HOW DO U THINK METRO HANDLED TUESDAY SERVICE?

[smithavechuck]

Brandon:

As of last Tuesday, the MTA had 19 TICS available for service minus the normal 10% down for service.  NW coaches not included.

Chuck

[Tristan]

Brandon:

NW coaches not included.

Chuck

Why not?  Guesstimation?

[smithavechuck]

Tristan:

They're 14 years old, have an analog electrical system and are about to be retired.  For the most part, they're kept close to "home."

The agency is in the process of taking delivery of 30 new Flyer TICS.  While the NW TICS are being retired, the 19 Bush TICS will be retained giving the MTA a total of 49 TICS once all of the new buses arrive. 

Hope all is well.

Chuck

[smithavechuck]

Check out Michael Dresser's evaluation of public transportation systems in the DC area before/after the inauguration.

Chuck

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.dresser26jan26,0,23142.column

[orionvii2680]

All i have to say is those shuttle's from D.C. to Springfield,Pentagon city,Crystal city,linconia,etc. came in handy!

[Tristan]

Turns out that we ran a lot more of Metro's service than I originally thought.  2 consecutive 28s did not show up, so we carried about 100 people on that, and some 7s did not show up at Landmark Mall so we did "several" trips on that route as well.

So how does WMATA qualify as the best transit system in the nation when they can't even run the service they committed to run?

[Tritransit Area]

I'm amazed that your drivers knew how to run the route, and that you were able to provide that service on a whim.

Do people really call WMATA the best transit system in the nation?  The Metrobus system, albeit getting better, has more than a few flaws, and Metrorail is admittedly starting to deteriorate as well.  Interesting to see all that cute green fungus growing on those walls.

But that is another thread .

[WMATAGMOAGH]

I'm amazed that your drivers knew how to run the route, and that you were able to provide that service on a whim.

Do people really call WMATA the best transit system in the nation?  The Metrobus system, albeit getting better, has more than a few flaws, and Metrorail is admittedly starting to deteriorate as well.  Interesting to see all that cute green fungus growing on those walls.

But that is another thread .

Yes, people say it is the best system, and I think one can make convincing arguments for Metrorail being the best subway system in this country.  But if those people who make such a claim totally forget about Metrobus, does it still exist?  Apparently, it doesn't in this case.

[Perry]

It's not that hard to run from King Street to Seven Corners.  I think most are familiar enough with the area.  For that matter they may have had the maps of the route to refer to.

Pentagon to Landmark parallels a lot of the DASH routes.  It would be different if they were told to run to Centreville or Chantily, but both of those routes are straight enough shots.  Fortunately there are other operators in the area that handle a lot of the same territory otherwise lots of people would be SOL.

[Tristan]

I love how they now have the nerve to ask for more money to pay for the service they ran on Inauguration Day...how about reimbursing my cab fare for all the service they DIDN'T run that they were supposed to run?  How about reimbursing my employer for volunteering to run service that they forgot about?

I think my next project is to start a blog with my WMATA stories, updated daily....yes, daily - when you're transit dependent like me, leaving the house means to expect a WMATA adventure.

[Tristan]

wmata employee, any answers?  Or is it business as usual on Fifth Street and its environs, sweeping it under the rug?

[Tristan]

I guess it is business as usual; even Catoe refused my question at LunchTalk yesterday:

The "good job" on the inauguration is not shared by everyone.  While I admit that the rail system did hold its own minus a few issues, those of us on the bus side were left in the cold.  I found many buses actually running on weekday scheduled times instead of Saturday as advertised on the website, and there were several missed trips on many routes -- and I'm talking about Northern Virginia, not stuff in Downtown Washington that I would expect to be messed up.  There were actually instances where other transit providers did trips that Metro missed with spare buses they had around for Inauguration Day.

What exactly are your bus supervisors doing if they aren't keeping the buses running on time and on route?

[LandoverDivision]

I guess it is business as usual; even Catoe refused my question at LunchTalk yesterday:

The "good job" on the inauguration is not shared by everyone.  While I admit that the rail system did hold its own minus a few issues, those of us on the bus side were left in the cold.  I found many buses actually running on weekday scheduled times instead of Saturday as advertised on the website, and there were several missed trips on many routes -- and I'm talking about Northern Virginia, not stuff in Downtown Washington that I would expect to be messed up.  There were actually instances where other transit providers did trips that Metro missed with spare buses they had around for Inauguration Day.

What exactly are your bus supervisors doing if they aren't keeping the buses running on time and on route?

Wow are you still talking about Inauguration Day? Dude it's over with. Move on.

[79MetroExtraMD]

I was going to say the same thing. Jan 20 has come and gone. Let's end the convo on this already. Jeez.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Tristan raises some very valid points in this thread with regard to how WMATA ran its Metrobus service that day.  And if he doesn't write it in this thread, he is going to start a discussion on the farce that is the WMATA monthly online chats.  Take your pick...