You might be getting more red lights in your commute to work, but these you might actually appreciate. Metro has announced it will be installing red LED lamps at 16 more station platforms.

The red lights apparently grab more passengers’ attention, according to Metro general manager John Catoe.

“I’ve observed customers stop, and keep a safer distance from the edge of the platform, and that’s why we’re installing the new lights,” Catoe said in a statement.

The new lamps will last 10-12 years and cost $54 apiece. The more natural looking white LED lamps are two times more expensive to install, and since the purpose of these LED lamps is to save money, it makes sense they’d go with the cheaper alternative. It costs Metro $400,000 a year to replace the old white lamps.

Eight stations already have the red lights, including Gallery Place/Chinatown, Metro Center, Smithsonian, and Union Station, among others. The 16 stations that will get the new platform lighting in the next couple of months are: Navy Yard, Waterfront-SEU, Archives Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter, Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Capitol South, Farragut West, Federal Triangle, McPherson Square, Federal Center SW, Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Judiciary Square, and Fort Totten.

Do you like the red lights better than the white ones? Let us know in our reader poll below the jump.

Photo by christaki