Metro is going to stop selling the Parkcard stored-value medium that was used to pay for metered parking because the idea never proved popular. I must admit that I’m not all thatsurprised. … I never heard of these things, and I thought I paid pretty close attention to what was going on. What do you think? Did you use them or not use them for any particular reason? Was there something that made them less useful or were they just not marketed well? It seems to me that the concept is a decent one — Arlington is pushing the concept pretty hard — and people in this region tend to be early adopters of new technologies, so I’m wondering what went wrong. Maybe there just wasn’t a real need for them. As of July 15, Metro will no longer sell the cards or add value to them. If you already have a card and it has value on it, you can continue to use it until the value is gone at 15 stations. You can find a list of them at Metro’s Web site (www.wmata.com).
More on entertainment for rail stations
Elaine writes in response to the issue of Metro looking into providing entertainment inside rail stations: “*clap clap* Bravo, Steve! Thank you for pointing out the obvious that everyone but Metro officials seems to get: Not only is the commercial entertainment they propose unpalatable for obvious reasons (captive audience anyone?), it would not enhance the commuting experience one little bit. If anything, it will cause more congestion and crowding, inhibiting our ability to get where we need to go, and just the thought of [the] sound of musical instruments bouncing off those concrete walls makes me shudder. My ears are already assaulted on a daily basis by loudspeakers that are either inaudible, causing me to strain to listen, or so loud they make me want to cover my ears, the sound of screeching brakes, myriad people yelling on their cell phones, the ‘voice of Metro’ ordering me around (and not very nicely), kids screaming or crying, etc. Why do they think we need more noise?
“I prefer to choose my own entertainment on my own terms, not when and how Metro deems I should, and I wish they would get back to the business of safety and efficiency and solving the overcrowding problem.”
That sentiment is echoed by Anne, who writes: “Like a lot of people, I am appalled at Metro’s idea of entertainment at its stations. Does Metro have such generous staffing that it can assign employees to schedule and manage entertainers, as well as deal with the inevitable complaints? I don’t want to be jostled by jugglers or be a captive audience for music I dislike. Ridership depends on safe and ample parking at stations, and safe, on-time, clean transportation. It’s as simple as that. Metro needs to focus on its equipment and other problems. Providing distractions for inconvenienced riders won’t help.”
For some reason, I keep thinking of hearing some band doing a cover of “Brickhouse” at 7:30 a.m.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
