Transit on Tuesday: The Statistically Depressing Edition
According to the Post, Metro finally got its on-time measuring system working in Metrobuses after 35 years.
So, that's the positive news.
The statistics uncovered, on the other hand, pretty much confirm what everyone already assumes about the buses' ability to stick to a schedule: namely, that they have no such ability. A report to be released on Thursday will show that overall, Metrobuses were on-time (defined as falling somewhere between two minutes early and seven minutes late) only 73 percent of the time in July, which is pretty terrible. Apologists will point to the fact that this figure falls on the high end of the national average for buses, the high level of traffic congestion in the metro area, and that many initiatives put into place to improve efficiency are thwarted by outside factors - like cars double parking in dedicated bus lanes.
But let's be honest: for a service that close to 450,000 people depend on daily, not being able to stick within a 9 minute window for more than one out of every four trips is utterly abysmal. We haven't even gotten to the worst of it: some routes, like the U5 and the Y5, are Metro's version of Russian roulette - you've got close to a coin flip's chance of having your bus arrive anywhere close to on time.
We'll be interested to see what the board has to say about the report come Thursday. In the meantime, what are your ideas for improving on-time Metrobus service?
In Other Disappointing News, Here's the ICC: It is just not a good day to be putting together the transit report - news out of Maryland is that the middle section of the Intercounty Connector (one of our favorite topics around here) running between Georgia Avenue and Route 29 is currently on pace to exceed its construction budget by over $100 million. Our favorite part of the Post article is when Maryland State Highway spokesperson Valerie Burnette Edgar insisted that the overrun "wasn't a big surprise" - with all due respect, the pure quantity of other, more long-term infrastructural projects (ahem, Purple Line) that the money could have gone to instead of the ICC means that a 22 percent increase in an already bloated project is, by definition, surprising. We're sure Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who is likely going to have to cut programs to rectify a billion dollar state deficit, also finds it slightly "surprising."
So, Let Us See If We've Got This Straight: A hypothetical, if you'll indulge us. Option A: A parking lot full of vehicles that are used by numerous people, only when needed, reducing not only congestion, but also environmental wear. Option B: A parking lot full of private vehicles, all probably leaving and coming back at the same time; or alternatively, never moving, taking up increasingly valuable space. Well, 14th and You brings us a report from last Wednesday's ANC2F (Logan Circle) meeting where ANC chairman Charles Reed effectively chose Option B. Reed motioned to strip Zipcar of the right to use a parking lot at 14th and Corcoran because they "failed to follow through on a promise to landscape and 'beautify' their lot." The motion actually passed, 3-1, mind you. So, we suppose that Chairman Reed believed that a lot full of privately owned cars would somehow "beautify" the lot more effectively than Zipcar could; a representative from Zipcar eventually showed up and sanity resumed, as Reed then tabled the motion. We realize that hyperlocal politics is often times a matching of wits, and that Zipcar's space wasn't probably in too much danger - but transit-wise, we just don't get the threat, empty or not.
Community Transit Meetings Upcoming: Mark it on your calendar: the DC Neighborhood Circulation Study — a joint venture of DDOT and WMATA that encourages people who actually use transit to suggest ideas on possible improvements (i.e. this means you) — will be convening meetings in four different neighborhoods (Adams Morgan, Bellevue, Trinidad, Benning Heights) next week. Specifics can be found here. Between this and the 16th Street Metrobus study, things are on the up and up for citizen participation in transit issues.
Engines and Cabooses: Fewer passengers flying out of National and Dulles... WMATA is looking for someone to create something beautiful at Farragut West... Metro was prepared to shut down service if they needed to due to Saturday's high winds and rain - flooding did cause a temporary shutdown of the track between National Airport and Braddock Road on the Yellow Line... Frederick to spend $2.7 million on cross-town bike and pedestrian path... Looking for a parking loophole? Buy a motorcycle. You can park them for free in Metro lots... MARC experiencing slight schedule changes... Solar "taxi" made its way down H Street last week... Reason #3,651 to like public transportation: it could save you $10,000 a year.