metro

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Metro today announced that changes to fares, schedules and rail system hours will take effect Sunday, June 25, 2017. The changes, approved by the Board of Directors earlier this year, are part of an effort to rightsize service, close a budget gap and provide needed time for new categories of preventive maintenance to improve safety and reliability.

Among the changes taking effect, most fares on Metrobus and Metrorail will increase between 10-25 cents; some low-ridership bus routes will be discontinued; trains will arrive slightly less frequently during rush hour; and Metrorail system hours will be adjusted to provide an additional eight hours of track access weekly to improve safety and service reliability.

To ensure customers are prepared for the changes, Metro will conduct extensive outreach in the weeks leading up to the June 25 change day, including signage aboard vehicles, at rail stations and key bus stops, MetroAlerts email and text messages, social media, and handouts distributed to customers at high-traffic locations. Information can also be found at wmata.com/changes.

Some Metrobus routes will add trips to provide service in key corridors that no longer have late night or early weekend rail service.

Fare Changes (more…)

“Dear PoPville,

It’s frustrating enough to see someone “who doesn’t know any better” spread out in the handicapped seats – even more when it’s a WMATA station manager on a crowded rush hour train. (That’s the title that was on his sweater.)”

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
― John Locke

“We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.”
― Hunter S. Thompson

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

“Dear PoPville,

Just out of curiosity, is it legal to carry knives in Metro-owned facilities (garages, trains, platforms, surface parking lots).

Saw a couple of gentleman in a Metro parking garage smoking a bong and had survival knives attached to their belt buckles. (And yes, I reported it to the authorities).”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull

From WMATA:

“Metro adds Red Line single tracking this weekend for targeted stray current testing.

Metro will perform maintenance work over the weekend of April 28-30 to keep trains operating safely and reliably.

Metro today announced the addition of single tracking this weekend on the Red Line to allow for targeted “stray current testing” (SCT) in a section of the downtown core where wayward electrical current has resulted in three service disruptions this month. The most recent incident, yesterday, caused a suspension of Red Line service between Dupont Circle and Gallery Place during the morning rush hour.

Metro has scheduled the work carefully to ensure that service is operating on both tracks before and after Wizards games at the Verizon Center, as well as the end of Saturday’s Climate March.

Highlights Ed. Note: I feel like they should come up with a better word than highlights…

Red Line trains operate every 24 minutes
Free shuttle buses replace Orange and Blue line trains between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle (see below for details)
Silver Line trains will operate every 20 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston only
Yellow Line trains operate every 20 minutes between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Square only.
Free shuttle buses replace Green Line trains between Greenbelt & Prince George’s Plaza due to SafeTrack Surge #14 (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

Curious as to whether anyone has more clarity on Metro not charging fares when end up not taking the metro? I thought they were not charging for non-rides, but I noticed this morning when I gave up on the red line after waiting twenty minutes and realizing that it just wasn’t WMATA’s day, that I was charged the base fare on my card. Just wondering if you need to talk to the station manager to refund it each time (which seems very impractical), or if it is supposed to automatically happen?”

Ed. Note: Didn’t someone say that Metro reimburses at the end of the month? Am I imagining that?

Red Line: Train service restored. Single tracking btwn Farragut North & Judiciary Sq. Expect delays in both directions. 9:03a #wmata

— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) April 27, 2017

UPDATE:

Red Line: Train service suspended btwn Dupont Circle & Gallery Place to allow for track repairs at Metro Center. Shuttle buses established.

— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) April 27, 2017

Ed. Note: As of 9:15am I’m told that there are still massive delays. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

“Dear PoPville,

Is there anything I can do about someone using up all credit on a lost Smartrip? I usually bike to work and so take the metro rarely but have an automatic metro credit loaded by my employer. I realized my card was missing now (a month + after the fact) and on my online account realized someone has been using my Smartrip to commute and used up $60+ of credit from my card. Shoot! Is there anything I can do to get that money back? Smartrip customer service told me it’s not their problem since I didn’t report the card missing immediately while metro police told me that customer service would want to know and could credit me. I have this person’s whole schedule of trips and the stops they got off at, etc. and feel like they must have been caught on camera multiple times. Any chance I’m going to get my money back?

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Metro and the nation’s leading wireless carriers – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless – today announced the availability of wireless voice and data service in the first tunnel segment on the Red Line. Metro riders traveling between Glenmont and Silver Spring can now enjoy uninterrupted wireless access when traveling between these stations.

The wireless carriers previously installed wireless service in all of the Metro underground stations. Working together, the latest tunnel segment is the second portion of the system to have wireless service, following the segment between Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines, which was activated in December 2016. As a result of the new wireless coverage announced today, a Metro customer can now travel from Glenmont to Silver Spring with an uninterrupted wireless signal.

Metro is installing special cable along 100 miles of tunnel walls to support wireless service as the transit agency also installs the infrastructure needed for a new radio system for trains and emergency responders.

“Customers have told us that they want the ability to stay connected while on Metro, and we are pleased to have worked with the wireless carriers to deliver this service,” said Metro GM/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. “I look forward to announcing the activation of additional tunnel segments in the months ahead.”

The process of installing the wireless cable in Metro’s tunnels requires weekend track outages to allow crews and contractors to drill special brackets along the walls. Under a new approach that maximizes efficiency, cellular cable is being installed concurrently with Metro’s new radio system. Once the cellular cable is mounted and secured, the cable infrastructure is turned over to the wireless carriers to install the electronics needed to connect and optimize their networks. Wireless service on Metro is funded, operated and maintained jointly by the carriers.

Also today, Metro announced a list of 30 underground stations that will have free customer Wi-Fi service by the end of the year. Currently, six stations already have Wi-Fi – Metro Center, Gallery Place, L’Enfant Plaza, Judiciary Square, and Archives. The additional 24 stations are: (more…)