http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/26/AR2010062603361.html?wprss=rss_metro&sid=ST2010062603870
The fix is more money out of our pockets (oh wait they are getting that) so that is why no outrage, no one wants to cough up more money that will be thrown down a rat hole.
Metro has proven that it cannot manage the money they give us. They have also proven to be totally unconcerned for their riders hence greed of the greed
I would support a dedicated funding stream if there was any proof the money would be used for worthwhile things but Metro management just doesn't cut it and with more money will only come more wastage.
Quote from: Antozilla on June 28, 2010, 09:15:46 AM
Metro has proven that it cannot manage the money they give us. They have also proven to be totally unconcerned for their riders hence greed of the greed
Good thing I don't charge royalties ;).
QuoteI would support a dedicated funding stream if there was any proof the money would be used for worthwhile things but Metro management just doesn't cut it and with more money will only come more wastage.
I'd be more than all for dedicated funding (and I'm surprised on the Maryland end PG/MoCo haven't thrown a fit about how Annapolis is helping keep MTA fares relatively low while thumbing their nose at Metro). However, I've seen agencies with dedicated funding totally abuse it.
Before I moved to MoCo (and soon Arlington), my home TA was CDTA in the Albany, NY area. CDTA gets dedicated funding from a variety of sources (largely mortgage recording taxes). Downside is that CDTA invested all that dedicated funding in keeping fares low and totally neglected bus maintenance. One day I rode a bus that was in a fender bender at 9:30 AM, then boarded that same bus at 7:30 that evening. Metro, with no dedicated funding, would never do that on the bus end of things.
And don't forget the leaky Orion VI roofs (and theirs had the true rear door and 6 less seats than WMATA's) or having their ex-SEPTA then-GM go sealed window Gillig on them, only to run them with broken AC on 90 degree days.
Yes, Greed of the greed was great.
This won't help Metro win any brownie points either:
The Washingtonian finds that it's cheaper to drive to Metro Center from Vienna/Shady Grove/Franconia than it is to take Metro (http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/people/capitalcomment/16157.html). Granted they don't count vehicle depreciation or wear and tear and assume all parking garages in Downtown DC are $10, but still doesn't make Metro look good.
Montgomery and PG ARE upset about Annapolis's favoritism towards Maryland MTA and do make a big deal out of it, or as much of it as they can.
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on June 28, 2010, 06:36:38 PM
Montgomery and PG ARE upset about Annapolis's favoritism towards Maryland MTA and do make a big deal out of it, or as much of it as they can.
I know that I am in the minority when I say this (and perhaps I should pitch this to someone), but I think that if Ride On (and TheBus) ran an ridership awareness campaign of this disparity and brought it into the open, it'd put Annapolis' feet to the fire on the matter.
The mere fact that a rider in Owings Mills pays 1/3 the cost to get to Baltimore as a Shady Grove rider does to get into DC, or that a combined Metrorail weekly + Metrobus weekly is $2 less than an MTA monthly (fare setup systems aside) are both angles that should be exploited. I know that if I was an unknowing rider and I saw that, my Delegate would get a letter from me. I should write one to my Delegate before I leave MoCo for elsewhere in the area...
It does get out into the open on occasion. There was a WaPo article about it around September of 2004 or so.
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on June 29, 2010, 10:46:11 AM
It does get out into the open on occasion. There was a WaPo article about it around September of 2004 or so.
In the DC area, 2004 is a lot longer ago than it seems. It might be time to revisit this as a good number of the people who would care weren't around back then.