Metro Trying to Erase Image of Poor Service

Metro service is seriously affected by even small snags because the railroad was designed like a two-lane country road without breakdown lanes. The system has just two tracks and few places where trains can move from one track to the other. That means if a train breaks down, others back up behind it.

Earlier this year, in the glow of the electronic railroad map that stretches the length of Metro's darkened operations control center, Hercules Ballard could see trouble looming. A passenger had become ill in a bad place: on a Green Line train at L'Enfant Plaza. If the train stayed there more than a couple of minutes, trains behind it carrying thousands of riders on the Yellow and Blue lines would begin to slow or hold in the tunnels.

A year ago, if Ballard had been faced with a sick passenger, he would have ordered everyone off the train and held it until medical help arrived.

But on this day in March, Ballard had a supervisor comfort the sick passenger as the train moved one station north, releasing the choke point that had been forming. The passenger declined medical help and went on her way. Delays were minimized.

Still, changing the culture at Metro is a daunting task, and there's plenty of evidence that not everyone has gotten the message, passengers say.

Corinne Rothblum and five friends saw that firsthand when they tried to take the Metro home the night of May 21 after a D.C. United game at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Hundreds waited to head toward downtown as three trains in a row passed, outbound to Largo Town Center. As the platform grew dangerously crowded, Rothblum sought help from a station manager. She said the manager abruptly cut her off and handed her a customer comment card to mail to Metro headquarters.

A Metro spokeswoman said five extra employees were on duty that night, but Rothblum said she saw only two lingering upstairs near the station manager's booth. She could see no one coming to help control the crowd.

"There's a complete lack of accountability," said Rothblum, 39, a daily Metro commuter for 11 years. "I'm a huge supporter of public transportation, but Metro just [ticks] me off. The leadership just pays lip service. They send some people off to training, but the quality of customer service stays the same."