Why Washington Metro...

[iGary]

My leaving the Fairfax/Vienna area would have meant a slow go with "reverse" rush hour traffic on I-66. Hassles of rush hour city traffice. The $12.25 you actually spent (never mind the TardCard™ cost) is probably less than what the cost in time and frustration would be.

Not really -I'd be going the opposite direction, but I hear what you are saying, and obviously I'm not irritated with you for any reason - I actually WANTED to take the train so I could bring my PB along and do some writing to and from.

Put a big sign up at the parking lot - problem solved. I'm al for the TardCard™ and Metro use - I just had a bad experience last night. I'll stop by NC on the way into DC tomorrow and snap a pic of teh parking lot entrance...

 

[freeny]

The Metro is OK for getting in and around town...this SmartCard thing is totally gay

Are you suggesting that "gay" is a bad thing?

While I find the DC metro one of the most beautifull and stunning of just about any subway in the world, it certainly has its faults.

-Scattered stops
-Stops only in "Tourist", "Shopping" or "Government" areas
-Doubled fares durring rush hours. You could pay more than $10++ just to get home.
-Not enough trains
-Confusing transfer stations.

 

[floriflee]

Are you suggesting that "gay" is a bad thing?

While I find the DC metro one of the most beautifull and stunning of just about any subway in the world, it certainly has its faults.

-Scattered stops
-Stops only in "Tourist", "Shopping" or "Government" areas
-Doubled fares durring rush hours. You could pay more than $10++ just to get home.
-Not enough trains
-Confusing transfer stations.

I don't think the transfer stations are any more confusing than most transit stations. It seems like they, for the most part, have plenty of signage about where to go. If anything, I feel more lost going to the NYC subway--deservedly so since it is much more complex than our metro.

I'm not a frequent metro rider either, but haven't had the ordeals iGary had with it yesterday. I read about the SmarTrip card thingy, though, so was prepared for it when it came. The worst experience was about a month or so ago when the hubby and I went to a play at the Arena Stage and on the ride back to Greenbelt I got sick and thought I was going to throw up because the car we were in smelled like body odor, pee, and moldy washcloths. Lucky for the hubby that his nose isn't nearly as sensitive as mine.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

-You could pay more than $10++ just to get home.

you sure about that? i don't see the math...


on all other points, i agree.

 

[iGary]

you sure about that? i don't see the math...


on all other points, i agree.

Yeah, it was almost $3.00 just to get form NC to L'Enfant Plaza during rush hour - one way. It would be close to ten if I would have done the orange line form one end to the other.

 

[count chocula]

sorry about your trouble. i've never had too much trouble with the dc metro

 

[Clix Pix]

That at the time going to a free fare system would have cost the local governments less. This came from the spokesperson at the time (COdy Fanstille, IIRC his name right).

Cody Pfanstiehl. Saw him not too long ago (I'm on the board of an organization his wife runs).... Sadly, "The voice of Metro" is gently fading away...

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Cody Pfanstiehl. Saw him not too long ago (I'm on the board of an organization his wife runs).... Sadly, "The voice of Metro" is gently fading away...

Thanks for the correction in his last name.

Did not think that he was still with us. I was a youngster in my twenties when I met him.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks for the correction in his last name.

Did not think that he was still with us. I was a youngster in my twenties when I met him.

I think he's approaching ninety... I'm not sure of his exact age, though. In his younger days he was a real corker, a charming dynamo of a man. He met Margaret when he decided to do some volunteer service for the Washington Ear (closed-circuit radio programming for the visually impaired). I think that was right before or right after he retired from Metro. They started spending more and more time together, Cody started coming with her to the Board meetings after her guide dog died, and we all thought to ourselves, "mmmmmhmmm...." Sure enough, they announced their engagement, were married at New Year's of the approaching year and Cody became a Permanent Volunteer. LOL! That was a while ago now....well over twenty years ago, I guess.

Oops...sorry to have momentarily derailed this thread, Gary!

 

[mkrishnan]

So this afternoon, an un-named MR member and I decide to get together for a late lunch in Washington DC.

When you said unknown member, you meant Roger™, didn't you. Are you holding out on us?

 

[nbs2]

Yeah, it was almost $3.00 just to get form NC to L'Enfant Plaza during rush hour - one way. It would be close to ten if I would have done the orange line form one end to the other.

Gary, I'm going to do something dangerous. You're wrong.

Metro charges between 1.35 and 3.25 (or 3.75 - not sure) during rush hour. They scale up rapidly, but they hit that peak and stay there. It kind of sucks, but it works well for people crossing the system (like you going from NC to Vienna or Shady Grove or DCA).

 

[miloblithe]

$3.90 is the max now.

 

[nbs2]

3.25, 3.90, it's all the same difference - expensive enough to be annoying, cheap enough to make you think twice about driving in.

 

[bluebomberman]

Why don't they just make the SmartTrip card free? I've never heard of paying a price premium for a piece of plastic. It would've saved you some pain and frustration.

 

[theBB]

Last week I was on a Blue line train (Largo bound), and two individuals were talking about one of their court cases. Passenger A said that he was facing 45 years. Passenger B said that Passenger A could be out in 15 years.

That could also mean you were riding through an expensive neighborhood; think Enron, MCI executives etc.

That "stab your date" restaurant billboard is hillarious. Thanks for posting that. I might give that place a try next time I go to SF.

 

[Mav451]

Yeah the SmartCard system definitely isn't firmly entrenched yet. I took the metro from CP down to MCI Center. And after watching that terrible Game6 loss, we came back to the CP station metro parking lot and took nearly 20mins to get out b/c a retard at the front of the line did not have a SmartCard. Everyone had to wiggle back and forth until the idiot could back up. Oh and oh wait, the guy behind him ALSO doesn't have one. Amazing.

Of course that idiot ends up driving out of the entrance ramp (NOT the exit ramp)...um, illegal?!

I got my SmartCard last semester (Fall '05...maybe October), so for me, I've barely used it for the few trips I take into DC, but it certainly comes in handy.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

METRO is slated to announce the allowing of credit cards to pay for parking today, according to the crawler on NBC4 news this morning.