Is This Really America's Subway?
After the Orange Line train derailment on Monday (which I narrowly avoided thanks to a timely call from Gina's stepfather) and a "minor" malfunction at Rosslyn yesterday (which marooned me at Arlington Cemetery and forced me to double back and hitch a ride from my loving-but-forced-to-deal-with-no-air-conditioning-in-her-office-all-week fiance), I decided to just forgo the trouble and freaking drive to work. Despite the $17-a-day parking fee, I made a good choice, because according to Matthew, there was a heat-induced "kink" in the track between East Falls Church and Ballston (which, of course, is right along where the Epic Commute of last week occured) that forced more riders onto shuttle buses and single-tracked trains.
In case you're keeping score, that's three fairly major snafus over the last three days, all during rush hour. I know the weather can be partially blamed for some of this, but can we really only rely on Metro when it's 75 degrees and sunny? And is there really no better contingency plan than to wait for 50-passenger Metrobuses to arrive once something goes wrong? Can we expect our train operators to recognize something is wrong before dragging a derailed train nearly half a mile?
As of right now, it looks like the Orange Line will be back to normal by 5AM, well in time for my morning commute. But do I really want to gamble on what kind of accident will befall the system tomorrow evening? I'm not sure what parking and gas price is too steep or where my break point is, but I do know this: if this is the best preparation Metro can offer for their expected increase in ridership once gas hits $5 a gallon, we are truly screwed.
(Thanks for the link and the reporting on that WMATA item, Matt.)
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The Metro should be fine, these sorts of things come in three's...right.
I also had no AC in the office this week, it was HORRIBLE. Boy that makes me sound like a wuss
If the weather outside involves 90+ degree heat, I think you're justified in wanting AC. If you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, too. That's another example.
I got a ride home from a co-worker today, so I don't know Metro's status, though Matthew said it was okay for him. Maybe the rule of three was in fact in effect?