The recent track work that shut down three Metro stations over the Labor Day weekend did not just inconvenience thousands of riders — it also waylaid a member of the transit agency’s own board of directors.
Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay chided the agency in a board meeting for failing to coordinate its shuttle buses after he was caught in the mess trying to travel from Ballston to the Van Dorn Street station.
What he said would normally take him about 20 minutes on the train lasted more than an hour on a Thursday evening as the agency prepared to replace track equipment during the long weekend.
And it highlighted problems that could occur again as the transit agency is undertaking major track work on the Green and Yellow lines. Metro on Sunday began limiting service at night on those lines for work that will culminate in three station shutdowns next month on Columbus Day weekend. The transit agency plans other major closures during future holiday weekends for similar work near other stations including Smithsonian and Foggy Bottom.
For McKay, his train trip was not just fouled by delays but also by failed communication and planning.
First, he said, he waited 33 minutes for a shuttle bus to get him past the shuttered stations. When the shuttle arrived, it came bunched with four others.
Then, once the caravan of shuttles arrived at a rail station, he said, the riders were told they had a 40-minute wait for the next train.
“Many passengers didn’t want to wait 40 minutes that night, but they had no other option,” McKay said.
“Many passengers didn’t want to wait 40 minutes that night, but they had no other option,” McKay said.
Buses did not run at that hour, and taxis did not stop there.
Then, he said, the frustrated passengers learned that just moments before the shuttle buses arrived at the station, a train had left with only three passengers.
“Why was that train not held for five minutes so the passengers could get on it?” he asked Metro officials.
He urged Metro to synchronize its shuttle service and train departures, while boosting communication with riders about their options — or lack thereof.
After hearing his story, other board members urged the transit agency to learn some lessons from the debacle. The agency had been widely criticized even before the closures for not thoroughly publicizing its plans to shut down three stations, including one at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, over Labor Day weekend.
