Riders Give Metro an Earful

Board Will Weigh Gripes in Finalizing Fare Increases

They speak of love and hate and of promises not kept. Their words are full of passion. Their tone is sarcastic, disappointed, even incredulous. But many are thoughtful and reasonable. And all just want their side to be heard.

Metro riders have plenty on their minds. In hours of public hearings last week and in letters, faxes and e-mails to the board of directors, riders spoke out against the largest proposed increases ever in subway fares and parking fees.

But although they were supposed to address only fares and fees, many complained about Metro's poor service, using the opportunity to address board members directly during six public hearings.

The glimpse into the minds of riders revealed a band of beaten down and frustrated people who, despite their close kinship with Metro, have had about enough. They're tired of seeing platform workers do nothing while chaos ensues. They're tired of being stuck in crammed trains, not knowing what's going on, when they should be at home or work. And they don't want to be asked, again, for more money unless things are going to get better.

"I cannot count the number of times I have seen Metro staff chatting in groups on the platform instead of calming rude teenagers or directing foot traffic or answering questions," wrote Jennifer Seifert of Fairfax.

Brenda Brown-Paul of Upper Marlboro asked board members to "take a look at the number of alerts that your system has sent to the riders over the past week," ticking off the innumerable delays caused by malfunctioning brakes and doors and reports of smoke.

"If I'm asked to pay more, I want better service and better maintenance so that these sorts of problems become less frequent, not more, as is the case now," she wrote in an e-mail.

Thomas McCann, who rides from Vienna to the Smithsonian Station stop, attached three earlier e-mails seeking explanations from Metro's customer service office for his Orange Line troubles. The lack of response, he said, was "indicative of the poor service provided to passengers on a daily basis."

The public hearings have ended, but riders can mail or e-mail written comments to Metro until 5 p.m. Nov. 26. The board had received more than 100 e-mails as of Friday morning, and 150 people testified at the public hearings. The board is scheduled to decide on a final fare package at its December meeting, and new rates could go into effect early next year.

Some directors said testimony from riders will make a difference and give them more reason to lower the size of the increase. "This will affect what we do," said Maryland board member Peter Benjamin, who attended the Rockville hearing. "I am confident we will be able to come in at a lower set of fares than what we took to public hearing."

District board member Emeka Moneme, who attended two hearings in Washington, said riders' message for better service came through clearly. "Obviously, we have to do something. We would be breaking the public trust if we didn't ensure a better level of service."

An initial step was taken Friday when Metro executives named a new chief to oversee the 86-station Metrorail system, the first in a series of steps they said were aimed at improving efficiency and reliability.