Metro: Roads and Rails

Roads, Airports, Mass Transit

Do you think Metro has grown unreliable and become downright unpleasant? Or are you happy with your commutes on rail and bus? Does the thought of the intercounty connector (ICC) keep you up at night or does it seem like it's long overdue? And what of the moves by Maryland and Virginia to encourage the private sector to build road projects, such as widening the Capital Beltway?

Washington Post staff writers Lyndsey Layton and Steven Ginsberg were online Monday, March 6, at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, feel your pain and share the drama of getting from Point A to Point B.

A transcript follows.

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Lyndsey Layton: Good morning, sluggers, straphangers and SUVers of all types! Steve Ginsberg is exploring the road network around Richmond this morning, so I'm solo today. What's on your minds?

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Washington, D.C.: I have to share this because it warmed my heart to watch: on the blue line a few weeks ago, there was a handicapped gentleman with a walker. When it was apparent that it was his stop, another gentleman asked the person closest to the call box to notify the driver that there was a passenger who needed more time than usual to get off. The person then alerted the driver when the gentleman had gotten off and it was safe to proceed. I had never seen this happen on the metro before, and with all the pushing and shoving and yelling that takes places most of the time, this small gesture almost moved me to tears. Just wanted to share a nice story for people's Monday morning. And, Mr. Good Samaritan, if you're reading this, thank you. There should be more people like you out there.

Lyndsey Layton: Thanks for sharing that moment of civility with us.

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Arlington, Va.: Why does Metro have people stationed in the parking booth at East Falls Church? Since you must use a SmartPass to exit, there is no need to pay an individual to sit there. Typically, the person is either on their cell phone or talking to a friend.

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Arlington,

Metro employs attendants at all of its parking facilities. When the transit system opted to go to a cashless, SmarTrip system, the board of directors said it wanted to maintain a human presence at the lots in case motorists need assistance.

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College Park, Md.: At the College Park Metro Station, Metro installed a canopy over the western entrance's stairs and escalator. However, ever since it's "completed" one glass pane is missing, allowing rain and snow to fall at the bottom of the steps. Can/should I bring these to Metro's attention and how can they spend all this money on a canopy that doesn't do it's job. Thanks and love the chats.

Lyndsey Layton: You just did. Metro monitors this chat. This is the second instance I've heard about missing or broken panels on new canopies - the other at Dupont Circle.

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Washington, D.C.: The story on the service for the disabled people said that you sent 12 reporters to ride with people, but my paper only had stories about 8 of them. What happened to the other 4? Were they good rides and so you chose not to write about them? That doesn't seem right.

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Washington,

That material was edited to avoid repetition - some of the rides didn't add anything new or different and we already had a tremendous amount of copy. (If you remember, the finished product ran two full inside pages.)

In the finished product we were careful to represent the range of experiences our reporting team observed, including rides that were timely and relatively free of problems.

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K Street: Here's something I've been wondering, something that pops in my mind while waiting for trains to come ... either of you know the answer? What determines how the train platforms will be laid out at a given station -- i.e., if the platform is in the middle, serving both trains (a la Farragut North), or on the sides, one platform per train (a la Farragut West)? Why one and not the other?

Lyndsey Layton: Hi K Street,

The station layout was largely determined with the space available (and cost of that real estate) as well as estimated passenger counts when the station was built.

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Steve Ginsberg: Hello everyone. Sorry I'm arriving late. I got stuck in some traffic (wouldn't you know it) on the way to Richmond, where I'm going to talk to some people about the various transportation funding plans. Any thoughts on those are most welcome.

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Alexandria, Va.: Why can't Metro track maintenance be done during the late night and early morning hours when the trains are not in service instead of during the day when the work disrupts the train service? Since most of the tracks are underground the difficulties of working in the dark cannot be the reason. Is it because they agreed to one of those ridiculous union contracts that bars such night shifts even at higher hourly pay rates?

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Alexandria,

Actually, the wee hours when Metro is shutdown has always been when most of the track maintenance is performed. But two things have changed that have shifted more track work to be done during regular service hours. First, Metro's board opted to keep the subway running later on weekends and open it earlier on weekdays, reducing the hours that the subway is closed and the maintenance window. Second, Metro has been trying to be much more proactive in maintaining the track, which means a range of track and roadbed projects are going on across the system.

In short, there's more track work and fewer off-hours in which to do it.

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Arlington, Va.: Steve: Hi. I've noticed a lot more serious accidents lately--the type that cause road closures. There was one last week when that truck fell off the ramp onto the beltway in MD. Today there's another one on the beltway. It seems to me that you don't cover that the same way that the paper covers Metrorail delays. You seem to give heavy coverage to Metrorail delays when people are in lengthy delays but you don't seem to be able to tell us why roadways are often closed for so long when there is an accident. It seems counterintuitive to close an entire road for hours on end when all they have to do is move parked emergency vehicles out of the roadways. If the fire and rescuse and police on the scene could move their vehicles out of the way, surely a few lanes of a highway could be reopened faster. Understandably there is initial confusion at an accident scene, but it seems like moving a few parked responders to shift them off of all travel lanes would speed things up. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you cover Metro to death--don't forget about those of us who are stuck in traffic every day.

Steve Ginsberg: I'm sorry you don't feel like we cover traffic accidents well enough. We do give extensive coverage to major incidents and try to keep track of others on the web and in print. Your frustration about clearing accidents from roadways is shared by many. regional leaders have tried desperately in recent years to make clearing accidents a priority and I do think they've made some progress. But, clearly, there are some incidents that are too severe to move off the road quickly.

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Washington, D.C.: Thanks for your comments about the College Park canopy. Our maintenance staff has been notified about this. If you notice anything that needs fixing, please report it to the station manager. It's their job to inspect the station including canopies and report it to the maintenance staff. The canopies at Dupont Circle and Woodley Park are not 100 percent finished, and the contractor is working on the final glass panels which are being manufactured. Metro Media Relations.

Lyndsey Layton: Here's a speedy reply from the helpful crew at Metro. Thanks.

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Rockville, Md.: I was traveling east on the Dulles Toll Road (267) just before midnight on Saturday, and pulled up to the "Full Service" window, ready to get change for my dollar bill. About 5 cars were behind us. Would you believe that no one was at the window!! I had never seen this happen before. My husband got out of the car, and asked the guy behind us for change for a dollar, and he just gave us 50 cents (thanks, Good Samaritan!), which we threw in the basket and were on our way. I was so angry, though! What if no one was behind us, or I was alone? Was I supposed to go through the gate, or run through it, knowing I'd probably get a ticket for failing to pay (and then good luck trying to prove no one was there). When we exited, I told the person there about how there was no service at the entrance from exit 11, but he couldn't really do anything.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? There is a toll, but you don't have exact change, and there's no one around for service? What should I have done if I was alone? And, most important, who can I tell this to? I was so angry! Thanks!!

Steve Ginsberg: I'm going to throw this out to the chatters. This happen to anyone else?

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Washington, D.C.: This isn't Metro, but it's part of my commute. It's become rather difficult to walk around downtown D.C. Large building projects block sidewalks for extended amounts of time. For example, there is now a block of 11th St. NW where sidewalks are closed on both sides of the street! Are there any sorts of rules about keeping sidewalks open to pedestrians?

Steve Ginsberg: There are rules but the city tends to bend them quite a bit. And if they don't, contractors tend to do it themselves. I wrote about this a couple years ago and some of the worst spots cleared up, but maybe it's time to write about it again.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm at a total loss as to what I witnessed this past Saturday evening. At 9:00pm I was walking to Union Station. About a dozen young men, about 13-14 years in age, came out of Union Station and about a minute later a homeless man (who was visibly inebriated) stumbled out as well. All of a sudden, these kids surrounded the man, two punched him in the face until he fell to the ground unconscious; then the group began to kick him on the ground. There weren't any guards or policeman patrolling the area at all. We looked for someone to report this to, and there wasn't a guard or policeman to be seen. The next day we followed up and found out the group of kids had been kicked out of Union Station (don't know why) and the homeless man had been kicked out as well (for being drunk). Two kids were arrested and the man was taken to a hospital. To me, it is an outrage that there wasn't any sort of authority around as well as it was a huge oversight to just kick these kids out of the interior of Union Station only to let them run wild just outside the doors. They assaulted this man on the grounds on Union Station, we're talking literally 3 feet from the automatic doors that lead you inside to the various Cafe's. I don't know what can be done, I just had to vent and hopefully either Metro police or Capitol Hill police are "watching" this chat.

Steve Ginsberg: I'm happy to post your vent. That's a pretty sad commentary on everyone involved.

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Court House, Arlington, Va.: When the Silver Line from Tyson's/Dulles Airport is in service, where will its eastern terminus be? Will riders have to transfer at West Falls Church to continue on into D.C., or will the train follow the Orange/Blue line? Will this only create more overcrowding in the Ballson-Rosslyn corridor? Does this also complicate things for trains going through the Potomac tunnel?

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Court House. The Silver line is being termed an extension of Metro from West Falls Church to the airport, so, no, there is no talk about riders having to transfer at that station to continue to downtown DC. And, yes, this scenario would both add to crowding on the Orange Line and complicate matters at the Rosslyn tunnel. Transit planners say one possible solution is to create a new Blue Line by routing most of today's Blue Line trains inbound from Franconia Springfield onto the Yellow Line. Maybe you'd still run a couple from Franconia-Springfield through to Rosslyn and inbound, but most would run over the Yellow Line.

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Not even in Virginia...: But who would be able to do an "unbiased" poll of the VA residents/voters to find out if they would pay extra taxes for transportation? I remember seeing a story that a poll was done last week, and showed folks would pay more taxes for transportation, but it seemed it got discounted when folks realized Kaine's office had sponsored/requested/etc. it.

Steve Ginsberg: Frankly, I'm not sure any of the poll results make a difference on this sort of issue. There was a poll in 1986, the last time Virginia raised taxes for transportation, and it showed something like 95 percent of the people opposing new taxes. A year later, after it was done, a majority was glad it happened. If I recall correctly, similar polls came out two years ago when the state was considering a tax raise and two years later, few people seem to mind it.

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UpMo, Md.: I shall now commit hari-kari. My husband left his keys at home, in Upper Marlboro this morning, and dutiful wife that I am, I said I would drop them off on my way into work. In Rockville. Yes, I am stupid.

Left home at 0730. Got to work, finally, at 0936. I travelled through DC and out to Rockville via the GW Parkway in less than 1/2 an hour. The rest of the trip, driving from UpMo to L'Enfant Plaza, was sheer insanity. Accidents or no, there are too many people driving to jobs that can be done on their decks in this area. www.telcoa.org - Unite and Fight, people!

Steve Ginsberg: wow, telecommuters are going militant.

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Washington, D.C.: I was assaulted by two women on the metro red line between Farragut North and Metro Center on Friday at approximately 5:10 p.m. Shockingly, no one on the crowded train did or said anything. I waited at the Metro Center platform for more than 10 minutes for metro police to arrive but had to leave the station to follow one of my attackers. Anyone who was a witness to the attack who wishes to provide information should contact metro police at 202-962-2121. Officer Samuel is in charge of the case.

Lyndsey Layton: That's horrible. But what's even more awful is having to post a plea for help on a chat site, instead of getting assistance on the spot from your fellow riders. Please send a line directly to me at laytonl@washpost.com - I've got a couple of questions about this incident.

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Oak Hill, Va.: Until my car finally gave up the ghost in January, I never understood the problem people had with metro. Now, as a daily metro commuter, I am no longer a fan. Yes, 8-car trains are empty...only because they come one minute after a 6-car train that is packed to its gills. Then you wait 10 minutes for another train. Since I have begun using public transit, I have yet to be to work on time...whether I am at the station right on time (according to WMATA) or 1/2 hour early. The frustration is unbelievable. Trains that break down, that just don't come, that sit in the Rosslyn tunnel for 20 minutes.... I live in Herndon and want transit to come to Dulles as much as anyone else. But until Metro can figure out out to reduce the current crowding on the orange line, what on earth are they thinking trying to put more people onto that line?

While I'm ranting...Boo to the idiots in the Virginia legislature on their sales tax vote.

Lyndsey Layton: Thanks Oak Hill and welcome to the family.

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Dulles Toll Road: To the reader from Rockville, if memory serves me correctly, the Post reported recently that Virginia doesn't send tickets to people who run the tollbooths. I'm not encouraging doing so, of course....

Steve Ginsberg: You are right about that, but I believe she was saying she was at one of the exit booths that has a gate. So she would have had to motor through the gate, toll or no toll.

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Olney, Md.: Twice in the last week I have seen the Montgomery County police pull someone for an infraction and spend considerable time blocking a lane of traffic to write the ticket. Since it was rush hour both times, the bottleneck it caused was considerable. In one instance it slowed traffic so badly as to create a major delay on three different roads that fed into Georgia Ave. Why can't the police have the offender pull off the road into a parking lot or side street in order that traffic flow not be snarled so badly?

Steve Ginsberg: I don't know. That sort of thing is beyond irksome.

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Kensington, Md.: On Saturday night I met a confusing scene at Metro Center. They were single-tracking but there were only small handwritten signs and no one to tell us to go to the Shady Grove platform. Were there announcements in the Post that I missed?

Steve Ginsberg: We had an alert in Friday's paper about weekend work. I'm sorry you missed it, and perhaps we should run it all weekend. How long was your delay? Metro says delays are no more than 10-15 minutes, but we sometimes hear of much longer ones.

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Washington, D.C.: It seems to be Metro's policy now to turn of the down escalator at the Farrugut West station during morning rush hour so that people exiting trains at that station can use both the function up escalator and walk up the down escalator. I wrote to Metro to complain but received the following explanation: it is Metro's Standard Operating Procedure to have the escalator turned off anytime the ridership is considered heavy. The purpose is to off-set accidents and or injuries due to the large volume of patrons on the escalator. What about the people trying to get down onto the platform and being trampled every morning by the large volume of patrons going the other way on the down escalator? I'm at a loss and just wanted to vent my frustration.

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Washington,

Metro just underwent a station-by-station analysis of escalator direction - under which conditions each unit should be in the up or down direction - and codified all this stuff. And, from your description, it seems the agency still doesn't have it right. Try this, call the Orange Line manager Charlie Dziduch at 301-562-4606 or email him at blue-orangeline@wmata.com and tell him what you've told us. And let's see if he can make it better.

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Ward 4: "If you notice anything that needs fixing, please report it to the station manager. It's their job to inspect the station including canopies and report it to the maintenance staff."

Really. Really? Ok Metro, when was the last time you tried to talk to a station manager about anything? Finding them is difficult. Getting their attention is even harder. And getting them to speak civilly to you? Almost impossible. Seriously, send some secret shoppers around and see how easy it isn't to have a conversation with a station manager, let alone actually get them to do something.

Lyndsey Layton: An excellent observation.

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Arlington, Va.: What was the URL for the Metro public usegroup/forum?

Lyndsey Layton: I think you're referring to MetroRiders.org

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Rockville, Md.: Not a metro item, but I will be flying next week and just scheduled the SuperShuttle. It is just about twice what I paid two years ago. Why so much of an increase? Fuel?

Steve Ginsberg: Don't know why the price increase, but I stopped taking it some time ago because it was taking longer and longer. I took the Metro bus from Greenbelt to BWI for the first time Friday and found it to be very convenient. The bus out to Dulles isn't so reliable, however, if that's where you're headed.

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Van Dorn, Va.: So, has the new Metro Voice debuted everywhere? Because I ride the Blue Line from Van Dorn, and it sounds like the same old voice to me. Am I just super-unobservant?

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Van Dorn,

No, but if you switch to the Yellow line at King Street, you'd improve your chance of hearing it. The new Voice of Metro started talking last week on a single Yellow Line train. Metro wants to test the voice with passengers before it expands it across the system.

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Parking at Dulles: Wise Ones: How much would it cost to park our car at Dulles for 12 days? We're traveling overseas...

Thanks!

Steve Ginsberg: Lucky you! The economy lot is $9 a day. So you'll be paying $108. But you get to go overseas so what do you care?

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Orange Line: So I understand the theory behind running 8-car trains less often in the mornings (although I don't agree with it - I'd rather have a shorter wait and stand than have a longer wait and sit - it gets me there faster!) However, getting on at Ballston about a week ago, around 8:00 a.m. there was a 4-car train arriving, then a TEN MINUTE wait, then another 4-car train, and no other announced trains on the screen. What kind of service is that? C'mon Metro. Short trains often or long trains farther apart - not short trains farther apart!

Lyndsey Layton: In short, crappy service. It sounds to me like they may have been short a few functioning rail cars that morning. There should not have been a 4-car followed by another 4-car, 10 minutes apart.

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Herndon, Va.: I think the attendants at Toll Road exit ramps leave at 11pm, I didnt see one at exit 10 when I got home last night. I would simply wait for another car to go through and then follow them. As we found out some weeks ago, the "cameras" don't really do anything, so who's going to know if you don't pay the toll??

Steve Ginsberg: There must be a better way. I'll follow up on this one and report back to you guys in two weeks.

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Metro station managers: Why do _I_ have to report obvious problems (non-working PA systems, off escalators, broken canopies) to Metro station managers? Isn't it part of their job to actually look for obvious problems?

Lyndsey Layton: Well, if you want to get picky, yes. But let's take a generous, expansive view. Let's put the public in public transportation.

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Olney, Md.: Given that it will take 10 years to do any extension of the Metro, shouldn't there be a master plan in place, for say the next 20 years, to keep up with the population growth in our area. For instance, the projections are for the population of Olney to double as well as the surrounding areas of Ashton and Sandy Spring. Has there been any studies done to expand the Red line up Georgia Ave?

Steve Ginsberg: Transportation folks will tell you that there are plenty of master plans. They'll also tell you that they amount to a bunch of nothing if there's no money and, often, political will, to carry them out.

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Arlington, Va.: Lyndsey: How does MetroAccess service in DC compare to other services for people with disabilities in other cities? Baltimore? New York? Chicago? Boston? I would think that those cities have similar challenges with vehicles getting lost, stuck in traffic, and then being late. Are we better, the worse, or the same as the MetroAccess serice in those cities? You've only covered problems here, without putting it into context of whether these are common problems or specific to the service here.

washingtonpost.com: What Disabled Riders Endure (Post, March 5)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Arlington,

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments released a report a couple of weeks ago that cited New York and Baltimore as cities which do a better job at providing transportation service for the disabled than we do here.

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Toll: Thanks for the comments. Yes, we were at a toll with a gate, and we were first in line with about 5 cards behind us, so we couldn't really change places with someone else. It was so weird, I am just grateful the guy behind us gave us the money to go through.

Steve Ginsberg: I bet you never go anywhere without some change in your car again.

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Washington, D.C.: I know there are signs (or used to be) on the approach to the Dulles Toll road saying after a certain time they were unattended and what you should do (have exact change I think). But they are hard to read/see in daylight - forget at night.

Steve Ginsberg: That's not much help.

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Falls Church, Va.: I think I got good customer support from Metro. My SmartTrip card is erratic and I need a new one. The routine is that I can take a completely dead card to Metro Center (not on my commute), but if it's only limping I have to mail it to HQ and wait for them to mail me a new one. I would find being without the card for a week or more inconvenient.

I emailed through wmata.com and the specialist found a way: He's mailing me the card now, after he canceled my current one. If the card comes Wednesday, that's not too bad, and I don't have to make a long detour or forgo the SmarTrip for a long time. Thanks!

I commend this guy for going above and beyond to help a frustrated, loyal commuter, and I thank Metro. Better still, though, would be to let me resolve this at Metro Center (or at Pentagon or the mobile centers, which I actually go to everyday).

Lyndsey Layton: A compliment and a suggestion from Falls Church. Let us know if you get your card.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Dear fellow bus passengers,

If you have a child under five and have not paid for said child to ride, please could you seat the kid in your lap if someone else -really- needs a seat?

I am recovering from an ankle break and using a cane. This morning for the umpteenth time, a person had their small child in a seat on a very crowded bus. An elderly woman gave me her seat (I thanked her profusely) because the mom refused to move her kid.

Lyndsey Layton: And a reminder about courtesy from Silver SPring.

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Arlington, Va.: Wow, that "plan" to route the blue line over the yellow line bridge would be pretty disasterous for me since I live in Ballston and work at King Street. That would likely add a ton of time to my commute. How would you differentiate the trains that go via Arlington Cemetery from those that don't? It's bad enough now with all of the 4 car trains on blue in the morning that run so infrequently because they are stuck between the 8 car orange trains that run so far apart.

Lyndsey Layton: Well, it's still a long way off, Arlington, and it's just a proposal. We'll have to see how it plays out.

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Rockville, Md.: Shuttle will be to BWI. I agree on the SuperShuttle. I think I will test the Metro connection on the way home. The trick is to not carry so many bags.

Steve Ginsberg: That is the trick. The walk from Metro to the Bus at Greenbelt is a couple hundred yards, if that helps at all.

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Arlington, Va.: The idea that a significant amount of work around here could be done by telecommuting is sheer nonsense. There is too much ftf required to have that happen. Not to mention the classified/privacy act concerns.

Steve Ginsberg: Not to mention that human beings seem to like being near other human beings when they work.

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Washington, D.C.: Let me ask Metro this: Can you run DC-bound Orange-Line trains on both tracks? If so I say we stop VA-bound service during morning rush hour.

Lyndsey Layton: And no one is allowed into the Commonwealth during the morning commute? That seems a little imprisoning for the hundreds (thousands?) of DC/MD residents who hold jobs-attend-school-want-to-shop in Virginia, don't you think?

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Silver Spring, Md.: I'm sorry about the person being attacked on the Metro. That's terrible.

I think has been discussed before: If there is a "real" crime on the Metro, call the "real police" first, then you see the station manager or contact Metro Police. (Totally politically incorrect and sure to annoy the hard working Metro police but I just call them as I see them).

Lyndsey Layton: Thanks, Silver Spring.

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Viriginia Transportation funding...: Funding for NoVa transportation issues is very unlikely to happen due to the strained up-state down-state relations. The majority of our state reps are from other regions, and they ALWAYS nix the proposals to do more for the areas that have great need.

Have you ever noticed what great roads the Richmond area has? Have you ever wondered why little rural towns have beautiful new bypasses?

And the animosity toward Northern Virginia is huge in those little towns. I have lived in small town southern VA, Richmond and NoVa. People in the rest of the state really believe that NoVa gets the majority of the road funds, more than they put in. Unfortunatly that is exactly the opposite of what happens. And I don't see any way to change the mindset which keeps us locked into this unproductive cycle. More power to Kaine, but I don't know how much he can do.

Steve Ginsberg: I think you've hit on one of the main problems--which is why I'll be writing about it this week. Keep your eyes out for it.

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Annandale, Va.: I, too, recently became a regular bus/metro commuter. Though I seem to be in the minority, I want to give good marks to Metro (at least along my route). A commute into D.C. from The 'Burbs can be more than tough, but mine is as easy as it gets. I get to my office near Union Station within 5 mins of the same time each day. And here is a big shout out to the 29 Express bus drivers. They are always helpful and courteous!

Lyndsey Layton: Well, all right, operators of the Metrobus 29 Express!

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Telecommuting: HAH! It is a myth that there is so much classified work that people in this area could not work remotely. Most of the Federal Workers only have Special Access, which can be taken care of through a secure VPN (look it up), which is not expensive or intensive to set up. i know, because I fall into this category, and work remotely two or three times a week. Most of us push paper or direct other people who push paper. This can be done. The problem is, managers are scared to death that you won't work if they can't see you. And if I want human contact, I have a phone, or I can come in for a meeting - at Starbucks in a mutually agreed place.

Steve Ginsberg: Telecommuters unite!

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Washington, D.C.: What are Metro bus drivers supposed to do when they see people violating bus rules. For example, if people are eating their lunch on the bus (often quite...odiferous) or listening to music that is audible to everyone on the bus. Last week, I was on a Circulator bus, and two people complained to the driver about a person playing music loudly. The driver didn't really respond with more than a shrug. Are drivers told not to get involved, and if so, is there any way to enforce the policies on buses?

Lyndsey Layton: Metrobus operators are supposed to remind eating or drinking or music-playing riders that they're breaking the rules. And if they choose, they can call for police backup. I have to admit, however, that I'm not sure the same rules apply to the Circulator, which is a different flavor of bus service. (It's funded by the District and business communities, operated by a private transportation company and 'managed' by Metro). I don't think I've ever seen the rules posted inside one of the Circulator buses.

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Arlington-Follow-up: MV Transportation provides the service in Baltimore and NY, the cities you said that the TPB report cited as having better service. What constitutes better service?

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Arlington,

It's not just a matter of the company providing the service. It's also the way the service has been structured by the transit system. You could have the best provider in the world but if the program has been poorly structured, you're going to have problems.

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Steve Ginsberg: sorry again for arriving late folks. I'll get back to you in two weeks about the toll road issue. until then...

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Washington, D.C.: Lyndsey: What are you covering regularly these days now that Lena Sun seems to be covering Metro on a daily basis? I see you two sharing an occasional by-line, but it seems as though she's taken on the beat. What's your new beat? Where can we read your stories?

Lyndsey Layton: I'm taking a six-month break from transit to write about development issues in the District. My very capable colleague, Lena Sun, is going to be handling public transportation. You can reach her at sunl@washpost.com with any story idea or coverage suggestion. Cheers!

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