Most controversial Metrorail poll ever!

[Scrabbleship]

Made you look . Now, an explanation as to why I would ask such a question.

We all know Metro is in a financial bind and that the current state of affairs is pretty grim. Riders on the rail end are paying more for declining service and any further increases might make things on that end even worse. The bus end will get a good bargain as long as the "pity the poor Metrobus rider who never rides rail" mindset persists which might only die with generational change. I won't even get into the board or unions and how their priorities hurt Metro more than help it. As a result, I think it should be time to take drastic measures to generate revenue, and by drastic measures I think it's time to repeal the ban on food and drink within the Metrorail system.

With all the signs telling people not to eat or drink in the system, there is only one problem: the rules are never enforced. I've never seen anyone get ticketed or even warned for eating or drinking and I think there is still a fear of wanting to enforce the rules since the french fry debacle 10 years ago. The rules could be enforced, but then people would complain and the odds of arresting and fining someone who doesn't have the financial resources to pay a fine would make Metro look worse than it does now. Since Metro won't enforce the rules and enforcing the rules would hurt their tarnished image, why even have the rules in the first place. The amount of food and drink waste left on trains isn't much different than other cities that allow food as it is and sometimes stations even have loads of waste; a few weeks ago I passed through Georgia Ave-Petworth after a parade and the station was a mess of water bottles.

Though New York's legendary rats within the subway are well known, other cities deal with food and drink in their systems and are as clean if not cleaner than Metrorail. I just spent a week in Boston where many key downtown stations have food vendors within fare control (and many key stations have food vendors right outside fare control) and I didn't see any trash on platforms and about the same amount on trains as I see in DC. Up in Montreal, culture differences aside, similar situation and their system isn't much older than Metrorail. In my time riding both systems, I have never seen a single rat or mouse in underground stations which is impressive especially in Montreal's case considering it's all underground. I will confess to having seen mice inside the key downtown stations.

Imagine the money that Metro could make allowing food vendors inside stations, money that their own arrogance and historical mindset kept them from over unfounded fears, even having disallowed RedBox DVD rentals reportedly due to McDonald's ownership of them. Food vendors and newsstands will pay a lot of money and at a time that Metro needs money badly and has reached the probable peak for Metrorail fares, why decline it. I'll probably be in the minority in saying this, but the money generated by allowing food and drink in the system and allowing food and drink vendors would be a great help to Metro. Metro's historical minset and personal pride will keep them from ever visiting such a situation and they'll just ignore revenue streams that'd give them much needed money. It's like New York State and legalizing gay marriage...or MMA events...or wine in supermarkets...

[Sand Box John]

The reason why the consumption of food drink is prohibited is to keep operating costs down. If you can't bring it in, no additional labor need be hired to remove the waste. The additional labor costs to keep the stations clean and to fight pests would likely exceed potential concession revenue. A good percentage of the food and drink related trash left behind will likely be purchased by passenger before they enter the system.

[SchuminWeb]

I agree with you - if you're going to have a rule, you have to enforce it, or else why have it.  I remember the french fry incident and the candy bar incident, and the buzz about that has brought us to where we stand.

Metro needs to look at all sorts of ways to bring in more revenue - more advertising, vendors at stations, etc.  They're more foolish by not exploring these options.

[Tritransit Area]

Hmm, didn't realize they don't enforce the rules.  Maybe I won't have to be afraid to enjoy my little snack instead of sitting there hungry on my ride from Vienna to Fort Totten!  The Fry and Candy bar incidents had me running scared!

About vendors, I think that's a fantastic idea.  They don't necessarily have to be in fare control, nor do they have to be food vendors.  A lot of stations, particularly downtown stations, have plenty of space in corridor for small kiosks and such. 

As John said, if you welcome "food sales" you may need to hire more people to keep the system to the clean standard everyone expects of the DC Metro.  Of course, with rides on Metrorail getting longer and longer thanks to delays and expansions, maybe the policy should be re-examined.  SEPTA re-evaluated theirs as part of the customer service initiative, and now allows small snacks and covered beverages on board transit vehicles.  The Regional Rail system never had an anti-food policy.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Absolutely not.  The added revenue that might come from having vendors in the system can be lost easily in cleaning and maintenance costs.  While not a major item in most transit budgets, pest control and terminator services are an item that WMATA pays pretty much nothing for, as a result of its current policies.  The candy bar and french fry ladies were both on the wrong side of the law.  While arresting a 12 year old might be questionable, candy bar lady could have saved herself a lot of trouble by obeying the officer's instructions.

[Scrabbleship]

Absolutely not.  The added revenue that might come from having vendors in the system can be lost easily in cleaning and maintenance costs.  While not a major item in most transit budgets, pest control and terminator services are an item that WMATA pays pretty much nothing for, as a result of its current policies.  The candy bar and french fry ladies were both on the wrong side of the law.  While arresting a 12 year old might be questionable, candy bar lady could have saved herself a lot of trouble by obeying the officer's instructions.

This is the same thinking that has put Metrorail in the financial bind that it is in. If you're going to keep a law on the books, then start enforcing them. If a law isn't going to be enforced, what even is the point of it.

If Metro enforces the rules and they start arresting kids, tourists, and those with no money who can't pay a fine, it'll be the latest black to be put on their already black eye and they can't afford any more bad press. At that point, what is the easier way to generate revenue.

WMATA as an agency is one step from survival mode and this is the time for drastic measures to be taken. Allowing food vendors outside fare control (and potentially in) and repealing the food and drink ban will be seen as a bone being given to riders. Enforcing the rules would be seen as another bad PR move and would only give fuel to the Metro haters (many of which weren't in the area when the rules were being enforced).

[WMATAGMOAGH]

WMATA has repeatedly said it is not interested in arresting or fining people, it just wants them to change behavior on minor issues like this one.  MTPD tends to give out warnings for this sort of thing, because usually they are first time violators and not repeat offenders.  The media finds out about people who argue with the cops and make a big fuss, but people don't seem to realize WHY those stories come to light.

As John pointed out, some part of the increased revenues will have to go to things such as pest control, additional cleaning, etc, and there is no guarentee that when people bring food on board, they will buy it at the vendor in the station.  It is a well known fact in the transit industry that WMATA pays far less for extermination services at its train yards than other systems because of the no food policy.