May 1, 2008
Morning Roundup: A Day Without a Meter Edition
Good morning, Washington. Did you happen to take a taxi into work this morning? On our way home last night we spotted at least one D.C. taxicab that had a meter installed in it, and more than a few that did not. The D.C. Court of Appeals refused yesterday to delay the switch to meters, so as of midnight last night, time and distance meters are now the law of the land. The city won't begin imposing $1,000 fines against drivers who don't comply until June 1, however, so all cab drivers have to fear starting today are warning tickets and customers who might refuse to ride in a cab without a meter. Let us know what you see out there, as always, in the comments.
More on Excel Institute Shooting: D.C. police now believe that Wesley Johnson, the man who shot and wounded two people Tuesday at the Excel Institute, had intended to commit mass murder and possibly die at the hands of the police. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to assault with intent to kill while armed. Police found what appeared to be suicide notes in his apartment. The Examiner highlights a police report that suggests Johnson may have been able to shoot and kill many people had his gun not jammed on him.
Manual Metro Doors Lead to Errors: Ever since Metro switched to a new policy of having Metro operators open train doors manually 16 days ago, doors have been opened before trains have fully reached the platform at least five times. Metro General Manager John Catoe spoke very candidly to the Examiner about how this is an embarrassing training failure due to operators being sometimes unsure whether they have a six-car or eight-car train. He said the solution could be as simple as putting a sticker on the operator's windshield that says “six” or “eight.” That so many such errors have happened over the the last 16 days since the new policy went into effect makes it difficult to believe it was the right choice from a safety standpoint. Before the change, doors had opened automatically on the wrong side of the train four times over a 100 day period.
Briefly Noted: Perennial candidate Michael Brown has filed papers to run for an At-large D.C. Council seat ... Magic Johnson in town to help with local HIV/AIDS fight ... Police investigate Loudoun murder ... The Washington-Baltimore region still ranks among the top 10 metropolitan areas for smog and soot ... Two D.C. public charter schools have been suspended.
Photo by SpecialEd98
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To the 42 bus that had a malfunctioning horn that would constantly honk if the bus was turned on at 6AM this morning...eff you.
And to the bus driver who decided that sitting there idling with the bus on and the horn blaring for 10 mins...eff you.
Wait, they need a sticker to know how many cars are in the train? There's nothing in their control panel that tells them how many cars they have in tow? WTF? O_o
two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?! goooooo Metro!
Someone did not turn off his electronic devices in preparation for his final landing . . .
Manually opening doors...Nothing will beat the awkwardness of me trying to get off the train at Dupont, doors open and then close again .5 seconds later right on my back leg. I will cherish forever those 5 seconds of being trapped in the doorway the train while 15 people just stared at me...
Moose: Train operators are expected to know how many cars are in the consist, so there is never an indicator in the cab. Any operators who made these errors should be immediately dismissed. It shouldn't wait until they screw up three times.
wait wait wait wait wait....metro operators can't count?
color me shocked!
Michael Brown still has nothing on Faith, DC's perennial candidate extraordinaire. I think I hear her tuning up her trumpet now for the 2010 mayoral campaign.
Last summer i was on a blue line train in Crystal City and as people got on and off the operator said "This is the Red Line Train to Shady Grove. (5 second pause) Wait Ahh Shit! Blue line Train to Largo Town Center."
Not only should the Metro train operators know how many cars they have behind them at all times, if they mometarily forget, all they have to do is glance up at the platform information display as they pull into the next station and read whether it indicates a 6 or 8 car train arriving. they can definitely see it, as I could the times I've ridden in the first car, front seat, where you can turn around and see forward.
Metro truly has issues.
MrTinDC: That's assuming that the electronic platform display is not just scrolling through countless elevator outages, or even that it's working at all. I wouldn't want to hold my breath for either. (unless I'm David Blaine. Freak.)
ksf4 - thanks for the laugh, I sorely needed one this morning :)
Why can't those platform displays show the time more frequently as well as train arrival estimates? Or do they still even show the time? Sometimes I like to know how late I'm going to be for work.
In anticipation of this post, the operator of my blue line train this morning decided to open the doors while the train was STILL MOVING this morning. It only moved a few inches (after it had already pulled forward about 6 inches) while the doors were open momentarily. But still. Really, doors open while the train is moving? I would think that not pushing the door open button while the train is moving would be Metro 101.
"Wait, they need a sticker to know how many cars are in the train? There's nothing in their control panel that tells them how many cars they have in tow? WTF?"
Or count the number of red lights that appear at the top of each Metro car when the doors open? (1 for every car).
This explains why they are always overbudget. They are horrible at math.
fyi, the NY Times has an article today about the taxi meters.
Oh, no door openings for me on the Metro, but twice, as we started pulling out of Woodley Park and Dupont, the door chime started (the "pleased stand back" blah blah) on the right side doors.
From the NY Times article:
“You know what you’re going to pay when you get in the cab,” said Nathan Price, a taxi driver for more than three decades who is now chairman of a coalition of city cab associations. “To me it’s an economic issue, a racial issue and a class issue.”
What a load of monkey crap! You had an idea of what you would pay under the zone system. But then the driver could say it was a different amount and there was no way to settle the matter easily.
And Price forgets one "issue" is his list: an honesty issue. Like honestly charging people the correct fare and honestly reporting the income on the drivers' tax forms.
"Why can't those platform displays show the time more frequently as well as train arrival estimates?"
Probably because everyone has a cell phone. The time is also displayed above the station manager's booth. I always hate seeing the time there. I already know what time it is.. what I want to know is when the train is coming.
"You had an idea of what you would pay under the zone system. But then the driver could say it was a different amount and there was no way to settle the matter easily."
Arrive at destination. Give money. Get out. They're not going to call the cops because it would take too much time to recover $1-$2 when they can just get another fare. Also, they usually know they're wrong.
My cell phone doesn't get service in the Metro therefore I never know what time it is until I walk out.
I don't understand why some phones do that. My ancient phone will keep time on its own until it can get a signal again.
MB: Wait, they have cameras that are electronic! That could've saved me a lot of time and explaining when I tried to light my circa 19th century flash pan to get this shot...
I am perplexed as to how the cabs is a racial and class issue. To me, the real racial issue is that the cabs tend to "not see" black people hailing them.
Nathan Price should take his head out of the sand and really realize the behavior of the cab drivers.