Today we’re kicking off a new transit feature on DCist — What Metro Needs. Over the next few weeks — and months, should the content merit it — we’ll be going through the many things, big and small, that we believe Metro could use to provide better service to the increasing number of people that rely on it to get to and from work and home. Some of these will be opinions based on particular commuting experiences, some based on our knowledge of best practices on other comparable transit systems. And in this we will need your input. If you know of something you wish Metro had to make your commute an easier one, please let us know.

Today as we entered a station along the Orange and Blue Lines, we looked over onto the platform and noticed a standing train emptying its human cargo, turning off its lights and pulling away from the station. Mechanical difficulties, we guessed. The station manager took to the public announcement system to quell the brewing commuter revolt, but his feeble attempt to communicate the reasons for the disembarkation and extend his apologies were lost in distortion and the station’s cavernous halls. The commuters — now anxiously crowding the platform — were none-the-wiser as to why their trip to work had been interrupted.

While a small gripe for sure, Metro’s lack of a properly functioning PA system is not only frustrating, it is also dangerous. While we don’t miss much when we can’t understand which escalators are in and out of service, we may run the risk, given a terrorist incident or natural disaster, of not being able to hear key evacuation instructions. First and foremost in any emergency is the ability of the authorities — be they a Metro conductor, a station manager or a transit police officer — to communicate with the people they seek to direct and protect. Given Metro’s dismal PA system — comparable only to those rear speakers in your decade-old car that have been cranked too loud too many times — the transit agency has surrendered itself to not being able to bark out orders or offer information to the very people that may need it.

Of course, we sympathize with Metro’s plight. Few of the stations offer much in the way of acoustic integrity, leaving amplified voices at the mercy of their huge, reverb-laden halls. Similarly, we imagine that the transit agency hasn’t put too much stock into replacing the PA system’s speakers — an endeavour that could prove costly. But given the obvious security and informational needs, we think it’s high-time the investment be made.

Picture taken by iceman882.