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Author	Message
Richard White	No questions, just checking if I can post

July 4th

Author

Message

Polly Hanson

Hi. It’s good to be here again for another chat. It’s July 1st and the only thing that’s standing between us and the holiday is the weekend. Sounds strange when you say it like that, doesn’t it?

I’ve worked on July 4th for 30 years. I look forward to it each year. I’ll be out in the system, riding the rails, talking with passengers and Metro employees. If you see me, feel free to come over and say hi. Let me know what you’re seeing in the stations.

Before Jim and I get started, I want to take the opportunity to give you some tips for July 4th. It is going to be good weather on Monday, so expect large crowds at the Mall. Plus, expect a large number of Nationals fans to be headed to RFK Stadium at the Stadium-Armory station. Bottom line, large crowds, so please be patient. Smithsonian station is closed again for security purposes. The next most crowded station will be Federal Triangle, so consider using Archives-Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter, Metro Center, Judiciary Square, Federal Center, just consider using some other stations that are either near the security checkpoints or a close walk. Doing so will save you time at the most crowded checkpoints and will save you from some crowding in the Metrorail system.

On the way home, remember there are free shuttle buses that run between L’Enfant Plaza and the Pentagon Transit Center to get people back to Virginia.

And after the baseball game, there are free shuttles (courtesy of the DC Circulator) from RFK Stadium Parking Lot #3 to Union Station, if you want to avoid the crowds at Stadium-Armory station.

Let’s take some of your questions.

Trains

Author	Message
LL	How many trains do you use on the fourth and how many would you have used on a typical Monday if it wasn't the fourth of July?
James Hughes	On an average weekday, such as a Monday, we use 758 railcars in our Metrorail system. This Monday, for the 4th of July, we will have 768 railcars to meet what we expect to be additional demand, especially at certain times of the day and with the anticipated good weather. We will be running some 8-car trains on the Blue, Orange, and Red lines. So come downtown, take Metro, and enjoy our Independence Day!

Baseball Game

Author	Message
SH	What's the best way to get from the baseball game to the Mall to see fireworks if the Smithsonian station is closed?
Polly Hanson	Hello Nationals fan! The best way to get from RFK Stadium to the Mall for the festivities is to take an Orange Line train headed toward Vienna and get out at either Capitol South, Federal Center, L’Enfant Plaza, Federal Triangle, Metro Center or McPherson Square. Remember, the Smithsonian Station will be closed. There are security checkpoints along the Mall, and stations closest to the center of the Mall will have the most congested checkpoints. I recommend that on your way to the game that you pick up one of our free color brochures that are guides to traveling our system on the 4th of July. The brochures show the special alterations to the system map, stations near checkpoints, and the secured areas around the Mall. Enjoy the game and the fireworks. And let’s go Nats!

July 4 crowds

Author	Message
SH	What time does it start to get crowded in the Metro system? I'm trying to figure when to leave to get to the game and avoid as many tourists as possible. Thank you.
Polly Hanson	Hi. Because the baseball game starts at 1 p.m., it will start to get crowded in the system at about 11 a.m. to noontime as people head to the game and the Mall. After the game, probably about 3:30 or 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., I expect it to get crowded again as people leave the game, and others continue to stream over to the Mall. Then, again starting at about 7:30 p.m., it will get crowded again as there is a last minute rush of people trying to get to the Mall in time for the fireworks. People heading to the Mall have all day to do so, but once the fireworks end, everyone tries to leave at once. The most crowded time in the Metrorail system is from 8 to 11 p.m.

Security

Author	Message
SH	Is there anything I need to know about security heading to the game or to see the fireworks?
Polly Hanson	We will have a full compliment of Metro Transit Police out in force on the Fourth of July. They are out there to provide security to the system, help you get where you want to be, and to assist with crowd control. We have canceled days off for the Metro Transit Police Officers and deployed them to numerous high visibility assignments. We ask you, our customers, to advise a Metro employee or call the Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121, if you observe any criminal or suspicious behaviors or unattended items. Remember that certain items will not be allowed inside of the security perimeter and dangerous items are also prohibited on Metro. Due to security precautions in place on the National Mall, the Smithsonian station is closed all day. For security purposes, people will have to enter the Mall area via security checkpoints. Officials there will not allow people to bring in large items such as coolers, so don’t drag along a huge cooler only to have to be told to turn around because they won’t let you in. All of the local police agencies work together to do everything possible to ensure your safety. Still, if you see suspicious activity, please report it to a Metro employee or police officer. You may also call Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121, or call 911.

Security

Author	Message
SH	What security concerns do you have on the holdiay and what can I do to be safest?
Polly Hanson	Hi. My concern is that as we move further away from September 11, 2001, the concern of citizens regarding an act of terrorism becomes remote and that they don't report suspicious behavior and unattended bags. Also, as recent events at the US Capitol confirm, you need to have a plan in case something occurs and you need to be moved or evacuated. Preplan. Have an alternative way to get to and from and a plan for reuniting with family in case you become separated is important. Hydration is also a concern. It will be hot on July 4th. Drink plenty of water.

Forest Glen on elevator outage announcements

Author	Message
JDHenchman	I'm happy Metro has begun including escalator outages on the website summary page, and is making regular station announcements about elevators out of service for the day and those out of service for the capital improvement program. But as a Red Line commuter I can't help but notice that Forest Glen is never mentioned. For months, 3 of 6 elevators at Forest Glen have been out of service for renovation, but that fact is never mentioned on the station outage signs nor in these new announcements. With only half of its elevators functioning, it's a severe inconvenience that those travelling to and from Forest Glen should be able to know. Why is Metro hiding the fact that Forest Glen passengers have to endure this inconvenience?
James Hughes	As you know, we are rehabilitating the escalators at our Forest Glen station. We completed the first three units last month, and we now have the other three out for rehab. This information is included on our Web site. We do not include this information on the station outage signs because we use that station outage signage when an elevator outage makes the station not accessible. Since Forest Glen station still has operating elevators, we do not include it on the station outage signs. I hope this helps!

Tips on the 4th

Author	Message
LL	What is your best advice about taking Metro on the 4th? What should I avoid? What is going to be the most crowded? What should "the smart rider" do?
Polly Hanson	Remember that the Smithsonian Metro station will be closed during the entire event. Federal Triangle has become the new Smithsonian in terms of crowds headed to the festivities on the Mall. Lots of people try to use that station because it is close to the Mall, because they want to see the fireworks and they want to attend the Folklife Festival. If possible, walk a little further to get to Metro Center especially if you are a Red Line user. Try to use Farragut West, Farrugut North, MacPherson Square, Judiciary Square or Federal Center Metrorail stations. They will be less crowded than Federal Triangle. Many Metro stations are within easy walking distance to the National Mall. Have an alternate plan in case of service disruptions. Metrorail will be running a modified configuration on July 4th. Some of the lines will have color and terminal point adjustments. There will be numerous Metro employees to assist you. We also encourage you to check with www.MetroOpensDoors.com for up-to-date service information. We ask that you report any suspicious behaviors or unattended items to a Metro employee or the Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121. Here’s a good tip: Always have a round trip fare card. It will save you a lot of time on the way home if you’ve already got a fare card with enough fare on it to get home. Other tips: Dress for the weather. Wear comfortable shoes. Be prepared for rain as we have been experiencing afternoon and evening showers. Pack your patience. Come late, leave early (we close at midnight). And above all – enjoy one of the feature entertainment events of our region, the fireworks in the Nation’s Capital!

Luggage During 4th of July

Author	Message
queene1979	A few years ago my friend and I went down to the fireworks and on our way back home there was this couple who had brought onto the train two HUGE suitcases each, they were either coming from an airport or Union Station. We were allready quite squished into the train and then I look down and see thier suitcases, two to four people could have fit in the space their luggage was taking up. Would it be possible to not allow anyone with luggage onto the trains from 6:00 on, I know it is probably too late for this year because you would have had to announce something like that so that people could plan their trips.
Polly Hanson	Hi queene! While Metro rules prohibit oversized items on the Fourth, we are aware that people do need to catch trains and planes. Due to parking limitations at Union Station and at National Airport, Metro is the smart way to travel. Hopefully the reconfiguration of trains will provide some relief so we can accommodate all travelers. Remember one of my bits of advice for the holiday: patience.
queene1979	As a follow up to my last post, I had a suggestion when they re-design the metro cars, I think that shelves above the seats should be put in so that if people do have luggage or oversized items they could place them on the shelves rather than the floor.
Polly Hanson	Queene: Thanks for your suggestion. I'll share it with my colleagues. Do keep in mind that our rail system is a mass transit system that has been carrying 700,000 passengers a day. Luggage racks may compromise valuable head space and slow down people from getting on and off trains. I just have a vision of how long it takes people to get on and off airplanes when they load items in overhead racks. Also, keep in mind how often it is that people leave things on our trains right now when the items are at their feet or resting beside them. I imagine even more people might forget that they left something in a rack. But like I said, I'll share your suggestion with my colleagues.

Metro Information Persons

Author	Message
John Fuzzface Mc...	Are "Metro Information Persons" strictly employees of WMATA ? If not, how would one volunteer (presumably for next year) ?
James Hughes	Hi "Fuzzface!" Yes, the Metro Information Persons are Metro employees who volunteer to assist our customers. Thanks for asking. We appreciate your spirit. You have a great middle name, by the way!

Metro elevators at Friendship Heights

Author	Message
Tom	The bank of four elevators at the Jenifer street exit for Friendship Heights are poorly programmed. As a bank of elevators, they should be programmed so that once the doors begin to close, pushing the call button outside the elevators does not reopen the doors but instead calls a new elevator car. This is the standard algorithm for elevators banks in all office buildings because it prevents what happens at Friendship heights. At Friendship heights, no matter how full the elevator is, the doors will keep reopening if impatient customers keep pushing the elevator call button. This has become a means for the homeless to annoy and harrass customers. I have started to drive to work more often because of it. Please reprogram the call buttom so that it works like it is supposed to and that once the elevator doors begin to close, they will not reopen unless someone inside the elevator hits the door open button or someone obstructs the doors from closing. If you travelled through this stop, you would understand the problem.
James Hughes	Thanks, Tom, for your comments and suggestions. We will have our engineers review the elevator program and make the necessary corrections. That is another benefit to this chat: we get great suggestions from our customers.

Segways

Author	Message
LL	The police dept has Segways, right? Will you be using them on July 4th? What stations can I see them in?
Polly Hanson	Hi LL. Yes, our police department has two Segways. We do not use them inside the rail system. We primarily use them to patrol large parking lots and parking garages like at Vienna. They are a helpful tool because it allows the officers to see over the roofs of the cars, and allows them to cover lots of groud quickly--and quietly! As a reminder, on July 4th, no Segways or bicycles are permitted in the Metrorail system.

Train announcements

Author	Message
JDHenchman	Unlike other rail systems, such as the San Diego Trolley, Santa Clara VTA, and many airport peoplemovers, Metro's rail system does not have automated station announcements. Operators regularly mix up stations, garble words, speedtalk, or are difficult to hear. This can be problematic for everyday commuters and visitors alike. I understand Mr. White has a strong safety reason for mandating that operators make announcements manually both here and on his previous job, BART. He wants the operators involved in what the train's doing. How bout we compromise, Mr. White? "Now approaching Metro Center, transfer to the Red Line" announcements can be done by automated voice, with post-station stop "Next station, Federal Triangle" and the in-station "Blue Line to Largo" done by the operators manually?
James Hughes	We are continuously working to improve our Metrorail communications system. Work is now in progress to enhance the public announcement system throughout our system, including in our stations and railcars, while we continue to reinforce accurate and clear announcements made by our operators. These announcements are part of the operator's responsibilities, ande while we will continue to improve our communications systems, we have no plans to move to automated announcements. We think the "personal touch" is a better system. Thanks!

Blue Line "Shortcut" Trains ?

Author	Message
John Fuzzface Mc...	First off, thanks for working on the 4th. I know in times past during events (although I'm not sure for July 4th) that trains have run from Franconia-Springfield (Blue) through to Alexandria and then crossed into the District on the Yellow line. Will that service (or any other "different" service) be running ?
James Hughes	You're very welcome, "Fuzz!" To answer your question, yes, for the 4th of July we are operating trains on the Yellow Line from Franconia-Springfield station to Mt. Vernon Square every four to eight minutes, providing direct service to L'Enfant Plaza and Archives-Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station (the easiest access point to The Mall). Also, we will be operating trains from Huntington to Rosslyn, on the Blue Line. In addition, we'll be operating additional service on all lines throughout the day. For specific information, please refer to our Internet Web site: www.metroopensdoors.com.

Overtime

Author	Message
LL	Do your offiers get overtime to work on the holiday or comp time?
Polly Hanson	Hi. It depends. Officers may elect to get overtime or comp time per the agreement we have between Metro and the collective bargaining unit.

Trash/Recycling

Author	Message
Bright Rider	I know this July 4th there will be an abundance of more trash that usual at the metro stops. However, there seems to be a lack of recycling bins at the New Stations. I was told they were not being put in for security concerns but they have are still at every other station. Will there be paper recycling for July 4th or at any point in the future for new metro stops?
Polly Hanson	Hello Bright Rider. Metro Board Chairman Dana Kauffman is committed to safe, clean, reliable service. Initiatives to increase cleanliness are part of the new budget (happy fiscal new year, by the way) and we're in the process of purchasing even more bomb containment trash cans to go on station platforms this fiscal year.

actual schedule for july 4

Author	Message
riva	I can't find a schedule, and the "Metro trip planner" won't give me information for July 4. Will trains be running at their regular frequencies (or more often) throughout the day, or will I have to wait longer than usual going to work at 7:30am, for example? Thank you, Riva
James Hughes	Thanks, Riva. We will be running holiday frequencies to accommodate the ridership patterns of the day. At 7:30 in the morning, trains will be running at four minute intervals in the downtown area, and eight minute intervals at the ends of the lines. During regular weekday rush hours, trains run every three and six minutes, respectively. We have full information about July 4th on our Web site: www.metroopensdoors.com. Enjoy the day!

Quick Suggestion For Station Managers

Author	Message
John Fuzzface Mc...	I've noticed that some Elevator Call Button Panels have a "Call Station Manager" button near the "Up/Down" buttons. I've made the mistake of pressing the wrong button on occasion and ended up apologizing to the Station Manager a couple of times because of it. Since some of these panels are getting worn down with age perhaps it would make the Manager's lives easier if they put up some sort of temporary sign to clearly mark the buttons ? I can imagine that mistake getting made quite a few times on a heavy tourist weekend.
James Hughes	Another posting from my main man "Fuzz!" Thanks for your suggestion. Do you have a specific location where the signage is worn down or confusing? We will work with our station managers and line managers to identify confusing areas and make the necessary signage improvements. Thanks!

Does the metro reconfiguration have to be all or nothing?

Author	Message
Tom	I personally prefer the current seat configuration. Does the reconfiguration have to be all or nothing? Can't cars be alternated between new and old configuration since most of the time the old configuration works fine.
James Hughes	Thanks for the note, Tom. For changing seat configurations, we are primarily focusing on newer railcars. The new cars, that will begin arriving by the end of the calendar year, only have a slight seating change of two fewer seats per railcar. The bigger change is in moving the "standing poles," to encourage riders to move further into the center of the railcar. We'll be doing a pilot test of possible further changes in the seating configurations later this year. This pilot program is designed to get feedback from our riders and, if we get favorable feedback, would be incorporated into future railcar designs. Keep an eye out for this pilot program and please give us your feedback, Tom!

Passes

Author	Message
Novtourist	Planning a 3 days trip to Washington. I would like to know if there is a daily pass that includes busses and metro fares or are these passes have to be bought separately?
Polly Hanson	Hi. No, there is no joint bus and rail pass. Passes are a good way to go, however, because if you're doing a lot of getting on and off, it covers you for the full day. Or, if you're looking to only carry one card, consider a SmarTrip card so that you can use it to cover your parking, rail and bus rides. But SmarTrip cards are not passes. Look on our web site about the various fare media available.

Why the different schedule?

Author	Message
nashpaul	Are travel patterns that different on the 4th of July to require signficantly changing train patterns (switching the termini of Blue and Yellow, running double the number of Orange Line trains, etc.)? Seems like an awful lot of trouble and confusion for one day a year. And if those patterns make sense on the 4th, why not on other days too?
James Hughes	Yes, we do operate a different service pattern on July 4th because the vast majority of our July 4th riders are riding to downtown destinations and exiting near The Mall. To better help our customers, we print a special system map for July 4th and post it throughout the system. In addition, we print a special brochure showing the service and the best downtown stations to use. These brochures will be distributed to all riders using Metro on July 4th. I hope you have a great Independence Day!