Photo by lorigoldberg

The deadline for all subterranean Metro rail stations to offer mobile phone signals to customers is Tuesday, but Metro is not on schedule to meet the goal. In fact, it might be until 2015 when all 47 underground stations are finally wired for cell service.

Metro, working with phone carriers, provided mobile service at its 20 busiest stations in 2009, but is behind on hooking up the other 27, The Washington Examiner reports. But reasons for the delay are unclear. And a memo obtained by the Examiner says work won’t be completed until December 31, 2015.

A year ago, Metro reported to Congress that 82 percent of the stations—22 of the 27 remaining stops—had been finished. But a three-year wait to see the project completed is giving riders’ advocates unease. Jack Corbett, of MetroRiders.org, is worried about the effect when a train is running late or goes out of service during the morning commute:

Corbett is wary of people chatting on the phone the whole ride, so he thinks the transit agency should remind riders to be courteous. But he said having the service is important for riders, especially when a train breaks down. He said he’s seen half a train’s riders pull out phones when a train gets delayed to alert their office they’d be late. “It’s very frustrating to be stuck at a station that doesn’t have service,” he said.

Also concerning is that Metro does not appear to offer a list of which stations are still waiting on having cell phone service installed.