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| Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike (534500) | |||
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Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike |
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Posted by Mirai Zikasu on Sun Dec 16 11:21:16 2007, in response to Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike, posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Sat Dec 15 19:40:08 2007. "I think Mirau has bad luck. As Lincoln pointed out, the chance of being stuck in a delay is extremely small, and the chance of being on an offloaded train is even smaller. The chance of those events occuring to a single person multiple times over a 1-2 week span is even smaller than that. Let's put things in perspective."Okay, Oren, so let's assume I have bad luck. I'll get caught in a rush hour breakdown one week, and two weeks later, it'll be an off-hour problem or unannounced service disruption. Two weeks later, a Sunday Metrobus won't show up. Even if I have downright bad luck in the system and experience problems more often that most, that shouldn't lessen the point that there are problems in the system. For every train I'm on that breaks down, there are other people elsewhere who become inconvenienced by the problem. The focus should not be to minimize however many problems one can experience in a given period; it should be to minimize the problems and breakdowns on the system, period. Even if say only two percent of Metro riders are inconvenienced by system-related problems in any given period, it is Metro's duty to fix those problems so that all can get to where they are going without worry of something going wrong. That is their responsibility as operators of a public transportation agency. "Catoe was not in charge when the door chimes were changed. I also think the new lights at Foggy Bottom predate Catoe. At least if you are going to blame him for making mistakes, blame him for a decision he made himself." I'm not blaming Catoe for the obnoxious door chimes (though back in November, I did hear an even newer, slightly more curt but equally obnoxious variation on a rush hour Blue Line train). I'm fully aware that the change to the Randi Miller recordings was Richard White's screwup. What annoys me are all the other messages that followed the change like the garbled messages about broken elevators, the lengthy messages about service disruptions, the Spanish recordings, and the "SEE IT, SAY IT" annoyances that are played after the departure of every Metro. I'm not saying Metro should not say anything leave riders in the dark about what is going about, but most of the info is redundant and already on the PIMS system. Either put it all on the PIMS so that the station can be nice and peaceful as it was designed to be or put it all on recording so that I can actually see when my train is coming. However, making messages so omnipresent that people hear, see, taste, and smell that "if they see it, say it" turns a good message into an ubiquitous farce. Also, the Foggy Bottom bug zapper lights were done under Catoe's watch. Foggy Bottom is one of my home stations, and I watched them get installed in early spring 2007. Besides, according to that Washington Post article back in July about Metro aesthetics, it was Catoe who was originally making a fuss about screwing with lighting in the first place. "It is a bit early to judge Catoe, since has not been on the job all that long. However, it can be noted things haven't improved significantly since the start of his tenure. If anything, it shows that Richard White was not the problem, and that the problems Metro is facing are universal, regardless of who the GM is." It means that neither White nor Catoe have had the balls to stand up and tell local public officials that their public transportation system is rotting and needs desperate attention and funding to catch up on neglected maintenance and return the system to working order. Ridership and demand are increasing, and at the same time, driving is becoming more expensive. There are no plans for expansion, and no major service improvements aside from a few more eight-car rush hour trains and testing cars with more seats ripped out to squeeze ten more people per car. Catoe needs to stop lying to himself that Metro is peachy keen and stop punishing riders with ideas of ridiculous service cuts and fare hikes without system improvement. Without decent leadership, Metro will be a mess. Many of us seem to agree that in a year Catoe has accomplished virtually nothing positive. I only wonder for how long must he consistently fail and have no direction for development or improvement before others agree that he needs to be thrown out and replaced. By the way, the name is Mirai. |
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