metro

“This is not only going to mess up the Metro budget, but is going to wind up costing commuters more money since they can’t use pretax funds.”

By Prince Of Petworth

ADP
Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

This isn’t the most exciting news on the planet, but does involve something that could torpedo WMATA’s budget.

ADP, which a lot of private sector companies use to handle employee benefits, sent a notification out yesterday that they will no longer support commuter spending accounts starting in 2016. This means that employees can’t have money taken out of their paychecks pretax and then used to pay for bus and train use. ADP hasn’t been able to work with WMATA on fixing this, so the IRS is essentially shutting it down.

This is not only going to mess up the Metro budget, but is going to wind up costing commuters more money since they can’t use pretax funds.

Here’s the email that ADP sent:

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Commuter Spending Accounts in the Washington, DC Area (more…)

“Metro to restore normal service at Stadium-Armory in about three months, less than initial estimates”

By Prince Of Petworth

From WMATA:

“Metro has published a project webpage to keep customers and the community informed about the effort to rebuild the Traction Power Substation outside Stadium-Armory that was heavily damaged in a fire on September 21.

Following a full week of equipment testing, the project remains on track for completion this calendar year — about three months sooner than originally projected. Metro will restore normal service on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines as soon as the substation is returned to service.

Riders can view a video [above] and get details about upcoming project milestones by visiting here.

“WMATA Please Fix Farrgut!!”

By Prince Of Petworth

farrgut

Certainly there are bigger fish to fry but it is indicative… A reader writes:

“It took me two phone calls to convince WMATA that having “Farragut” spelled wrong in their Next Train feature on the website was a problem they should be embarrassed by. All the “next train” apps pull from this site, so it’s spelled wrong when you pull up the station info in the app. It gets better. It’s also wrong in the arrival signs in Union Station, so everywhere …”

One week later:

“Ok. Farragut is still spelled wrong.”

New Weekly Series – Metro Haikus by John Nicoll

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Josh Bassett

I love these. Just found out about them and their author, John Nicoll, yesterday and he’s agreed to submit a new poem every week. You can spot John on the Red Line commuting between Brookland and Bethesda. “MetroHaikuDC‘s daily transit musings are brightening DC’s metro tunnels, 17 syllables at a time. I started writing a haiku a day on my 40 minute daily train ride to and from work. It passes the time and keeps things lighthearted in some of the metro’s darkest times.”

Let’s kick things off with Level Up:

“Businessman types hard
Must be really important
Brick Breaker high score”

Dear PoP – Careful Train Robberies on the Rise

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville Flickr user Rukasu1

“Dear PoP,

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there have apparently been a rash of robberies on the metro recently. I was just on the Yellow/Green line from L’Enfant at the Convention Center stop and was playing on my iPhone (not listening to music) when a kid snatched it from my hand and ran off the train. I’m not sure about this, but I think he was with a group of guys (based only on the fact that when I yelled “stop that guy” they just looked at me as he ran by). I had left my bag on the train so I couldn’t run after him, but did get the opportunity to call him a few choice names.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know because the station manager said that this has been happening a lot lately; as I was giving my report to the transit police another report came in about someone else who had their watch stolen in the same manner.”

Please be careful. I seem to recall these incident increase during the holiday season.

Metro’s Flora by Matt

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: The following was written by a guest poster – Matt. Have you also noticed any flora growing in the metro system?

I was standing just a few feet from the elevator on the platform of the Woodley Park Metro this morning doing my usual thing: looking to see which of the incredibly attractive women pouring in for a lift to work were looking at me so I could beat myself up for not going over and striking up as charming of a conversation as I know how. As fun as that is, there was a break in the arrivals and I happened to look across the tracks from my perch on the platform and notice water pouring out of the wall. It was a pretty steady stream. I wasn’t in danger of having to swim to safety anytime soon, but the water coming out could have topped off a nice bath in 10 or 15 minutes, though I doubt it would be warm. There was also a small amount of smoke coming up from where the water was pouring into the thin grate that lines the far wall of the track bed. I imagine it was just the water hitting the lighting below. No big deal.

What did really get my attention were the plants growing all along that wall. I realized just then that I see them everyday and that, in the back of my head, they are a little feeling of something good (life, hope, lottery wins) in the gray dungeon of the Metro. I am pretty sure that they are Maidenhair Ferns, which are really nice plants. I bought a few of those for my place not long ago and completely blew it when they all shriveled and died despite my best efforts. You can imagine my surprise when I really started to think about all this and wonder how they are lush, growing at the bottom of a Metro stop when my thumbs did nothing for them topside.Continues after the jump. (more…)

“Short People Got No Reason”

By Prince Of Petworth

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

A classic song by Randy Newman, you must check it out. Now I come from a long line of short people but make no mistake we are a proud people. And this song would make it’s rotation in my house at least a few times a year when I was growing up. And my dad would laugh his ass off. It is our sense of humor that has sustained us short people for thousands of years. At any rate, I was overjoyed to see metro had unveiled it’s hanging straps on some metro cars. Upon seeing these straps, the song immediately popped into my head, short people go no reason, short people got no reason to live…and then I couldn’t stop smiling.

I’m Still Riding The Metro

By Prince Of Petworth

Not my favorite subject but I still think it is important to talk about. I noticed on the Petworth Listserv today that someone had written that a friend of theirs was attacked outside the Petworth metro at 10pm last October. The writer says that the friend was severely beaten and as a result the writer doesn’t use the Petworth Metro anymore. I certainly don’t mean to dismiss the severity of the attack that took place last October but I find the poster’s conclusion terribly sad. I’ve always advocated that people come up with there own comfort level as far as safety goes. For some that is not taking the metro after dark for others it is not taking metro after midnight and apparently for others it is not taking metro at all. So I will contradict myself. I believe not taking the Petworth metro at all is excessive. I think of it like someone saying they will never ride the underground in London because there was a terrorist attack in July. Yes, it is frightening. Terrifying. Believe me, I am as soft as they come. I saw a shooting while sitting on my porch a couple of summers ago and was scared shitless but it doesn’t mean I never sit on my porch anymore. And I’m not going to stop riding the metro because of a horrible mugging. There has to be a balance. Screw those thugs. I’ll try to be smart. I’ll try to be especially alert in the evening. I’ll put my ipod away. I’ll avoid dark walkways. But I’m riding the freaking metro. The more people that are out and about the safer we will be, I believe. Of course, the victim himself could understandably not ever want to take the metro again. I’m not talking about that.

New Advertising in the Metro

By Prince Of Petworth

Have you seen some of the support beams they’ve painted with ads in the metro? This one is from Gallery Place and is an advertisement for M&T Bank. I guess I say more power to metro if they can get money for these ads. The only request I’d have in return is PLEASE MAKE THE YELLOW LINE EXTENSION PERMANENT. Please.

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