Photo by Eric Purcell

Photo by Eric Purcell

One would think that between all the track work, breakdowns, and constant Twitter venting, there is no way that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority could score an approval rating of more than 50 percent.

Well, Metro did exactly that in a poll released today by The Washington Post. Unbelievable as it might seem, 71 percent of D.C. area residents give the transit agency good or high marks on train service. Moreover, 73 percent of regular Metrorail riders gave the system positive marks on reliability, while 80 percent consider it a comfortable method of transportation. And even with several fare hikes in the past few years, 67 percent of frequent Metro riders say it is a good value, too.

But it’s worth reading the Post’s survey with consideration that it questioned D.C. area residents at large, not frequent Metro customers in particular. While only 13 percent of respondents said they’ve never taken Metrorail, 44 percent said they’ve never boarded a Metro-operated bus line.

Furthermore, only 21 percent of respondents said they use Metrorail fairly or very often, while another 26 percent said “sometimes.” More than half—52 percent—take it rarely or never. And among those who identified as commuters, 66 percent said they never use Metro to get to and from work.

Leading reasons for people not using Metro to commute were a preference for driving and the lack of proximity to people’s homes or workplaces.

While Metro’s overall numbers in the poll are net positives for the transit agency, it is not the sunniest report card. The Post reports that public opinion of Metro is down compared to surveys it conducted in 2010 and 2005. D.C. area residents are increasingly concerned about Metro’s cost, timeliness, and on-board congestion.

Metro is in the middle of several long-term projects, including numerous pieces of track work recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board following the June 2009 Red Line crash that killed nine and injured dozens. It is also planning on introducing a new model of rail car, proposing a new tunnel under the Potomac, and, most visibly, adding the new Silver Line.

Richard Sarles, the transit agency’s general manager, was unsurprisingly pleased by the results of the Post’s survey. “I am encouraged that riders recognize our safety progress,” he said in a news release.

But Metro’s loudest detractors were not so sanguine. Chris Barnes, who runs the FixWMATA blog and Twitter account, surmised the poll’s results were only so rosy for Metro because the questions were posed over one of the transit agency’s notoriously unreliable intercoms.


In fact, the poll queried 1,106 Washington-area adults by telephone between June 19 and 23, including both landline and mobile phones. Those surveyed live in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Filed Under: metro, poll, the washington post, wmata,