One of the sad facts of the Metro system is that pretty much every day there’s a major malfunction at one of the system’s escalators. There are tons of station who lose escalators for upwards of six months in some cases, and we’ve all seen what even just the slightest maintenance needs will do to the system. Of course, there’s always talk of why the escalators are out service, but DC blogger Good at Drinking, Bad at Life comes up with a truly plausible explanation:
I’m not usually one for conspiracy theories, but it seems to me that perhaps there is a conflict of interest here. We really wouldn’t need nearly that many escalator repairmen if the Metro escalators all suddenly started working. If every escalator in the city went for months without breaking down, the DC Metro system would probably only have to employ about 20 escalator repairmen. Where’s the incentive to permanently fix something if the end result is unemployment? I certainly know that I wouldn’t devote my best effort to fixing something if the result was that 90% of my friends and coworkers would be laid off. It’s the same principle that makes unscrupulous auto mechanics take a wrench to your transmission when you go in to have your brake pads replaced–they make more money when there actually is something that needs to be fixed.
I’m with GWD, there’s something mighty fishy going on here…
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
