Metro General Manager Richard Sarles
Regular riders of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's bus and rail networks can expect life to get a little busier in 2013. Metro announced this week that while new fare hikes are off the table, the next several months are going to be dominated with weekend track work that could disrupt service throughout the system. We talk with Metro's general manager about what's in store for 2013, and how Metro is preparing for major events like the presidential inauguration.
Guests
Video: Inside The Studio
WMATA General Manager Richard Sarles talked about strategies to ramp up safety within the Metro system in response to an uptick in crime. Sarles said the transit agency is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department and has hired more officers to police specific D.C. neighborhoods. He said WMATA's overall crime rate has decreased annually and is much lower than many of the neighborhoods the trains and buses service.
Comments
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On Saturday evening my husband and I took 7 boys to a Wizards game at the Verizon Center. We took the metro from Silver Spring. I knew it wouldn't be free, but guess what it cost us to get 8 round trip metro tickets for these kids and me ?? $59.00. I was dumbfounded.
Aside from the already pricey fares, I was told that there was an additional $1 "paper fee" PER TRIP, therefore, $2 per ticket. I said "there's only one piece of paper per round trip ... why charge it twice?" The guy just laughed and said he didn't make the rules.
What motivation do I have to EVER use the metro again? We could have parked 2 cars for that price. I just don't get it.
Kojo:
Love the show and have been a listener for years! My question to Mr. Sarles involves the state of Metro's Communication's Department: Chief spokesperson Dan Stessel has a history of poor communication with paying customers. He has seemingly abandoned his post as a "Twitter Guru." From his marginalization of sexual harassment ("One person's harassment is another person's flirting) to an utter lack of empathy following a major Red line melt-down ("Riders were still able to get where they needed to go"), Mr. Stessel does not appear to demonstrate any ability to put Metro in a favorable light. How can Metro's board of directors and you, the general manager, deem his performance as at all favorable?
Personally, his utter lack of empathy and snark keeps me on a bike.
We always hear Metro officials state that the "system has been neglected." Well...who began this path of neglect? Who can we hold as being responsible for Metro's state of disrepair?
Can you buy a SmartTrip card now at Reagan Airport? If not, why not? Very useful for tourists.
Info on the WMATA website does not seem current and conflicts.
Hello,
I am a regular commuter on the Red Line. My stops are Takoma and Judiciary Square. One aspect of both these and many other stations is the lack of adequate stairwells. When escalators are broken down, huge lines develop to get out of the station - apart from inconvenience, this seems a serious safety hazard. Why not add more stairs - not escalators? For example, the station exit at Judiciary Square has plenty of space between the two escalators for a nice wide stairwell.
Thanks,
Andrew
I haven't used the Metro in a while but needed to just last week. I wanted to buy 2 SmarTrip cards from a kiosk that had the debit/credit function disabled. I went to the ATM located in the station and withdrew the minimum allowed of $20. The SmarTrip machine did not take $20 bills nor does it allow you to buy multiple cards. I went to the fare machine with the idea of buying 1 paper ticket and using the change to buy the SmarTrip. The kiosk did not allow me to buy a ticket smaller than $10 then gave me $1 coins in change. I went back to the SmarTrip machine and found it does not take $1 coins. are they trying to drive their patrons crazy on purpose?
That same morning, my Metro station kiosk was not taking debit. I tried to use the credit function on the card and was kicked out. I used a credit card and was able to load my SmarTrip AND paid for the poor man behind me that only had a debit card and had been on the line with Metro for 20 minutes in order to add $2 on the card. The 4 tourist that were in front of me received NO HELP from the attendant and were left to figure out what to do with the broken machines. Not a nice way to treat tourists.
I believe that bus operators do not always get their fair share of recognition. The system is great when operated well by those responsible but it seems as if operators who do perform well and attempt to go above and beyond the job get overlooked for performance. How does the system look to enhance their personnel (bus operators) and the services they provide?
I just want to say thank you for raising the tolls on the Dulles tollway. I know that its not all of wmatas fault, but to task people that aren't using the metro with the construction of the metro is somewhat infuriating.
Why is there not an extra track like in NYC to alleviate delays during track work. I understand this will be expensive but for at least the new stations it would make complete sense.
I only caught the end of the show, not in time to ask a question. I will post it here in case anyone can answer it. It is about Metro Customer Service. I submitted a complaint online to Metro Customer Service. Not only was it never resolved, I never even got a response except the automated one that states my message was received. I made additional attempts via this method. Does anyone know how to get Metro to address a complaint? Perhaps my method was not the best way. Thank you.
Alan Landay