We have speculated in the past about ways for Metro to increase revenues and one of the ideas floated was to put kiosks in the rail stations where a variety of items might be sold. The reality appears to be on the doorstep or perhaps the escalator landing, and it begs some caution as we hear from Richard, who wrote: “What a terrible suggestion to sell food and beverages at Metro stations. It will have the same effect on trash as the free newspapers at the stations: an exponential increase in the mess the Metro has to clean up. And [Metro Interim General Manager Dan] Tangherlini needs to visit BART if he thinks removing carpets from the cars will improve the system. On a recent visit to the [San Francisco] Bay Area, I wasshocked at how grubby and noisy the cars on the BART system have become after removing the carpets there. Two terrible ideas.”

I agree that the idea floated by Tangherlini last week to test the removal of the carpeting as a way to save maintenance money is a bad idea. I can’t imagine how unpleasantly loud a packed railcar might be without the carpet to absorb the sound of iPods played at full volume or the simple click-clack of shoes. In addition, it seems like there are enough worries about people slipping and falling on the tile platforms without adding the risk of wet shoes on a bare floor.