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» Improving the Metro System (5/20/05) from noon to 1 p.m.

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Good afternoon and welcome

Author

Message

Richard White

Good afternoon. Welcome to our chat. I’ve got new Red Line Managers BJ Jones and Bob Hester here joining me today in case you’ve got some questions about their new duties (also see the news release at http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=784).

A lot of good news has been coming out about Metro in the past few weeks. I hope you’ve noticed!

Just this week we announced that our escalator service is improving with about 92 percent reliability—a 3 percent increase compared to 2000. Meanwhile, our elevators are at 97 percent reliability—a 2 percent increase compared to 2002. We’re also working on better ways to let our customers know about why the equipment is out of service and for how long it will be out of service. See yesterday’s news release with details at http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=792.

Other good news we recently announced includes:

A broadening of our Public Access to Records Policy was adopted yesterday to make it easier for people to get copies of documents and other Metro information. At the same time, the Board approved a new Privacy Policy to ensure that customer’s private information remains private. http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=790.

A new Segway policy is on its way. http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=787

The parking garages at Wheaton and Addison Road are getting rehabilitated.
http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=791

We’re adding SmarTrip vending machines to help cut down on the lines at our vending machines that accept SmarTrip.
http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=786

I could go on and on, but then it wouldn’t be a chat, would it? I’ve got BJ and Bob here, so let’s start taking your questions.

Card Demagnetized

Author

Message

cib

My manager has been complaining that her metro card is being demagnetized before it reaches the $20.00 limit she applies to the card. Can you offer any explanations as to why and any suggestions on what she can do in the future?

Richard White

Hi. WMATA's paper farecards are subject to demagnetization so customers should avoid exposing them to magnetic pocketbook clasps, credit cards, certain building access cards and any other magnetized item. The value remaining on the card is not known to have any effect on the farecards magnetic stripe.

I suggest that you ask a station manager for an envelope that you can use to send in your paper farecard in exchange for a new one.

You may want to consider using the SmarTrip card instead of paper fare media. These cards operate on radio frequencies and are not subject to demagnetization.

Speaking of SmarTrip cards, this week we sold our one millionth SmarTrip card. During rush hour, 60 percent of our rail customers use a SmarTrip card. Those numbers are a lot lower for bus, and we hope to see those numbers go up as well as more bus customers use their SmarTrip cards.

nashpaul

Quote: Hi. WMATA's paper farecards are subject to demagnetization so customers should avoid exposing them to magnetic pocketbook clasps, credit cards, certain building access cards and any other magnetized i...

You mentioned that 60% of rush hour Metrorail customers use SmarTrip cards. Has there been any thought to instituting some SmarTrip-only fare gates at certain key stations? SmarTrip is quicker than farecards, so it would help speed people along at particularly busy stations (even Stadium-Armory on game days).

Richard White

We learned when we first introduced SmarTrip that having farecard lanes that take only one type of fare media causes confusion for our customers--even with large signs hanging over the fareagate to make it clear to people that they can only use one kind of fare media. We agree with you, though that SmarTrip only lanes would be a great idea.

Safety practices of Metro canopy construction contractor

Author	Message
SchuminWeb	Mr. White: First of all, I would like to thank you for addressing the topic of photography in the Metrorail system in your April 15 online chat. As a rail enthusiast, I greatly appreciate the clarification. I am also greatly appreciative of the new canopies going up over the street escalators at Metrorail stations. They are aesthetically pleasing, and are quite effective in keeping the rain off of those of us using the escalators. There was an incident during the construction of the Stadium-Armory canopies that I feel brings the safety practices of the contractor charged with constructing the canopies into question. On March 15, I was photographing the progress of the work on the canopy over the C Street escalator entrance, and was stopped by one of the contractor's employees, a gentleman who appeared to be a supervisor, and was asked who I was with. I replied that I was an independent photographer. The gentleman seemed relieved, replying that he was concerned that I might be documenting safety violations, specifically mentioning "harnesses", and that he doesn't want any trouble. That response raised a red flag in my mind. For an organization as safety-conscious as Metro, I would hope that Metro holds its contractors to the same standard of safety as its own employees. I would also hope that Metro's contractors aren't engaging in safety practices at work sites that they wouldn't want members of the public to see. Ben F. Schumin
Richard White	Thank you for letting us know. We'll have our Safety Department follow up with the contractor.

Red Line Managers

Author	Message
Debbie S.	Okay, so explain to me exactly how these new people are going to make a difference? I'm not understanding how one person can make my train doors close, the train not overshoot the platform, or stop some idiot from leaving his ratty Washington Post on the train.
Richard White	Here’s a question I’ll toss to the new line manager, BJ Jones. We’re happy to have them here. Hi. I’m happy to join you today. I’m going to be able to make a difference by ensuring there are extra supervisors available to help support the operation during peak hours, including the issue of the doors not being held open by fellow customers. There will be heightened awareness to the operational issues such as station overruns, station cleanliness and customer service. That’s why I’ll be there with my team. Bob is focused specifically on the customer service focus. Let’s have him respond too. - BJ Hi. It’s good to be here with you today. While it is impossible to fully enforce norms of politeness or catch every rule violator, we can reduce infractions by setting a higher standard. My goal is to respond quicker when we have a complaint about train doors closing too quickly or when special maintenance attention is needed in the rail cars. By raising the bar on our expectations, train operators will be more aware of their surrounding because they know people are watching and customers will be less likely to discard their trash because the environment is clutter free. I don't believe that every newspaper left in a train is a case of littering by an uncaring rider. During the rush of a morning commute, I have hurried off the train only to realize I forgot my newspaper after the train had pulled off. We are already providing an array of public service announcements promoting cleanliness in our cars and reminding people to stay alert as they exit the trains and the Transit Police Officers are patrolling our stations and railcars daily. The rail system is already making much needed computer changes to reduce and prevent the occurrences of platform overruns. These changes are the precursor to the introduction of eight-car trains on a regular basis. - Bob

Van Ness

Author	Message
Debbie S.	You've been cleaning the Van Ness station. There is still a lot of equipment in there. Some parts of the station are repainted. When will it be finished? Thank you.
Richard White	A station enhancement effort is underway at the Van Ness/UDC Metrorail station. During this process, we pressure wash masonry/concrete and tile surfaces; rebronze selected surfaces (elevators, escalator cladding and handrails); repair paver tile; repair signs; grind stains from track bed walls; and paint ceiling tile and other surfaces. We expect to complete this work during the next few weeks.

8-car trains

Author	Message
Debbie S.	After a baseball game, how many 8-car trains are on the other lines (not Blue and Orange)?
Richard White	We are currently running what we refer to as the "A" plan for all games. That amounts to 15 eight-car trains. We deploy them as follows: 10 on the Orange/Blue Lines, 2 on the Red Line and 2 on the Green Line. If necessary, eight-car trains scheduled for the Red or Green Lines are used on the Orange/Blue Lines. However, we have not had the to do that since the first regular season game. The weekday day games (like yesterday’s game) normally ends during evening rush, which primarily handles exiting crowds with the addition of however many “gap trains” we have available. A “gap train” is one that can be called into service when another experiences a mechanical problem, and we usually have three of those available each day.

Why appoint Orange/Blue/Yellow line manager to Red Line?

Author	Message
nashpaul	The press release about the appointment of Belynda Jones to be the new Red Line manager mentions that she now manages "train and station operations for the Orange, Blue and Yellow lines." Two questions come to mind: 1. Why appoint her to a different line rather than the Orange and Blue lines that she is already supposed to managing (and therefore, I assume, already familiar with those lines)? 2. How is her new position different than what she is already supposed to be doing?
Richard White	Let’s have BJ Jones, our new Red Line Manager take this question. Hi. I have been working at Metro for 31 years. I currently work on the Orange/Blue Lines as an Assistant General Superintendent for Transportation. I used to work on the Red Line. Yes, I’ll be reacquainting my self with the line, but keep in mind, that a train is a train regardless of which color line it runs on, so that’s not really a factor. A big difference in my job is that I’ll have 500 people reporting to me. I can deploy them as I deem appropriate. I can tell them to focus on a specific area that customers may complain about, whether that’s a cleanliness issue, a train door issue, or something else. I am not just managing transportation, but I’m in charge of operating the entire line—track systems, stations, station appearance, janitorial services, end-of-line cleaning, the equipment, right level of service out. Over 500 train trips per day; 264 cars; more than 245,000 customers. - BJ

Bus Drivers

Author	Message
Debbie S.	I ride the bus a lot and I notice that the bus drivers often don't wear their seatbelts. The law says drivers should wear seatbelts. Bus drivers too, right?
Richard White	Yes, our bus operators are supposed to wear their seat belts. Please let us know if you bus operator isn’t wearing his/hers. Call us at 202-637-1328 and tell us the bus number, the route number and the time of day so we can identify who was driving the bus at the time.

Trains to Ft. Belvoir

Author	Message
SH	I saw that you think you can extend to Ft. Belvoir. Look at how long it's taking to build to Dulles. Now you want to build to Ft. Belvoir too? Where would the stations be? How soon do you think you could build it? Easier or harder that to build Dulles?
Richard White	Several years ago there was a preliminary study done to look at the possibility of extending rail service from the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station to just past Ft. Belvoir. The study was recently updated and includes the options of extending rail as we know it (called heavy rail) to Ft. Belvoir; or extending light rail to Ft. Belvoir; or combinations of heavy and light rail. The specific track routes would be different for the different options and the number of stations would depend on the route. Clearly this base closure proposal is causing people to think about commuting patterns, vehicle miles traveled, transit use and air quality.

Ft. Belvoir

Author	Message
LL	How would you pay for extending to Ft. Belvoir? Northern Virginians don't want higher taxes and many voted down a referendum not long ago. Have you got a commitment from the Federal government that they will pay since they are relocating? Will the military budget cover such a thing?
Richard White	There is currently no funding in place to extend rail service to Ft. Belvoir, however, if funding is earmarked for such a project, we will work toward that goal.
SmartGrowther	Seems to me many of the problems with Metro already stem from its acting as a hybrid city subway and suburban commuter rail system. I think Metro probably goes too far outside the Beltway already. Why not leave Ft. Belvoir to Virginia to serve with VRE service?
Richard White	Hi. You make a fair point. The key questions that need to be answered are: What is the projected ridership demand? What are the travel patterns? What kind of transit capacity is needed/appropriate? And what is the most cost effective approach to take? Once the answers to these questions are known, then we will know what the appropriate investment decision could/should be.

Headways

Author	Message
Silver Spring- R...	Trains on the red line have had varying headways. Service during rush hour is good but daytime and nightime service has been disappointing. Sunday is even worse. There are times on Sunday when I have had to wait seventeen minutes for a train and yet there was no delay. Can and will anything be done to regularized the headways of trains? If not will METRO print a timetable of when trains come? This is particularly aggravating because of how long rush hour extends these days. Has METRO considered extending its rush hour? Thank-you J Bus / Silver Spring-RedJ Silver Spring Red Line / J Bus rider for 3
Richard White	Hi. Most likely you've experienced these delays due to single-tracking that is going on many weekends while we conduct track maintenance work. We have been doing work between Rhode Island Ave and Judiciary Square stations. Most of the work is completed and planned work in the future will continue to be communicatead to the public via news releases that we issue and post on our web site. We alert the public about weekend track work regularly.

escalator rule

Author	Message
SmartGrowther	Hi, I remember back in early 2000 when Metro was getting a spate of bad publicity, one of the promises it made to riders was a very simple, common sense principle regarding escalators: when the up escalator is broken, the down escalator would be switched to go up, and people could walk down the (effectively) stationary staircase. FIVE YEARS LATER, I still see this promise broken on a constant basis. Just last night, at 7:06 pm at Union Station, the street escalators were in violation of this rule. The up escalator was stationary while the other was going down. What efforts will the new manager take to enforce this rule? Will there ever be a time when I see it followed more often than broken?
Richard White	Hi. BJ here. I'll take this one. Our current policy is how you have described, yes. I'll be in the rail system following up on issues like this and ensuring our policies and procedures are being followed. This is a good example of how I can make a difference in your trips through the system. -BJ

Bus-Rail Transfers

Author	Message
mtpcitizen	I would like to know why I can get a discount/transfer rate when I ride a metro train first and then get on a bus, but not when I do the reverse. We have no rail stop in Mt. P, so I often have to take both the rail and the bus. I was told over a year ago that SmarTrip technology would mean that this historical fare injustice would end "soon." Will it?
Richard White	Hi. You are absolutely right. When all of the local bus systems join Metrobus in having fare boxes that accept the SmarTrip cards, the technology will be in place for the rail faregates to recognize someone who is transferring from bus to rail. We expect that to happen within the next year.

Passes

Author	Message
Silver Spring- R...	Metro sells these passes which are very cost-efficient to use. Is there any way that the cost-efficiency of the passes can be applied to the Smart-Trip- in other words will it ever be possible for an individual to carry a pass on his or her Smart Trip Card. This makes a difference when transferring to the bus. I use the bus a whole lot more now because it takes Smart-Trip. It seems that you want a better mechanism for your passholders since they are among your most dedicated customers. Thank-you J Bus / Silver SpringJ Silver Spring Red Line / J Bus rider for 3
Richard White	As you stated, all Metrobuses now take SmarTrip fare cards. Our plans are to work with the regional bus systems to bring SmarTrip to all buses in the area. This will make it easier for people to transfer from bus to bus. After that, we will add more features to the card, including passes and the ability for people to load money to their card autaomatically from their bank account.

CNG BUSES

Author	Message
VIPERZ6	WILL MONTGOMERY COUNTY SEE MORE CNG BUSES ON IT'S ROUTES, BECAUSE IF I'M CORRECT, ONLY THREE ROUTES (R1 R2 R5) ARE THE ONLY ONES IN THE COUNTY THAT ARE. IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THESE CLEAN AIR BUSES, AND PROMOTE LESS POLLUTION. THANKS.
Richard White	Hi. The R1, R2, and R5 routes are operated from a facility within the District. That facility will receive 38 additional CNG buses within the next year. However, we are not planning on adding CNG buses to routes that run into Montgomery County. The Metro Board has authorized the procurement of 100 diesel hybrid buses and up to 117 clean diesel buses that will all be assigned to Montgomery or Prince George's County. All of these buses will be significantly cleaner than the diesel buses currently operating in Montgomery County.

bus line managers???

Author	Message
SmartGrowther	Hi, rail line managers are all well and good, but MetroRAIL already has strong service for higher income riders. What about MetroBUS which has far worse service and lower income riders (not fully coincidental in my estimation)? Who is watching where buses are, whether they're late--or go completely AWOL, whether passengers have to wait longer than the scheduled headway for a bus, whether full buses are passing groups of passengers, whether stops have accurate and complete route, schedule and fare information, and who is notifying bus riders of delays on their lines? Who's monitoring and minimizing overcrowding, bus bunching, and buses on the same route and direction leapfrogging each other? In Chicago I've seen CTA employees with clipboards track buses downtown and tell drivers how close to their schedule they are. Why doesn't that ever happen in Washington? Bottom line: I think we need bus line managers right now a lot more than we need rail line managers.
Richard White	Hi. Metro currently has 20 traffic checkers that monitor bus and rail services and recommend service and scheduling changes. An automated vehicle location system has been installed on all buses. Once a new scheduling system is installed, we will have the ability to monitor early and late service and bus bunching. Once these systems are integrated, in approximately a year, we will be better able to make corrections and operate more reliable service. Since Metrobus operates over 330 routes, there are no current plans to establish line managers--but we will be evaluating the rail line manager experience and may apply a line manager approach for the bus system.

Metro merchandising

Author	Message
jeremai	There is some Metro branded merchandise available to buy online. Is there anywhere this is actually sold within the Metro system? If not, do you think there would be any profitability in opening a Metro gift shop to generate more income? The London Underground, Paris Metro, New York Subway and probably more systems have gift shops and I'm guessing that the primary clientele is tourists who are not likely to go online looking for trip souvenirs.
Richard White	Hi. We do sell Metro branded merchandise at our Metro Center Sales Office at the 12th and F St. entrance. We did look into the possibility of expanding to more locations, but our research showed us it would not generate as much revenue as we had hoped. And you're right, we also sell Metro merchandise on line.

SECURITY IN METRO STATIONS

Author	Message
SECURITY IN METR...	Good Day Mr. Davis Thanks for this opportunity and its a great idea to have these forums on a regular and timely basis My main concern is these days i see a lot of people take camera pictures inside of Metro stations. While most of them are visitors a few of them could sell them for meney and these pictures may fall in hands of Terrorists. I think no photography of the internal architecture of Metro stations should be allowed, just to make sure that any possibility of a tragedy can be avoided. I also suggest that random checks should take place of people carrying huge back packs etc on Metros. I say it is better to be safe than sorry or dead. Finally I still believe that those working in Metro stations need to be more courteus and its still a long way before the service reaches an acceptable standard. Thanks for your Time
Richard White	Hi. Dick White here. The Metro Transit Police and operational Metrorail employees do challenge individuals who engage in suspicious behaviors to include excessive photographing of stations or restricted areas. We also ask our customers to report suspicious behaviors or items to Metro employees for resolution. During National Orange Alert periods, the Transit Police conduct random, high visibility sweeps of trains, stations and facilities. In concert with our federal and transportation partners, we continue to develop innovative strategies that consider the delicate balance between personal freedoms and elevated security measures. I would encourage you to report suspicious circumstances to any Metro employee or Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121.