Metro plans to spend $93 million over the next six years on escalator maintenance and rehabilitation throughout the 106-mile system, officials said this week.
More than 40 of Metro’s 588 escalators are shut down on any given day, but just 10 of them on average are actually broken, officials said Thursday.
In 2000, Metro began a major overhaul of its escalators. So far, 181 escalator units have been “modernized” with 38 more currently undergoing service, officials said. Overall escalator reliability has improved from 89 percent to 93 percent since the program began, officials said.
Jim Hughes, Metro assistant general manager for operations, said nearly 30 escalators are shut down each weekday for routine maintenance and inspections — with transit officials often having to shut down another one so repair crews have a place to work. Ten more are undergoing intensive refurbishments and can be shut down for weeks or months, he said.
Escalators — more specifically, the need for riders to walk the dozens of stairs — have been a thorn in the side of Metro riders for years. While overall Metro customer satisfaction continues to hover near 90 percent, according to the latest survey data, just 56 percent of riders say they are satisfied with the escalators.
Metro officials also said station managers are closely monitoring the direction of the elevators to match peak arrival and departureperiods on weekdays and during special events. For example, the Stadium Armory station manager switches all escalators upward just before a National’s game at RFK Stadium.
» Escalator modernization takes three or four months to compete. It is a complete overhaul which strips the unit down to bare steel and then builds it back up.
» In the past year, Metro has adjusted schedules and pay scales to move nearly one-third of the work to off-peak hours, officials said.
