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| Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike (536237) | |||
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Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Dec 18 20:30:24 2007, in response to Re: WMATA Board Approves Fare Hike, posted by Mirai Zikasu on Sun Dec 16 11:21:16 2007. Let's stick to Metrorail. Metrobus is a whole different story.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. Please find where I have denied this sentiment. However, to pass off your experience as "normal" would be quite a stretch from reality, and you should stop trying to do so. 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. As Ron would say, do your homework. It wasn't Richard White's project, either. Your experience on the Blue Line sounds like you got one of the trains that first had the announcements, and then they redid it once it had been piloted to make it work better. They probably decided there was no need to update the trains they used for the pilot, and you got one of those. There are only 6-12 of those, if even that many. Is it really that big a deal? It is good you never rode Breda 3121 before the new chimes were developed or before that car was rehabbed. 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. You can't have it both ways. Yes, the sound system doesn't work too well with the vaults, but they are working to improve the quality of announcements. PIMS cannot be relied on for all system announcements, many of those displays are poorly placed and are obstructed, not to mention, they are difficult to see from far away. if they didn't make announcements, you would be complaining that they weren't keeping you informed of delays and that the system is horrible. I think the balance is fairly appropriate. You seem to forget there was once a time where there were no PIMS displays, information about delays and elevator outages was only able to be relayed over the station's PA system, and you had no idea how many minutes away the next train was until you could see its headlights or the edge lights flashed. 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. Foggy Bottom is one of the darkest stations in the system. They need to improve the lighting there, and that was a fine first step. Now they need to finish with the rest of the station. Many Metro managers have talked about improving lighting, none of them ever seem to actually do it. 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. Wake up already. White, Tangherlini, and Catoe have all done this, but clearly you (and the local politicians and feds) paid no attention. Ever hear of the MetroMatters program? Expansion money is separate from operating/maintenance funds, we've been through that already, and the system will be expanded further. Running additional 8 car trains is a major change if you ask me. What do you consider it to be? 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. I stand by my earlier statement. You can't judge Mr. Catoe just yet. By the way, the name is Mirai. My apologies. |
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