metro for 9 stops like I do, you end up paying close to $3 one way. $6 a day * 5 days a week * 4 weeks a month = $120 a month just to get to work! An unlimited monthly pass on the New York subway costs ~$75! So much cheaper!
6. “Single tracking.” The words most commonly dreaded by a metro rider. “Single tracking” is when Metro, for whatever reason, closes one side’s track so BOTH directions have to share a single track. They have to alternate back and forth. This occurs entirely too often in the DC metro system. The reason? There is only ONE SINGLE track in each direction to begin with!!! If that ONE track goes down, both directions are left to share the single remaining track! This doesn’t occur in NYC where you have multiple tracks for each direction (thereby allowing you to have express trains and regular trains, another gripe I have with the DC metro). DC’s metro was not well thought out. It does not seem easily scalable for more travellers.
7. those nifty electronic boards that tell you how far a train is? half the time, they’re broken and display no train information!

booo metro.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 at 4:56 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.