DCist: Metro on Reducing Train Cars: Sike!

voteprime

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:13:28 -0500

I know this is way way too late, but I noticed an online comic that used the spelling "sike" in one of their strips. So, ya know, one more person siding with Sommer, in case this ever pops up again.

NotoriousREG

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:19:33 -0500

BTW "root origin" is a typo. Dangit.

NotoriousREG

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:18:09 -0500

Having grown up in PG County Murland (that's not a typo) it's definitely spelled "sike." Yes I know what the technical root origin of the word is but if you actually grew up the area it's "s-i-k-e." Y'all bamas be trippin'.

monkeyrotica

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:49:10 -0500

And people wonder why VA ridership on Metro is dropping. Keep up with the price jacking, the craptacular service, and the occasionall mugging, and DC/MD ridership is going to decline as well.

somegirl

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:17:53 -0500

Yay! Last night I took my bike on the Red Line at 10 pm and felt like I was trying to squeeze on at rush hour. Dirty looks all around. Of course it was a 4 car train. So if Metro wants to allow people with bicycles, strollers, wheelchairs, luggage, etc. to use the system, no, they don't want (such) crowded cars.

nashpaul

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:26:19 -0500

I think Metro bean-counters make these decisions based only their spreadsheets and charts. Moreover, I'll bet they use aggregate data on ridership without recognizing how crowded trains are at any given point. (Remember those clusters of Metro employees who stand around with clipboards are supposed to be measuring how crowded the trains are, so Metro clearly doesn't know this from its available data.) While I'm glad that John Catoe was willing to get on the rails to see for himself, clearly it shouldn't take the General Manager himself doing so. Why were other managers tuned in to this? Why were the concerns expressed by rail managers ignored? Why was the Board not out there too?

ChimayTriple

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:57:37 -0500

Maryland: Sike Virginia: Psyche Maryland: Homey Virgina: Hommie Maryland: Krunk Virginia: Dancing like a retard Maryland: Off the hook, yo! Virginia: Awesome Maryland: Whiggitty, Whiggitty Whack Virgina: Cool beans Maryland: Fine Honeys Virginia: Fat girl with a kid

Politburo

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:14:34 -0500

The cars must be run in pairs. 6-car train is really only 3 cars from a mechanical viewpoint. Each pair shares equipment (batteries, motors, compressors, etc.)

guest33

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:13:52 -0500

IF Metro ever gets its heads out of its arses and designs its trains like other cities with normal subway systems, crowded trains will improve. With the current seats-sticking-out-from-the-walls design, you cannot move on and off trains without wondering whether you might not make it. Put the seats against the walls and open up the train cars so that we can all move on and off more easily. You'll piss off a few people in Shady Grove who will shed a few tears because they don't get a seat, but you'll make life easier on the majority of riders.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:49:57 -0500

I was on the Red line last night around 9. Trains were scheduled to arrive at Metro Center every 15 minutes or so. And they were 4-car trains. It was unbelievable. It was a train packed with sardines. And since I had a suitcase with me, it made it even more fun. Plus, there was apparently a hockey game last night (lots of people with Rangers jerseys). Which made it even more stupid of Metro to run short trains. Metro really seems to try hard to force people to stop using the trains and simply either drive or take cabs.

cminus

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:18:56 -0500

Am I the only one who wonders why Metro only runs trains with an even number of cars? "Um, we thought there weren't enough riders to justify six car trains, but four car trains were too crowded, so we're going to try... um... six again?"

aq

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:59:08 -0500

I think most kids would spell it "sike". I know I did, when I was in elementary school. Not once, when I was 8, did I think of the etymology of the word. But hey, I'm from MD, so maybe it's a regional thing?

sumergocognito

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:41:41 -0500

Last week on Saturday (?) on a Blue Line leaving Capitol South, the driver reminded us that this was a four-car train, per the new policy, and invited us to complain to Metro if we disapproved.

JonboyDC

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:13:53 -0500

I just don't understand this. They have to have known how many riders there were during the off-peak hours, just based on how many people enter the system. How could they not have realized that the number of people in the system during those hours would be too many for a 4-car train? (And definitely, "psych")

lemonlaug

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:13:23 -0500

Just to get back on the train topic, doesn't metro want crowded trains? I admit that there is a limit to how many people you can cram into a train, but I wonder if rescinding a plan that presumably had some thought put into it, based on one observation and a bunch of whiners isn't a little rash. Assuming people could still comfortably fit into the train, I say let em bitch about it. It's public transportation people not a day at the spa, even on Saturday. If it saves metro money, which lets them save me money, that means more beer for me.

VC

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:45:08 -0500

Even the TV show is called "Psych". "Sike" is just wrong.

Christiann

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:37:51 -0500

Not sure where you guys are from, but sike was the common spelling for teens in maryland, not once did I witness anyone write "Psych!" unless they were excited about Psychology. Thanks for the etymology lesson.

Jeffrey

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:32:55 -0500

These nerds is wildin' up in here!

Jonathan Badger

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:18:17 -0500

Yes, it's dorky to complain, but sometimes spellings are just so annoying because they suggest unfamiliarity with the origin of the term. "Psych" suggests the user is familiar with it being short for "psychological", Writing "Sike" suggests the user thinks it's just a nonsense word like "D'oh" or something.

Brennan

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:04:57 -0500

Typical DC dorks, nothing better to do than comment on the spelling of a slang headline. Give it a rest.

Sommer Mathis

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:59:17 -0500

Oh come on, "Sike!" is a legit slang-spelling for that term.

aids cannon

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:53:02 -0500

Thank the good zombie jesus for this. Smooshing onto a four-car red line train at 9:00 last night was less than enjoyable.

techne

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:49:48 -0500

"Sike"? You mean "psych"?

amyable

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:45:47 -0500

Your headline is killing me! "Psych," please!!

Jeffrey

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:42:33 -0500

...riding the Blue Line this weekend and seeing the crowds and packed trains for himself."Say, I think I'll go check out these nutty 'underground trains' my employees are always writing reports about. Imagine that -- a train what's underneath the earth! What'll they think of next?"

jgbrc

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:28:29 -0500

So what went wrong? I'd assume they did enough research to tell them that 4 cars was okay in the first place. If the Boss had a packed train, was this just bad luck when he went for a ride? Obviously he didn't think so. Therefore, I hope they look into whatever system they used to determine there were few enough riders in the winter to go to 4 cars. If not, they will keep making polices based on poor data. Am I making any sense? P.S. Yeah, i have to hand it to them that 14 days is pretty good trun around time for such a policy.

inloganO

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:26:35 -0500

They apparently didn't learn from their 2-car train at night debacle a while back. It took a few weeks and they rescinded that decision too.

DCFusion

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:25:03 -0500

What they should have done was schedule a 'trial' run over the course of a weekend, have Metro Officials ride the trains, take notes, etc. and then determine whether they should go ahead with the plan.

ShawnDC

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:23:03 -0500

They need to run longer cars after 7 on weeknights now too! Last night the red line was running 4 car trains in 20 minute intervals at 9PM! The train was as crowded as the worst train at Rush Hour! I'm all for giving Metro some leeway given how tightwad the local jurisdictions can be in giving a dedicated funding source, but WMATA needs to wake up and recognize that this is a real city that does not stop running at the end of the commute!

ces12

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:19:46 -0500

or how about alternating 4-6-4-6 or running at 4 trains but a little bit faster?