Category Archives: WMATA

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Like This is News to Us

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro – All Aboard – 9-16-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Surprise, surprise.

Guess what? Metro’s not putting in vendors after all. (Thanks to Hank Silverberg at WTOP for the tip.) And apparently, the plan fronted today only included proposals for spaces to sell flowers, newspapers and dry cleaning services. (Dry cleaning? Keep Roy Pearson away!)

Oh, and to everyone’s non-surprise, food vendors were also rejected. I wonder why?

The board told General Manager Joe Catoe to go re-think his plans and they’ll (maybe) revisit the issue next month.

And in other news, pigs still don’t fly.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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The Best Transit Manager in the Nation!

Photo courtesy of
‘Arriving’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has named Metro’s own John Catoe as the best public transportation manager of 2009.  APTA has credited Catoe for managing Metro well during Inauguration craziness, as well as improving safety system-wide in the wake of several Metro-related pedestrian fatalities.  Metro has started calling itself “The Best Ride in the Nation”, and with this honor, it doesn’t seem so off-base.

What do you think?  Has your commute gotten significantly better since January 2007, when Catoe began at Metro?

Essential DC, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Tourist Tips

Photo courtesy of
‘Packed Blue’ courtesy of ‘ArcaHeradel’

So Memorial Day has passed, meaning that from now through Labor Day, hordes of tourists will be pouring into the District for various events, concerts, vacations and visits. If you’re reading this and you’re a soon-to-be visitor to our region – or if you’re a resident who has friends or family coming in to visit – we want to encourage you to continue reading. We wish to equip you to better handle and enjoy our transit system with minimal disruption to those of us who live and work here.

It’s a win-win situation.

You don’t want to suffer the embarrassment of being a “District n00b” and we certainly appreciate minimal disruption to our daily commutes. So we’ve gathered up the opinions and suggestions from several District riders and residents and are going to share our golden wisdom with you.

Trust us, it’s best this way.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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New Metro Station?

Photo courtesy of
‘DSCN3749.JPG’
courtesy of ‘::FiZ::’

WTOP’s Adam Tuss is reporting that MoCo councilman Roger Berliner (District 1) is proposing an in-fill Metro station on the Red Line, preferably between Grosvenor and White Flint. His reasoning? The upcoming renovations and new construction in White Flint that is expected to transform the area into “a new urbanism model.”

Berliner believes the growth of the area, as well as the BRAC expansion at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, warrants a long-term investment look at putting in a new Red Line station.

Metro leaders are skeptical of the plan. What do you think? Is this a councilman’s pipe dream or a legitimate future expansion of our most heavily-traveled line?

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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New Metro Video!

YouTube Preview Image
Metro has released a new video for riders, providing instructions for riding Metro the same way a flight attendant provides airplane safety instructions.  In the same part creepy/part really entertaining/part informative mix of Metro’s other videos, this one includes a computer-generated flight attendant and four Metro passengers.  My favorite part is when the three remaining passengers (one gets kicked off the train for bad behavior) react to a mechanical door issue by shaking their fists and flailing their arms about.  Seems pretty realistic, considering some of the reactions from my fellow Metro commuters.   Enjoy!

Talkin' Transit, The Features, The Mall, We Green DC, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Loose Ends

Photo courtesy of
‘Three-Wheeled Taxi’ courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

A couple of updates to tie up on the transit scene – and then I need your help!

Pedicabs on the Mall: You all remember our report on the harassment of the pedicabs by the Park Police? Well, I’m happy to report that since then, there’s been no further incidents, according to Ben Morris of National Pedicabs. So go and enjoy the ride around the Mall! I’ve also gotten word that a new pedicab company is starting business this weekend as well, so please support this great eco-friendly way to enjoy the Mall. (The grass could use the break, frankly…)

DC, Metro and money: WTOP reported this morning that the District has racked up a tab of a whopping $1.2 million in unpaid expenses to Metro, all centered around the Southeastern bus garage located a block from Nationals stadium. The District had said it would cover the cost to move all the Metrobuses out of that garage and operate them from other facilities. (This is known as “deadheading costs.”) The city’s cost is $400,000 a month, and the deal stretches back to the fall of 2007. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro Considering Selling Food– But You Still Can’t Eat It!

Photo courtesy of
‘chillin”
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Big news coming out of Metro today: officials are considering allowing kiosks in certain Metro stations to sell packaged food in stations!  The move is an attempt to increase revenue by adding kiosks at a number of stations (in DC: outside Anacostia, in Fort Totten, in Gallery Place-Chinatown, and in Metro Center).  Kiosks could be newsstands, dry cleaning services, and even gourmet food stores.

But no, this doesn’t mean you’d be allowed to eat what you bought at a kiosk– the Metro food and drink ban is still in effect.  About three years ago Metro solicited proposals for kiosks that would sell anything but food, beverages, and tobacco– but they didn’t get a good response and realized it wasn’t profitable to not sell food in transit stations.

This seems a little weird to me.  I think I’d be really bitter if I were starving, and got a gourmet sandwich at a Metro kiosk (probably  marked up ridiculously because of the captive audience), and had to sit there just looking at it the whole ride home.  That’s just mean, Metro.

Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, WMATA
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Celebrate National Train Day at Union Station

Photo courtesy of
‘Locomotive’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

Calling all trainiacs!  This Saturday is National Train Day, and lucky you– DC is home to one of the biggest events to celebrate it!  From 10 AM to 3 PM, head over to Union Station to meet American Idol’s Randy Jackson (not sure how he’s related to trains, but that’s cool), listen to some live music, or check out some train equipment, including the train car that President Obama rode in to the inauguration.  There will also be exhibits all day that explore how trains are related to economic development, the green aspects of rail travel, and photos showing the connection between the national landscape and trains.  Think Joe Biden will stop by?

Essential DC, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: SmarTrip Getting Smarter!

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro SmarTrip Card’ courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for the day when I’d be able to reload my SmarTrip card somewhere other than a Metro station.  For those of us who ride buses regularly, it’s really frustrating to have to go to a Metro station to add value to a card when you’re just trying to take the bus somewhere.  But there’s great news coming from Metro: later this year, we’ll be able to add value to SmarTrip cards online!

In an effort to improve customer service, Metro will create a self-service SmarTrip website, which will allow us to load value onto our SmarTrip cards electronically.  There will also be a fantastic ‘autoload’ feature that will automatically reload the card when the balance drops below a designated amount. The new website will include a way to see recent transaction data for your SmarTrip card (currently only available through a formal Public Access to Record Policy request, or by stealing a glance at the screen when the station manager scans your card in the kiosk).

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Rough Morning Commute Today

Photo courtesy of
‘Typical Beltway traffic’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

What a mess– two incidents are making for some long commutes this morning.  First, around 5 AM this morning (thanks for the wake-up text message alert at 7 AM, Washington Post), an accident at the 3rd Street Tunnel entrance caused some major delays.  And I mean major– according to WTOP, traffic is backed up for 24 miles (!) along 95 and 395.

In a separate incident, service on the Camden Line of the MARC commuter rail in Maryland has been suspended after a train hit a pedestrian.  Police are investigating.  In the mean time, Metro will honor MARC tickets from Greenbelt, and MTA is providing bus service from Dorsey, Savage, and Laurel stations to Greenbelt.

Did you get stuck in any of this today?  Let us know in the comments.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro will stay open late for Nats fans

Photo courtesy of
‘outta here for Harry the K’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

After an earlier announcement that the DC government did not have the money to keep Metro open for Nationals games that run late, the deputy mayor told the Washington Post last night that they would “work something out.” Good thing, because the alternatives (stranding people at the stadium or making them drive) sure aren’t pretty.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Star Trek Video Ad at Farragut West Metro

Metro now features video ads in stations, the first of which is a 15-second trailer for the upcoming Star Trek XI: The Wrath of the Franchise Reboot, silently flashed onto the Farragut West Metro entryway wall by a ceiling-mounted projector. Metro Marketing Director Mark Rydstrom says “In the words of Mr. Spock, we hope this concept will ‘live long and prosper.'”

Fitting that this first Metro video ad should be at a Farragut Square station, considering that pre-reboot Captain Kirk’s first deep space assignment was to the USS Farragut as a young lieutenant. Next on the wish list: holodeck Metrobuses. If that’s too much to ask, I’ll settle for working turbolifts escalators.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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News Flash: Lots of People Ride Metro

Photo courtesy of
‘at least we’re not outside anymore!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Did the Metro seem particularly crowded to you yesterday?  Today, word comes from Metro that yesterday was the sixth-highest weekday ridership day in the system’s history.  The combination of tourists that are still here for the cherry blossoms, spectators of the Frozen Four tournament, and regular old commuters like us led to this particularly high ridership day.  And this is coming just a few days after record-high weekend ridership related to cherry blossoms and various sporting events.

But there’s good news!  As Ben reported earlier, beginning next week WMATA is adding more rail cars during rush hour to accommodate the additional passengers on the red and green lines.  So, take heart– next week’s commute will be better, and with the Cherry Blossom Festival ending on Sunday, those cherry-blossom-loving tourists will be out of town in no time.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Rush Hour Relief?

Photo courtesy of
‘Bokeh Study’
courtesy of ‘Pianoman75’

Tired of jammed cars on the Red and Green lines? Well, Metro’s news that slipped out yesterday may relieve that somewhat. Beginning next week, Metro’s adding additional cars to Red and Green line trains during the always-fun weekday rush hour.

Metro has indicated that roughly twenty cars are being added to the entire fleet. This will boost half of the Red and Green rush hour runs to the maximum eight-car trains (the maximum length Metro can run due to station size), with the rest of the additional cars used to fill in gaps due to malfunctions or other problems.

The additional cars will boost Metro to 850 cars in service during weekday rush, the first in the service’s history. Will it help with the crush? It’s a matter of perspective, so you readers keep us informed, okay?

Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Music, Special Events, The District, We Love Arts, WMATA
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We Love Arts: Cherry Blast

I think we can all agree that one of the reasons “we love DC” is the arrival of spring each year when our city is transformed from a bleak, gray land of zombies into a cheery land of fresh-faced partiers.  The harsh winter weather is behind us, the cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, girls swap their jeans for skirts, and it’s time to start planning how you’ll enjoy every waking minute before the sweltering heat invades our city.

What better way to celebrate the disappearance of winter than checking out the National Cherry Blossom Festival?  While it officially started on March 28th, it runs until April 12th and is packed full of fun things to do, ranging from blossom tours to photo safaris to wicked awesome Japanese-themed art fashion anime parties.  Say what?  That’s right, on Friday the Pink Line Project kicks into gear again to throw a party that is sure to be the highlight of this year’s festival.  Enter stage left: Cherry Blast.

Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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RIP N22: New Circulator Woes

Photo courtesy of
‘Bus Signs’
courtesy of ‘FredoAlvarez’

The new Circulator routes, which promise easier and faster transport between Columbia Heights-K St./Woodley Park-McPherson Square, launched this week. The Columbia Heights route has been long-anticipated and the switch seemed to hold promise. The change also, however, replaced the 98 and N22 bus routes, leaving us wondering, really, why?

The N22 route Circulator is essentially the same route, except it eliminates many of the stops of the N22, including several between the Capitol Building and Union Station. My friend and co-worker takes this bus and has been 15 minutes late everyday since the Circulator began. Not only is the commute from Barracks Row to Union Station longer, the stops now promise a longer walk on both ends AND while the Circulator professes to stop every 10 minutes, the wait has been closer to 25 minutes, every day. 

It’s still early – they could definitely still be working out the kinks. Has anyone else’s commute been disrupted by the switch? Better or worse?

Technology, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Empty victories

Photo courtesy of
‘layers’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Today’s WaPo includes a story about WMATA deciding to put their information up on the web. The rational response from someone who isn’t a transit foamer or mega-nerd is  “isn’t it there already?” Yes, though not in the universal interchange format that would allow anyone with the will and ability to massage and repackage it – till now you’ve had to make use of WMATA’s website and tools rather than 3rd party options like using the transit calculator built into Google Maps.

Now that they’ve done this…. you’ll likely still have to use WMATA’s website. Whys and wherefores after the jump.

Continue reading →

Essential DC, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Stop-Gaps and Cuts

Photo courtesy of
‘CSC_1718’, courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

By now, everyone has heard (or is aware) that WMATA has a $29M gap in their budget to fill. And soon. Early suggestions by some parties (coughGrahamcough) was to use part of the $200M bailout money to fill the gap. Which is a stupid idea. And most board members agreed; that idea got tossed last week. (I’m glad there’s some actual common sense being demonstrated now over in Metro’s HQ; use the stimulus money for the listed projects originally put forth. It’s not a magic piggy-bank to use for stop-gaps.)

So what does WMATA do? Michael Perkins over at GGW gave a great rundown of the four options that Metro really has at this point. Probably one of the most controversial to many is the option of cutting services. Yet Metro seems to be holding this one option at arm’s length. It’s very much a hot-button topic for commuters, because no matter what Metro decides to cut (if at all this year), some people will be unhappy.

So let’s pretend you’re Catoe & Co: What services, routes or other Metro minutia would you cut in order to help bridge that gap? We’ll assume that the most obvious and best option – jurisdictional subsidy increases – isn’t viable and that Metro’s only option now is to cut down services and / or increase fares. What do you do? What’s most fair to you? Continue reading →