“You asked. We listened.” says Metro

Spotted this PSA from Metro on the Blue Line this morning:

You asked. We listened.

You asked for a better way to hold on when you’re standing on a moving Metro train. We think these new handles really fit the bill. And we hope you agree.

Christopher Zimmerman
Chairman, Metro Board of Directors

 

Oh boy!  Not only is Metro now listening to our requests, they are responding and advertising that they’ve done so. 

In the spirit of helping Metro help us, I’ve compiled a few other items in hopes that Metro will listen to these, too. 

1. Eliminate chronic delays on trains.  Some of us have actual jobs with bosses who expect us to be to work on time.  And even if we’re not on our way to work, probably sitting on a stalled train is not how we wanted to spend our time.

2. Recalibrate your bus schedules to take into account actual traffic patterns and drive times.  You’ve been driving in this area for decades, Metro.  Surely you can begin to anticipate where the heavy traffic might slow the bus and adjust your timetables accordingly?

3. If you are only going to have one escalator in a station turned on, have it in the “up” position.

4. Anything you can do about safety, for passengers as well as employees?  Your record on that is not looking so great this year, Metro.

5. No more drivers texting, phoning, or sleeping while operating trains and buses.  We know you are working on that one now.

I have more ideas, Metro, but these will do for starters. 

I asked. I hope you listen.

Graffiti you’ll only see in DC

Above the escalator as you exit the Farragut West Metro station: “Craig Sucks.”

Well, yes, it seems that he does.

Would you have stopped?

The cover story of this week’s Washington Post Magazine intrigued me: take a world-renowned violinist and his multi-million dollar Stradivarius, have him play for change at a DC Metro station during morning rush-hour, and see if anyone notices.

My immediate thought was no, of course I would not stop, for a couple reasons. First, I oppose the idea of street musicians being allowed to play in the Metro. The transit authority is considering ending its historical ban in order to welcome buskers, but only those who would be vetted by some sort of arts commission. That may weed out the worst of the worst, but since musical preference is so personal, chances are that many commuters will not enjoy the performances on any given day. Better that your iPod play whatever racket you like to hear, mine can play Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg, or Barry White, and we’ll all be happier for it.

Aside from my opposition to buskers in principle, there is a second, and more personally bothersome reason, that I likely would not have stopped to listen to Joshua Bell play his violin: I wouldn’t have recognized his greatness. Actually, that’s not completely accurate. When I watched the video clips that accompany the article online, I could hear that the music was indeed quite beautiful. However, to my ears, a classical music sampler CD from the bargin bin at Target would probably sound just as good. I don’t have an ear for whatever it is that people hear and recognize as superior sound. Whether I am tone deaf (likely), musically uneducated (certainly), or both–I just can’t hear the difference. So not recognizing the unique opportunity being offered to me, I probably would have walked on by.