The farce that was the last 48 hours of Red Line service on Metro is not the last straw. Whatever the last straw was (I think most riders and employees have lost count at this point), it happened a long time ago. Yet Metro continues to slouch forward, its leadership locking arms with apologists in local government and media. The result is that, in the customer's experience, there has been no positive change whatsoever.
Metro has been a good subway system in the past. Sure, there have always been issues, but nothing like that of recent years. Metro can be at least that good again with the right leadership, and adequate funding.
We've heard a lot about the "aggressive" changes in maintenance, safety and service. Riders have suffered through endless weekend station closures, closures that - along with punitive fare increases - have sent some riders back to their automobiles.
But those inconvenient closures have produced no tangible results. There continue to be delays, derailings, and even another fatal accident that killed an employee. Does anyone call this an improvement?
Yet Metro truly has a Teflon leadership. No matter what happens, it's never held accountable. But riders have leverage beyond their farecards: asking their local and state government officials to tell Metro's leadership enough is enough.
If our elected officials don't take action, we should take action at the voting machines in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Furthermore, the state of Maryland should consider doing what Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell did three years ago: decide what substantive leadership, operation and safety changes they believe should be implemented, and withhold Maryland's Metro funding until those are enacted. Should that be the first and only means of bringing about real change? No. But if all else fails, is allowing one of the best subway systems in the world to continue to decline an option?
I'm certainly open to other suggestions of how Montgomery County and Maryland specifically can apply pressure on Metro on behalf of their beleaguered residents; feel free to leave a comment below.
But we can't continue to be told that change is just around the corner. When's the last time your train was automatically run, rather than manually operated? How many years have gone by without fixing that problem? I don't even hear Metro, the media or politicians talk about that issue anymore.
I'd like to see politicians show the same animation and fury they generate about plastic bags and trans fat on behalf of an unacceptable level of subway service for their constituents. And, if they don't, they should be replaced with people who will.
We can't go on like this.
7 comments:
I usually dont agree with all your posts, but this one definitely resonates with me. I could not agree more that something needs to be done. The one problem I have is that your call to action is too vague. Yes, lets think about how changes can be made and maybe voice that opinion at the voting booth, but who am I voting for/against? What are the details? Who on the local/state level decides who sits on the Metro board? How exactly does Metro get its funding? These are important questions that need to be answered.
Well said! And I also agree with the comment above... Let's get more details on who to complain to so it matters, and how to make this an issue that matters in the voting booth.
"When's the last time your train was automatically run, rather than manually operated? How many years have gone by without fixing that problem? I don't even hear Metro, the media or politicians talk about that issue anymore."
Here's your answer. Do a little bit of research first before ranting.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2013/06/11/metro-not-ready-to-run-trains-in-automatic-mode/
That's not the answer to the questions you quoted right above it. I didn't ask why. Rather, I was making a point of how long Metro has had to fix the problem - almost 5 years(!!) - and that we've received not even an update on where automatic train control stands. And that the apologists for Metro leadership, such as The Washington Post, have not written about that major issue. Giving me a URL to a 5-month-old article is simply helping to make my point. I read that at the time, and have heard nothing since. Frankly, I can't imagine that there are people fully satisfied with Metro's current performance who aren't A) a Metro official or staff member to said official B) a local media apologist for said officials, or C) a local elected official or developer.
Are you seriously an enthusiastic supporter of Metro's current leadership?
The WP article answers your "when" and "how many" questions and also "why" which you "didn't ask".
"When's the last time your train was automatically run, rather than manually operated?"
Since before the crash in 2009 as the article states.
"How many years have gone by without fixing that problem?"
They've been fixing the problem since the crash in 2009 as the article states.
The article provides you an update. Why don't you be like a reporter and find out directly from them the status of the repairs. Just because you haven't heard doesn't mean they're not doing anything. Let them get it right and not rush the fix.
Why are you implying that I'm an "enthusiastic supporter of Metro's current leadership"? You've done this before Robert, put words in my mouth and attributed facts to me that are not true. You don't get to win arguments by making stuff up.
I don't think there are too many people "fully" satisfied, but for most people Metro gets them where they have to go (with frequent inconveniences) and they're not either an A, B, or C.
The questions I asked were rhetorical. I know the answers. I'm making a point. 5 years is too long. If you can't fix a basic system in five years, you should be fired. I think we'd be a lot better off as a region if our local newspapers were actually asking tough questions, and holding people accountable. This blog is the only media outlet to have questioned the Bethesda post office debacle, the only one to publish an investigative piece on the garage collapse contractor, the underground MTBE spill, the conflict of interest political donations by the Farm Road "investigator" and many more. The Post and Gazette should be doing that kind of reporting, instead of rewriting press releases.
And how would you know that taking "5 years is too long" to fix a "basic system"? It does seem like a long time, but you or I have no idea why it's taking so long. I'd rather have them take their time to get it right before running trains on automatic again.
I don't see how our local newspapers would make any difference in improving the region or holding people accountable.
Your blog has reported on issues that nobody else does but it doesn't affect the issue itself.
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