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Most days, I don't need to wait all that long for trains. They take me where I need to go, and it's an overall pleasant experience to be a rider. But no one ever likes to talk about those days.
If you search #wmata or #dcmetro on Twitter, you'll see that practically every mention of the system is a complaint of some kind. There are slams about signage, unruly passengers, single tracking, delays and, of course, escalators. And whenever Metro has a meltdown — as it did Feb. 25 after the wind tossed a utility pole into a train, disrupting Friday evening rush hour — you can bet an army of folks will whip out their phones to kvetch up a storm.
Continue Reading "The Bright Ride: Twitter Account Extols Virtues of WMATA" »
At 8:46 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the 201 bus pulled into the BWI rail station. Emblazoned with the words "Travel the ICC With Ease," the green and white coach halted at the shiny bus stop sign, opened its door and welcomed me in. And only me.
March 1 marked the launch of two commuter bus routes (Mtaiccbus.com) along the completed 7.2-mile stretch of the Intercounty Connector, a toll road that will link Montgomery and Prince George's counties. There's the 202, a Monday-Friday service designed to shuttle NSA and Fort Meade employees to work, and the 201, which offers daily trips between Montgomery County and the airport. For the first two weeks, the service is free; starting March 15, it'll be $5 a pop. But even the promise of a free ride wasn't enticing crowds the day of the debut.
So, when I peeked inside, I saw Gerard Varner at the wheel with just a can of Diet Coke to keep him company. Although he hadn't had a single passenger since getting on the road at 3:30 a.m. — the first bus of the day departs at 4 a.m. — he was in high spirits. He had expected a slow start, and he figured he was still making an impression. "It's turned a lot of eyes," he told me.
Plus, he said, this is a plum gig for drivers. The fleet of buses dedicated to the route are just a few weeks old — enough time for drivers to get a feel for them, but still sporting that new-bus scent.
Continue Reading "Love at First Ride: Despite Free Rides, New ICC Bus is Slow to Catch On" »
The only time my wallet was ever stolen was on the Metro. I think. I was 14 years old and it's also quite possible I just left it behind on some Red Line train. But one thing I am certain of: Whoever ended up with that tie-dyed bifold only scored five bucks and my student ID.
These days, I'm packing more precious stuff, so news that crime is on the rise in the transit system has me feeling justifiably paranoid. The scariest stats are the ones related to violent crimes — the seven rapes and 136 assaults reported last year make those dimly lit platforms look especially foreboding. But we riders are much more likely to be the victims of robberies. There were more than 1,000 thefts in 2010, fueled by a surge of electronics "snatches."
Determined not to be the target of pickpockets, I've tried to do the sensible thing and keep my valuables tucked away. My wallet is easy to plunge to the bottom of my purse and defend with various layers of reporter's notebooks and granola bars. But my iPad yearns to be free.
Roland Washington was just an average Metro rider until last Thursday. But by the next day, he'd become an Internet meme. And all because of three words: "Now, I elevate." Answering our "Metro Pulse" question about escalator horror stories, that's how Washington described his strategy for exiting the Dupont Circle station ever since his traumatic experience on a escalator there that stopped suddenly.
The phrase made Mike Nothum laugh, so the 29-year-old Logan Circle resident snapped a picture of that page of Express with his iPhone and posted it to his Tumblr, figuring it would make a few friends smile.
Within hours, that pic appeared on dozens of other sites, including the Daily What, which is where Kevin Eifele, a 22-year-old in Chicago, spotted it. Struck by what he calls "such a succinct expression," he submitted it to Reddit.com, where it officially blew up. On that site alone, it's gotten nearly 400,000 views.
Continue Reading "'Elevate' Going Up: How Roland Washington Became an e-Celebrity Overnight" »
Just because that train to Glenmont isn't holding a bow and arrow doesn't mean it's not ready to play cupid. When we asked readers to write in about finding love on the lines, we were blown away by how many couples met during a fateful ride — and how many of them have considered including Metro in their nuptials. Your seatmate may just be your future sweetheart.
Maria and Mark Evans
Because they met on Metro back in 2002, this Arlington couple decided to give their wedding party a public transit twist as a surprise to their guests.
Their station: L'Enfant Plaza
How They Met: "It was pre-iPod and pre-Express. I was reading 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' he was reading 'The Persian Expedition.' He used the 'Is that a good book?' line, and it worked," Maria says.
How they pulled off the theme: Those pylons, that look like the ones outside the stations, are actually wine gift boxes they found at the Container Store with sticker label letters on top. And the head table was named L'Enfant Plaza, of course.
If they could do it over: Maria wishes she had the wedding cake made into a train shape rather than use the mini Metro toy she bought at the Metro Center sales office. "It was a last-minute addition and it looks like it just fell on top of the cake." (We still think it looks awesome, Maria!)
Second favorite metro memory: Last summer, they took their one-year-old son on his first Metro ride. The family headed from Clarendon to Navy Yard to see a Nationals game.
Continue Reading "Metro Matches: Finding Romance on the Metro" »
To every other Express reader, the photo of a woman in sunglasses and a bikini was just an ad for H&M. But to Brody Rose, it was inspiration.
The 35-year-old grabbed a pen and started sketching lines that gradually turned into a roller coaster looping around the model's shoulders, arms, waist and hips. He dubbed his creation, "The Curves," and when he showed it to friends, they begged him to start a blog.
It's been nearly a year since Rose launched Coasterdoodler.com, which has grown into a collection of 135 images of amusement park rides superimposed on the pages of this paper. A little man throwing his arms in the air has chugged up and down hills drawn on the faces of celebrities, across landscapes and even inside a pingpong ball. He serves as both Rose's signature and stand-in, and a sign of how much fun the project is.
Continue Reading "The Coaster is Clear: Brody Rose, Express Coaster Doodler" »
When President Obama got to the part of his State of the Union address when he called for 80 percent of Americans to have access to high-speed rail, I stood up, did a little dance and let out a joyous "Wooooo." No one in the House chamber seemed quite as excited — but, then, I'm not sure how many of them commute from Baltimore to D.C. every day.
I'm only in my sixth month of being in the train gang, and as I repeatedly assure my husband (whose job is the reason we moved), it really hasn't been that bad. I've memorized the MARC schedule, made a bunch of train friends and generally learned the rhythms of the ritual. But that doesn't mean it couldn't be better.
With high-speed rail between the two cities, what's now a 45-minute MARC trip — on one of the rare express trains — could be less than half that. Getting home would be no more daunting than traveling to Rockville. More Washington workers would feel free to take advantage of Baltimore's cheaper real estate prices, or just come by for a night of experimental music and free-flowing Natty Boh.
Continue Reading "Faster Friends: Improvements Could Make Baltimore-D.C. Commute Easier" »
No one likes a third wheel on a date, but a third rail can be crucial for singles seeking love in D.C., where a large percentage of residents don't own a car.
Having to rely on Metro to get around could certainly cramp your dating style — instead of "Pick you up at 8," it's "Meet you at Dupont" — but it doesn't have to be a relationship deal-breaker, especially if you follow the advice from these experts.
Dating coach James Norton, the 33-year-old co-owner of Professional Pickup (Professionalpickup.com), gave up his car years ago and hasn't looked back. He can whisk ladies all over town without worrying about parking, and he's found the ambiance of a Metro train — even a delayed one — is conducive to early relationship banter. "It's a common gripe and an easy thing to talk about," he says.
Continue Reading "Singles, Tracking: Metro Won't Derail Your Dates" »
Last week was a pain in the asphalt for everyone in D.C. — including the 10,900 folks from around the world in town for the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting, where they could attend such sessions as "Modeling the Impact of Weather on Traffic."
It's hard to believe that could have been any more informative than looking out their windows. In the span of just three days, drivers contended with a water main break that shut down part of the Beltway and a snowstorm that royally snarled up the evening commute (even for the president!).
So, I headed on over to the meeting to see how our visitors were dealing with our roads and rails. Because the activities were split between hotels in Woodley Park and Dupont, I quickly found myself caught up in the expected expert debate: shuttle versus Metro versus walking.
Continue Reading "Experts' Analysis: Wintery Welcome for 'Transportation' Folks" »
Once upon a time at Metro Center, a beautiful young woman was sitting on a Red Line train that wasn't budging. Like the rest of the passengers, she had just one thought going through her head: "Come on, Metro! Move! Move!" That is, until a dashing young man leaped through the doors and flashed a smile. The thought in his head? "I should talk to this girl."
The stalled — and increasingly packed — train gave him the opportunity to come up with an opening line, "Good thing we're both not claustrophobic," which he delivered along with some small talk and a business card. And you know what they say: First comes Metro, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.
At least that's how it worked out for George Cook, 34, and Diana Paez-Cook, 32, who were profiled in Express' BIO section just before they got hitched in 2007. (The family has since expanded to include 5-month-old Noah, who's posing with his parents above.)
Continue Reading "The Love Trains: Finding Your Match on the Metro" »
Addison Road