Ever work at a store with an intercom system? “Cleanup on aisle four.” There’s always the temptation to say something funny into it, to make a weird noise or cough or confuse the customers. And there’s the amusement that happens when somebody new uses it. “Uhh… (click, buzz) is this… hey boss, uh, come here.” The Metro intercoms seem to be mostly used for incoherent announcements about “trains… and stations” and things of that nature,…

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty may be seen by his constituency as young, technologically savvy and constantly making personal appearances at even the smallest neighborhood events. But unlike his pal up in New York, rarely can he be seen riding public transportation, preferring to be whisked around town in his big, black Lincoln Navigator. And we’re willing to concede that it probably makes more sense for the most part, seeing as how Fenty needs to…

Another week, another set of transit headlines. This week we’ve got “controversy” over the new Taxicab Zone Map, Metro’s contribution to the, er, local economy, and questions about the new rail cars Metro’s been bringing on line. Also, yet another story of inaction on Metro funding…but by Maryland. Worth noting: The Metro Riders Advisory Council is holding an event this evening at Metro’s 600 5th St. NW headquarters to take suggestions on transit improvements…

Nothing gets us going here at Transit on Thursday quite like fun, new toys for District residents to ride, use, and enjoy. Streetcars and Circulators, bike trails and lanes, new Metro cars with drop-down handles — we love ’em all and we want more, more, more! After the jump we have news on the shiny new Bicycle Transit Center proposed for Union Station. Additionally, it’s all about oversight this week — for Metro, some…

Hope you didn’t stay up too late debating the President’s speech with friends last night, Washington. We stayed up a bit past our bedtimes ourselves, mostly pondering the rhetorical significance of the difference between the phrases “mistakes were made”, and “where mistakes have been made”. Either way, we take full responsibility for any mistakes that were/have been made in this morning roundup, which was completed with the known unknown of the amount of sleep we…

Good morning, D.C. In addition to scattered showers and thunderstorms, today brings news that the Circulator bus line is nearing its millionth passenger. Not too shabby — although the city’s busiest buslines put up those kinds of numbers every month and a half (probably less, given the age of the linked numbers). But officials say that Circulator ridership has been increasing steadily; assuming the service survives the looming Tourmobile legal apocalypse, its planned route around…

An ad on the back of an Express last week caught our eye. While at first it looked like like an advertisement for any other residential condominium development near a Metro station, the precise station caught our eye. “Live Vibrant. Live Stylish. Live Largo.” Yup, Largo Town Center, the Blue Line’s new terminus station. The developers explained that thanks to “great access to work and play” and a “myriad of amenities” there was “nowhere else…

The Metro, like D.C. itself, belongs to both everyone and no one. So when someone sues the Metro, just as when someone petitions for D.C. Vote, the courts have to consider just how much of a state D.C. really is. States, and agencies that qualify as “arms of the state,” are entitled to sovereign immunity from suit under the Eleventh Amendment. The theory underlying sovereign immnunity is that no one should be able to bankrupt…

In the Post’s Real Estate section this weekend, University of Maryland architecture professor Roger Lewis writes about the opening of the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University metrorail station on the Red Line in a greater development perspective. With federal offices moving in, the station has the potential to launch a new wave of development that will transform the area near the intersection of New York and Florida avenues in Northeast, seen here in an map…

The evening commute looks to be even more of a mess then usual. This shocking image of this afternoon’s Red Line train crash was sent to us by a loyal reader. Reports now indicate that around 20 people were hurt. It looks like much more then a “bump” to us, as was originally reported. The Metro website says that trains are operating at 50% capacity, and service is not expected to return to normal…