For those of you who doubted me in the discussion as to whether it was worthwhile to open Metrorail at 4 AM the day after Thanksgiving, I suggest reading this blog post by Marc Fisher from the Washingtonpost.com website at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/12/when_an_early_morning_metro_ri.html (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/12/when_an_early_morning_metro_ri.html).
When An Early Morning Metro Ride Costs $22
It may have been the first time the Metro system opened extra early so riders could shop.
The Friday after Thanksgiving--Black Friday--was billed as a make or break day for retailers in this season of economic despair. And D.C. Council member Jim Graham (Ward 1), who serves on Metro's board, was eager to give the new DC USA shopping center in Columbia Heights a big boost for its first Christmas.
So Graham persuaded Metro to start the trains rolling at 4 a.m. that day, an hour earlier than usual. The cost of the early opening: $27,000.
Result: Grim. A mere 1,201 riders used the system in that one early hour. Do the math: That comes to $22.48 per passenger, though most of them got the ride at the bargain price of $1.35.
Who foots the rest of the bill? The District's taxpayers.
"Well, then, that was not nearly as successful as we thought it would be," Graham said when I broke it to him that his plan had flopped. He had a feeling the news wasn't going to be good: "The shopper turnout in Columbia Heights was not nearly up to expectations. This is another indicator that the economy is really doing poorly."
But Graham doesn't regret having done everything possible to maximize turnout for retailers and convenience for shoppers. "It could have turned out very different," he says.
Worth a try, for $27,000? Seems like a bit of a stretch to me. How many people head out to shop at 4 a.m. on any day, ever? What's your call?
By Marc Fisher | December 16, 2008; 8:16 AM ET
Don't most of these shoppers start lining up a lot earlier than 4 a.m.?
It was a nice thought, but you really have to think about these things:
1) Not everyone lives next door to a Metrorail line - a lot of people have to take a bus connection to meet it. Were buses running early as well?
2) Even if buses were running, that would mean there would be people potentially leaving their homes in the 2/3AM hour...on a day off?
3) This is the most important one - most of those 4AM stores are in shopping centers and such where people actually live. Outside of DC residents, barely anyone would take the metro that early in the morning to go to any of the stores - they'd stay in their respective towns/communities.
Yeah who the heck would bring all of their things on the metro when they're done. Flat panel? no, tons of toys, no. For certain things that was good and maybe it benefitted some of the employees more than anything....
Quote from: Perry on January 11, 2009, 10:15:34 AM
Yeah who the heck would bring all of their things on the metro when they're done. Flat panel? no, tons of toys, no. For certain things that was good and maybe it benefitted some of the employees more than anything....
It also might have served as a dress rehearsal for the 4:00 AM opening on Inauguration Day. Prior to this, had Metro ever had a pre-5:00 AM opening?
Quote from: Scrabbleship on January 11, 2009, 12:12:54 PM
Quote from: Perry on January 11, 2009, 10:15:34 AM
Yeah who the heck would bring all of their things on the metro when they're done. Flat panel? no, tons of toys, no. For certain things that was good and maybe it benefitted some of the employees more than anything....
It also might have served as a dress rehearsal for the 4:00 AM opening on Inauguration Day. Prior to this, had Metro ever had a pre-5:00 AM opening?
This was NOT a dress rehearsal for a 4 AM opening on Inauguration Day. This came out of the pocket of the DC Government, and they have no incentive to do a "dress rehearsal." A 4 AM opening is no different than a 5 AM opening except its 60 minutes earlier. The procedures should be the same. The only issue is they can't stay open past midnight the day before now because they need time to maintain and reposition trains, and because operators need time off duty.
Metro opened at 5 AM in the weeks following 9/11 (opening at that time was at 5:30) with funding for the extra 30 minutes coming from the DoD. They've opened early for countless sweekend events over the years as well. However, I can't think of any other time they have been open at 4 AM.
Brandon, as far as I know, no extra bus service was added, just trains.
Quote from: Perry on January 11, 2009, 10:15:34 AM
Yeah who the heck would bring all of their things on the metro when they're done. Flat panel? no, tons of toys, no. For certain things that was good and maybe it benefitted some of the employees more than anything....
Likely those employees made up most of the people that were on the metro at that time.