the tourists have arrived and I have already ticked one off ...
The DC metro, the public transit system, of the nation's capital, of a nation that is acclaimed to be the most powerful in the world, sucks. Absolutely. It's sad. They have to fight constantly to keep and get their funding. They have been begging and asking since 2008. Warning that trains are getting old and people will see its ill-effects by 2012 if nothing is done. Sure, enough, we see them. They did finally get some funding through TARP and other means to repair some stuff. Some long-overdue messed up escalators are finally getting fixed and hope to be actually working...soon!
The new line that's to go to the Dulles International airport will at some point be over once the Loudon county keeps its word. Apparently some newly elected Republicans think it's a waste of money.
And they are constantly raising fares. I haven't commuted in the last two years on a daily basis. Every time I do go the fare has gone up! I have no qualms of increased fares but I also expect the service to improve.
The boards can be a little confusing and tourists, oh goodness, tourists cannot read. And everybody expects the metro to be the same as the NYC subway system!
This morning I got off at the Smithsonian metro station. To take the elevator out to the street, you run your fare card or smart trip card (which is what I have) to usually get the turnstile to open. Well, because this station gets so many visitors, they left the turnstiles open - because it CONSTANTLY breaks down. So, tourists would just walk through without swiping their fare cards. They don't realize they need to do it and some honestly make the mistake. Some guess think, hah! They got a free ride.
Well, that also explains the big crowds lining to see the station manager when they are making their return because that fare card won't work. Well, one because the fare card probably was bent beyond recognition in someone's pocket but also because the machine thinks you never left the station, so how could you be getting back in?! And the Smithsonian station continues to have only ONE station manager to deal with not only running of the stations but also the tourists' confusion!!
So, I tried to help. This couple from Russia with a toddler in tow. Oh how cute was the little one. He smiled, said hello to us, while the parents just walked through. I said, they should still pass their fare card through. Well, the wife put one through and the machine swallowed it up. She glared at me! I said, probably the credit in the card was over and asked how much she had put in it. She said she put in for a roundtrip - $2.00. lol... that might have been enough 5 YEARS ago! The one way fare for them would have been $2.10 from where they were coming from!
And they were asking me if it was counting by the time spent or distance. wow..they didn't read any of the signs. I just shared it's by distance. And for the second card that they didn't run through, they would have to see the station manager on their return. It won't work for them. They chose not to believe me and continued to be upset at me for losing a fare card. ETA: oh..they do think it's the same as NYC, where for $2 you get a ride and you only swipe when you enter and not exit. There it doesn't matter if you go past 10 stations or just 2, it's a flat rate. But not in DC. They really didn't look up at the signboard where there's an exhaustive list of fares depending on the time you are riding the metro and to the stations you are going to!
ah well...I tried ...miserably. It turned out to be a beautiful day though. Went to the Air & Space Museum with another mom and kid. D loved it!
The new line that's to go to the Dulles International airport will at some point be over once the Loudon county keeps its word. Apparently some newly elected Republicans think it's a waste of money.
And they are constantly raising fares. I haven't commuted in the last two years on a daily basis. Every time I do go the fare has gone up! I have no qualms of increased fares but I also expect the service to improve.
The boards can be a little confusing and tourists, oh goodness, tourists cannot read. And everybody expects the metro to be the same as the NYC subway system!
This morning I got off at the Smithsonian metro station. To take the elevator out to the street, you run your fare card or smart trip card (which is what I have) to usually get the turnstile to open. Well, because this station gets so many visitors, they left the turnstiles open - because it CONSTANTLY breaks down. So, tourists would just walk through without swiping their fare cards. They don't realize they need to do it and some honestly make the mistake. Some guess think, hah! They got a free ride.
Well, that also explains the big crowds lining to see the station manager when they are making their return because that fare card won't work. Well, one because the fare card probably was bent beyond recognition in someone's pocket but also because the machine thinks you never left the station, so how could you be getting back in?! And the Smithsonian station continues to have only ONE station manager to deal with not only running of the stations but also the tourists' confusion!!
So, I tried to help. This couple from Russia with a toddler in tow. Oh how cute was the little one. He smiled, said hello to us, while the parents just walked through. I said, they should still pass their fare card through. Well, the wife put one through and the machine swallowed it up. She glared at me! I said, probably the credit in the card was over and asked how much she had put in it. She said she put in for a roundtrip - $2.00. lol... that might have been enough 5 YEARS ago! The one way fare for them would have been $2.10 from where they were coming from!
And they were asking me if it was counting by the time spent or distance. wow..they didn't read any of the signs. I just shared it's by distance. And for the second card that they didn't run through, they would have to see the station manager on their return. It won't work for them. They chose not to believe me and continued to be upset at me for losing a fare card. ETA: oh..they do think it's the same as NYC, where for $2 you get a ride and you only swipe when you enter and not exit. There it doesn't matter if you go past 10 stations or just 2, it's a flat rate. But not in DC. They really didn't look up at the signboard where there's an exhaustive list of fares depending on the time you are riding the metro and to the stations you are going to!
ah well...I tried ...miserably. It turned out to be a beautiful day though. Went to the Air & Space Museum with another mom and kid. D loved it!