One of the things that seems to have been lost in the reporting of the fee increases at Metro’s parking lots is that the cost of the reserved spots is going to go up by $5. The good news is that those spaces will be moved closer to the actual station, which should provide an additional incentive for passengers to pay a little extra each month. In lots where the reserved spaces are not such a hot ticket, and there are a few, the fee will not go up. It’s basic supply-and-demand economics at work.
I got a note from Metro officials (not “the folks at Metro” — see below) saying that the survey of passengers vis-a-vis the new voice and messages on the trains was done by a professional survey firm and NOT by a random employee. My mistake, although I still think that more surveys should be done now that the system has been in place for a month or so. As we have been reporting, the new messages and the frequency at which they run is not going over too well as we hear from Paul: “Thanks for your continued coverage on this issue. It’s one more to add to the list of things that happen to people when they die and go to hell. Now she’s saying step back at each stop X3. That’s 42 times. Almost as many times as the word “folks” is used in your column every month. Wow. We’ve got some of the most educated in our country riding the Metro — there is a disparity here. And what about the tourists? Let’s not annoy them — they have money to spend.”
Careful what you complain about
Kevin writes with another suggestion: “I do thoroughly enjoy your column in The Washington Examiner. I must say however, that I have grown weary of the number of complaints that are listed. It seems as if we complain about every thing. One week it was drivers who wait until the last minute to merge; the next week it was the pitch of the new voice on our Metrorailsystem; and, today it is Metro’s repetitive announcements. Surely, we adults who call this area home can find more to do than simply moan, groan and complain. But I guess that is exactly what I have just done. In any case, I would enjoy reading questions, comments or random musings that were, on the whole, more positive. Thanks for your time.”
I understand Kevin’s issue, but there are a couple of things at play here. First, I would love to run more happy, satisfied e-mails from readers — I just have to get some first. As you may have noted, I do try to give credit when good things happen and have even run a few e-mails from those who have had good experiences, such as the letter last week about the effort made by Metro staff to resolve a parking issue at the Huntington station. The other thing is that we tend to expect things to work well and for things to go right.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
