This is kinda sad. I can understand the reasoning with the fareboxes, but 1.1 million rides really is nothing to sneeze at! Is there anything they could do to fix those fareboxes as well? This does explain a lot about the adequacy of service for some routes that are ridiculously overcrowded...
Article here:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/02/metro-failing-collect-accurate-bus-ridership-audit-finds
WMATA really needs help though...things like this make the problems seem even worse than they may be and really hurts the Authority's credibility. It's just about understandable why all of the jurisdictions in the Compact have their own transit services...
They do have the passenger counters on a gamut of the newer buses that should at least be worth something. Makes me wonder what all goes down at Jackson Graham sometimes.
Anything the Examiner writes about Metro should be taken with an entire salt shaker. They try to hold Metro's feet to the fire so much, the feet are ablaze to the point of amputation.
Quote from: Scrabbleship on February 15, 2011, 12:09:37 PM
Anything the Examiner writes about Metro should be taken with an entire salt shaker. They try to hold Metro's feet to the fire so much, the feet are ablaze to the point of amputation.
And other media outlets and the blogosphere don't? Seriously, these reporters are looking to slam Metro at every chance they can get to compete with the blogosphere and internet news "sources". It used to be that reporters actually tried to take Metro news and turn it into things that the layperson and average rider could understand while still being critical when it was needed.
I actually think WMATA should adopt the policy that other transits have including New York City Transit, even if they lose money off of it, that if one part of the fare box isn't working, EVERYONE on that bus rides free. It isn't fair that because the box isn't accepting coins, Smartrip riders still have to pay, as an example. Either everyone should pay or no one does.
Heh, I smile at the irony too, Oren, and I agree that if one part of the farebox doesn't work, then everyone rides free until the driver finds a replacement bus or it gets fixed.
The amount of rides "missed" does seem excessive though. Plus, the boxes aren't "old" so why are they having these severe issues? Do they just not have the quality/reliability that the older ones had (I personally don't think so, especially after that one machine stole my dollar as I tried to pay for a daypass).
This reporter is notorious for reporting bullshit. She's horrible. The whole thing with the fareboxes is stupid, too. 127 fareboxes didn't work in May. Let's see, there are 31 days in May and 1,500 buses. So give or take 40,000 buses were in operation for that month and 127 fareboxes didn't work? Oh no, we have a crisis on our hands! What agency doesn't have farebox problems or passenger reporting problems.
Why wouldn't the audit make note of this, though? LOL, I guess this is similar to certain reporters in our area that like to find scandal in anything they can! Thanks for sharing your level-minded thoughts, though...but wow, I didn't realize farebox issues could easily miss a million rides! I guess on a system as large as WMATA, that's a negligible amount of riders.
Quote from: Perry on February 16, 2011, 12:41:31 AM
This reporter is notorious for reporting bullshit. She's horrible. The whole thing with the fareboxes is stupid, too. 127 fareboxes didn't work in May. Let's see, there are 31 days in May and 1,500 buses. So give or take 40,000 buses were in operation for that month and 127 fareboxes didn't work? Oh no, we have a crisis on our hands! What agency doesn't have farebox problems or passenger reporting problems.
I think the main reason for that article is to find yet another way to inflict bruises on Metro and as much as Metro has issues and needs to find help, it's gotten really old. When I was in Silver Spring, I found that Ride On buses were just as likely to have broken fareboxes than Metro PLUS there was the now-probably-curbed case of having farebox-less VanGo buses running on other routes. Yet outside of a stray comment on Dr. Gridlock's blog, no public complaints happen. Heck, there was a case when the 40' '08 Gilligs were brand new that a couple were pressed into service before fareboxes were activated (I remember getting a ride on one on the 5 one morning).
Auditors usually know nothing about transit. They come in, make their findings and then expect you to leave. It could have been an audit for the annual National Transit Database report that just made mention that the counts were a little off. If that's the case, the agency responds, it's noted and case closed. But, the media picks up on it, thinks it's huge news and then only gets half the story.
Quote from: Scrabbleship on February 15, 2011, 12:09:37 PM
Anything the Examiner writes about Metro should be taken with an entire salt shaker. They try to hold Metro's feet to the fire so much, the feet are ablaze to the point of amputation.
I read through a copy of the Examiner once and that does not surprise me. Those folks are so far to the right, they fell off! My wife Beth was not amused with their viewpoints either. Give me The Onion over those kooks any day.