Unacceptable

August 11, 2010

Unacceptable

You must really think I’m stupid, WMATA.

You must also think that my dry cleaners could REALLY use some more business.  I suspect they are most grateful.

Because here’s the thing.  I walk to the Metro every day, and this summer, the parking lot has been taking a lot longer to get full.  And while this might be the result of increased “green” commuting to the metro station, it’s probably also because there are slightly fewer people riding in the summer, especially on Mondays and Fridays.  People take vacations in the summer, and it is the one thing that makes summertime commuting bearable, because it increases the personal space zone by roughly 1/2″ all the way around.

Or it used to, before you surreptitiously started running fewer trains.

Maybe you thought we wouldn’t notice, those of us living along the Orange Line.  Maybe you thought we’d stand on the platform waiting 8 minutes for a train that we wouldn’t be able to fit on, and think that this was normal for a line that’s supposed to have trains every 3-4 minutes during rush hour – trains with 8 cars!  And yes, I know there’s a budget shortfall, and I get that reducing service is one way to compensate for such things.  But.

BUT, you didn’t decide to do that.  NO.  You raised fares, and raised them substantially.  And you said you were doing this so that there would NOT be a reduction in service. 

So how is it that I’m waiting 8 minutes just to get to the front of the line to board the train, then another 6 minutes for the next train, where the car I get on has minimal or no air conditioning (this, by the way, has already happened THREE times this week, and it’s only Wednesday morning).  I get on just a few stops from the end, and the trains are very nearly full by the time they get to me.

This is ridiculous.  At this point, I’m beginning to understand why a working-class individual would be swayed by the likes of Mussolini.  What I don’t understand is how this level of mismanagement could exist in such a public organization for this length of time. 

If Congress can investigate steroid use in baseball, they can certainly take the time to investigate the clusterf*ck that is WMATA management.  I’m writing my representatives right now.

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