Metro isn’t the only organization benefiting (at least in increased ridership) from the high price of gasoline. Flexcar reports that it’s breaking single-day use records left and right. Flexcar is one of two companies in town involved in something called car-sharing. These companies allow members the use of a vehicle in one-hour increments and the cars are parked in reserved spaces near many Metro stations. These drivers don’t have to worry about the price of gas because they don’t pay for it (they do pay for the membership and for an hourly use rate) and this may be part of the reason why their numbers are going so high. In fact, Flexcar says it is in the process of adding even more vehicles to its local fleet to meet the demand. Using Metro and a ride-sharing vehicle should enable you to get wherever you need to go around Washington and the beauty is that you can leave your car in the garage (or in the rail station parking lot). In the past, ride-sharing made sensebecause it saved on insurance and maintenance, but with a gallon of gas costing as much as a gallon of milk, there are even more reasons to check them out (flexcar.com and zipcar.com).
Cheers for the eight-car train
Gil writes with some praise and reproach for Metro: “First the kudos: [Recently] during rush hour, Metro ran an eight-car train on the Blue Line to Franconia-Springfield. Hooray! We weren’t packed together like sardines and a few tourists were even able to board at Arlington Cemetery. Thank you, Metro! Thank you!
“You’ve asked for comments on the new voice‚ of closing doors. I’ve heard it once only and it was simply awful. The chimes are irritating and the script is confusing. I heard it on an overcrowded four-car Blue Line train during rush hour and after the doors had closed and reopened again, the voice said something to the effect of ‘step back so other customers may exit when boarding.’ Several of us looked around with dismay. One person burst out laughing. Another said, ‘Send us six-car trains.’ I hope and suggest Metro just drops the new voice.”
I asked for reader comments some time ago, but in the past few days I’ve heard from at least 30 of you and the overall reaction is not very positive. Based on your comments, maybe Metro will rethink how frequently these announcements are made and maybe rewrite some of the scripts as well. The idea behind them is to be helpful, not irritating.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
