Thursday, April 8, 1999

Washingtonpost.com asked readers to tell about their recent experiences on Metro trains. A selection of excerpts follows.

• Rosalind C. Hicks: "Wednesday April 7th was the most frustrating experience I have ever had with any public transportation system. The Metro was so crowded and of course tempers were flaring, including my own. As expected, I witnessed numerous arguments amongst angry commuters, pushing and shoving. I arrived at the Farragut West station at 5:05 pm and stood on the platform until 5:20 before a train arrived. I generally ride the Orange Line to Landover; a trip which normally takes 35 minutes turned into a nightmare commute from hell of TWO hours. Needless to say that my son's after-care program closes at 6:00 p.m. and charges late fees by the minute; I arrived to the daycare at 7:00 p.m. I was LIVID!!! I normally rely on the rail system to get me to and from quickly because sitting in traffic congestion on the highway does not 'cut the mustard.' I can't afford to have too many days on the rail system like yesterday and the Metro rail system efficiency is becoming increasingly worse. They really need to invest money in new equipment to avoid continuous mechanical difficulties. I must say that after yesterday's experience, I am reconsidering my mode of transportation."

• Glenn Auve: "I've experienced more and more problems ever since the big snow storm that sent everyone home early. My evening commute from Crystal City to Ballston should take about 25-30 minutes. Monday night took one hour, Tuesday took two hours, and last night took an one hour and 45 minutes. After reading about today's new batch of trouble I am dreading the ride home.

"I bought my home in Ballston specifically so I could commute by subway. It was a great idea, but the reality of actually doing it has become a total nightmare."

• Robin Pentola: "I ride from Virginia Square Metro to Farragut West every day for work. Tuesday I went to the F.W. Metro around 6:30 p.m., and it was so crowded people were backed up on the upper platform – they couldn't even fit on the lower one. I turned around and walked the 6.5 miles home.

"Today I decided to ride my bike. The heck with this."

• James White: "I had always thought that Metro was trying to cause a riot with their inconsistent rush hour service and reckless train debarkment policy, thus I was not the least surprised to hear of the recent rebellion on the blue line."

• Annmarie Tirpak: "These past 3 1/2 days have been ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. In the evenings it took me at least an hour to get home with loaded cars, and sweltering temperatures inside the cars. To make matters worse, cars are more overloaded than usual because people get frustrated waiting and push their way on. Last night the train operator had the gall to say that if people did not stop leaning against the doors, he would have to unload the train."

• Christine Silveira: "I am dumbfounded that commuters haven't revolted before now. As much as I enjoy riding Metro, I found yesterday's experience almost intolerable. I am still trying to figure out why I was charged a rush hour fare for Saturday service!"

• Greta Oehlert: "Several weeks ago, I was stuck in a crowd trying to get to Shady Grove on the red line. Apparently, there was a dead train on the tracks and with the computer problem going on, they were having trouble working around it. My 45 minute ride from Metro Center to Shady Grove that day took two hours – one hour of it standing on the platform and the other standing on the train. Metro's intercom was not working that day and there was no one going around trying to let people know what the holdup was. They also made no attempt to stop people from entering the station, so the platform just became more and more crowded."

• Patricia Wright: "You are given very little if any information about what is happening – you feel totally helpless and trapped. We are at the mercy of the Metro system. No wonder levels of frustration are high. Get the trains repaired, go back to running the trains automatically and fix the escalators! Today I felt like part of a herd of cattle trying to get up the ONE operational escalator at Foggy Bottom."

• Gregory F. Geary: "While the occasional long (and always unexplained) delay has always been a problem, the situation on the Metro in the last few weeks has become intolerable. Delays are a daily occurrence. Most maddening is that Metro officials refuse to accept responsibility for the situation. If most of the cars are breaking down, clearly there is a maintenance problem. If money must be borrowed to just keep up with repairs (much less preventive maintenance), clearly there is a budgeting problem."

• David Sherman: "I know things happen, but it's the rule now, not the exception to the rule. One reason I get particularly angry is that it costs me $5.70 a day to ride the train, which is expensive. At these prices we should be provided with better service."

• Roland Massa: "Metro officials need to get a clue. I stopped riding Metro about six months ago and joined a carpool, simply because Metro is no longer convenient and has gotten too expensive. I used to ride from New Carrollton to McPherson Square on the Orange Line, a ride which normally takes about half an hour. There were some days it would take almost twice as long."

• Gavin Kennedy: "Metro's explanations about its recent troubles are insufficient. Simply informing the public about its faulty rail cars and switches is not empowering. We'd like to know when things will be repaired, not vague proposals to borrow money to do so. These breakdowns should be top priority. It has taken the area years to build up ridership – ridership that the D.C. area should be proud of. Don't blow it..."

• Lisa Scott-Hill: "Over the last two to three months, the Metro system has rapidly deteriorated, and I have seriously considered driving again. It costs the same for me to drive as it does to get the Metro, and with the Metro service being so bad, what have I got to lose by driving? Metro seem to be so proud of their ridership statistics, but they don't look at the torture that each passenger experiences each night on their way home."

• A.J. Campbell: "I was on the blue line Metro train yesterday that was declared dead at Smithsonian. I got on at Foggy Bottom at 5:00 and had to get off at L'Enfant and walk home to Eastern Market. I did not make it home until 7:00 p.m."

• Kristen Bourke: "Yesterday was probably the worst I have ever see the Metro. I got to the Farragut West station at about 6:20. I could see that there were many, many (maybe 100) people standing around outside the turnstiles. There were so many people on the platform that the escalators were backed up, people were mulling around just inside the turnstiles and people were saying that a train had not come through in 20 minutes! I left and walked to Foggy Bottom metro. ...I waited another 20 minutes of constant packed trains [that] were all having trouble closing their doors and I decided to jump on an Orange Line going in the opposite direction. I then got off about four stops down because there was an empty platform and I caught the train back in the other direction I needed to go. The usual 30 minute train ride took 1.5 hours. Craziness!"

• Greg Lockett: "It's not just the trains that are a problem, more escalators seem to be inoperative than not – and that problem seems to be getting worse on a weekly basis. Of course, inoperative escalators only aggravate rush hour congestion. At times outside of rush hour, inoperative escalators are annoying at best. If the price of a Metro ticket is supposed to include this service, then Metro passengers are not receiving their money's worth."

• Karisue Wyson: "I live in Arlington and ride the Blue Line from either Crystal City or the Pentagon stations to McPherson Square. AT LEAST once a week I've been significantly delayed, usually in the p.m. rush hour leaving from McPherson Square. I only moved to the area in October and have been taking the train since January. I've been keeping track and there has not been ONE WEEK that has gone by since January that I have had smooth sailing on the Metro train. When Metro fails – as I'm learning it does more often than not – you're totally stuck.

"I was 1.5 hours late yesterday evening, getting to McPherson Square at 6:15 and not getting home until nearly 8 p.m. ...This morning, I got to the Pentagon station at 8:30 a.m. for what is usually a 15 minute ride. I got into my office at 9:30 a.m. So much for trying to be a good citizen and use mass transportation. I've had it and am going car shopping this weekend."

• Beverly Dame: "This morning was awful, at least at the Pentagon. What normally takes 30-40 minutes took an hour and 10 minutes. 'Sick passenger' at L'enfant Plaza who could not be removed from the train combined with a sick Blue or Orange line train at Rosslyn. How much productivity was lost today because of Metro delays? And who pays the price for that? How often is it going to fly as an excuse with any boss?"

• Jill Quaid: "This morning it took me an hour to get to work from Ballston to Gallery Place – a trip that usually takes 25 minutes. This was due to the trains stopping and starting the entire way – sometimes violently and unexpectedly – throwing people off balance. Luckily it was very overcrowded so there wasn't a whole lot of room to go if you were thrown off-balance. What is going on with Metro?? There have been delays and overcrowding for several weeks now. I am tempted to drive to work if this continues."

• Patricia Ragland: "I commute via the Blue Line. How can Metro gloat over a record travel day when their trains are breaking down (both a.m. and p.m.) on a daily basis? My trip last evening started at McPherson Square around 5:35 p.m. and ended in Crystal City at 7:25 p.m. It was very frustrating, but I support the angry commuters on that train at Smithsonian. Enough is enough! If that is the only way to spotlight an intolerable situation, so be it. My daily commute has not been normal for a month. This has nothing to do with any manual controls of trains. It has everything to do with malfunctioning trains, and a shortage of trains. It should come as no surprise to Metro that every year at this time, there is an increase in tourists.

• Laura Fan Sung: "I am absolutely convinced that the Metro system is not fully equipped to deal with the recent surge in crowds. Yesterday, it took me almost an hour to get from Metro Center to Ballston – a ride that normally takes about 20-25 minutes. In addition, this morning, it took me 45 minutes to get to work. The long waits are frustrating enough but on top of that, the stop-and-start jerking motions are even more irritating. The train operators abruptly stop the train and everyone lurches forward. Well, when this happens 4 or 5 times, it leaves me quite nauseated and subsequently very short tempered."

• Brandi Dickman: "I was stuck on an orange line train 3 cars behind the one that was experiencing the mutiny. A group of young (early teens) tourists were on the car with me. One of them yelled to another section of the group on the other side of the train, 'The people on this train are much meaner than the people on the trains in Disney World!!' "

• Korina Adkins: "This morning it happened again! It took half an hour to go from Arlington Cemetery to Rosslyn. Yes, that is one stop. Luckily the train was not very full (I however did have to stand the entire time). The grumbling and cursing had already begun, when we would go a few feet, then stop. I suspect if it were a packed train, or if we were underground, there would have been a riot. ...The only thing that may help would be a better maintenance and a new system for rescuing broken down trains."

• Caryn Adair Levite: "Unfortunately, my experience seems pretty tame. I do not have one particular horror story, but rather a mile long list of aggravations and inconveniences. My commute is between Ballston and Farragut West, which should take about 20 minutes, but I am averaging at least one commute of an hour or more per week. And when I do manage to get on a train, it is packed so tight you can barely breathe. I am dreading the summer when the trains will be crammed full of sweaty people (since, obviously I have no faith that the problems will be ameliorated any time soon). I can only imagine what the tourists think."