Citing safety and efficiency concerns, Metro wants to spend nearly $17 million to replace an aging phone system that has been largely unchanged since it was installed nearly 25 years ago, officials said.
Metro officials said maintenance crews are having a hard time finding replacement parts for the decades-old system.
Officials also noted that if something should happen to the main switchboard in Metro headquarters at 600 Fifth St. NW, the phones would shut down across the entire system. Having a single point of failure for the phone system could put the agency’s daily operations in jeopardy should an attack or other event happen, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.
“Phone are critical, whether it’s the Operations Control Center trying to call car maintenance or simply riders calling to talk to us,” Taubenkibel said. “Just like any other business, the phones are critical.”
Metro officials want to install a “hybrid” system that can be adapted to all the existing infrastructure.
The plan, expected to get initial approval from Metro’s board of directors on Thursday, is the latest in a series of proposals to create redundancies in the system.
The agency is working to complete a $60 million backup for its current Operations Control Center, also tucked away in Metro’s headquarters, by 2008. Officials said they expect to spend $15 million from two federal grant programs to outfit the backup center that will ensure the system could continue to function in the event of a terrorist attack.
Time for a change
» Metro says it is unable to continue operating the current phone system.
» The original manufacturer is no longer supplying replacement parts or maintenance support, officials said.
