Make Lemons... » commuting

DC Earthquake 2011

michelle — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:25:36 +0000

It seemed like an ordinary day in DC…. tried a new place for lunch

Was consumed with reading software design documents………. when all of a sudden it sounded like some construction on was going on above our office. My other office mates and I were like… What is that? Then the floor started shaking. I thought maybe a truck had hit the building. Then people started flying by our office to the stairs…………. Then the fire alarm started going off… Panic!!!

Grabbed my purse….. had to go back for my phone Flew down the steps… luckily I was only on the 3rd floor. Got outside…. started looking around…. Thought maybe the construction crew across the street had maybe hit something….. Then txt messages from friends were rapid fire… “Earthquake!!”. Then network went dead.

People were all over Metro Center….. Sirens…. traffic started getting crazy. We were outside for about 40 minutes….

I walked down to the Metro… to make sure it was running……. Answer.. Yes…. its running…….. Slowly.

Went back to my office……… Fire alarm was still going off…. So I decided I’m out of here! (Nice to be salaried again… I can leave and still get paid. )

Metro Center was packed……. Oh boy here we go I thought. An Orange train came thru about 6 minutes later, but it was too packed for me to get on………… Blue came thru about 5 minutes later….. made sure I got on, even though it was packed. Slow going… 15 MPH…. but I switched at Potomac Ave to Orange, got to Cheverly, which was packed because of a track problem that had initiated shuttle service from Stadium Armory (before I came thru). Came down the escalator to find a The Bus arriving…. Score!! It was packed…. but it got me home. Total trip…… 90 minutes…. not too bad (usually takes about 40).

The damage………….. beloved Pearl Jam poster … knocked over and glass broken….

Alex Semin bobblehead decapitated Nicklas Backstrom Bobblehead…. broken stick…..

I can get the poster reframed, and I think I can glue Sasha’s head back on……….

Madison the cat was freaked out….. proabaly because I kept yelling at her to get back downstairs while I cleaned up the glass. When I did finally get the glass cleaned up… I picked up Madison and gave her a big hug… then went to put her down, but she was holding on for dear life

WMATA’s Latest Embarrassment…

michelle — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:13:34 +0000

Last week was a banner one for WMATA….

Trash fire that closed down Gallery Place and Metro Center for a period of time.

A fire truck collided with a metrobus.… around the same time.

And the crowning jewel…. that came out DURING a WMATA Board meeting….. the maker of the SmarTrip cards will no longer sell them to WMATA, they only have enough left to get thru 2012, and oh yeah…. WMATA is over paying for them anyway!

How does this happen? Is ANYONE at WMATA in charge or accountable for anything that goes on there?? Do they have calendars? Access to the internet in order to do research? It’s like everything WMATA touches turns to crap!

If SmarTrip cards will only last until 2012, WMATA needs to abandon all SmarTrip changes that they had planned. Remember the “buckets” that were supposed to debut earlier this year? No need to waste time trying to code those changes. WMATA needs to hire a real project manager, and some people that can think outside the box. Maybe its time to re-do the entire fare and fare gate structure (ie get rid of the exit fare). Treat this like a REAL project. PLAN. Don’t just get an idea and run with it …. without doing some research.

WMATA has 2 years (well maybe 1.5 years)… Will they be able to find a solution AND get it implemented? Probably not. According to an article from this morning’s Baltimore Sun……. it took the MTA about 10 years to get their version of SmarTrip implemented. The CharmCard debuts this week.

My opinion ….. Let me pay for WMATA with my Starbucks Card.

On Twitter and in DC? Why you must follow DCFIREEMS….

michelle — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:53:16 +0000

It’s no secret I am a huge fan of Twitter. I use it to pass time while I wait for metro, to keep up with current events, and sometimes just plain silliness.

I’ve been following DC Fire and EMS for a few months and they provide a wealth of info and sometimes humor all in 140 chars or less!

If you use metro to get around DC and are just relying on WMATA’s updates you are lucky if you are getting the real story from WMATA (or even a timely alert). Nothing drove that point home more than last week’s #rainpocalypse

I left my house around 7am, but knew a bad storm was on the way…. but not really had bad it was about to get.

I arrived in SW just as it was starting to rain, grabbed my Starbucks and hoped I didn’t get struck by lightening as I walked to my office. Once I got settled I pulled out the phone and saw via Twitter that apparently all hell had broken loose in MoCo and it was headed my way!

Massive problems started appearing on the red line….

@metroopensdoors was quiet………Their first update about the situation didn’t appear until after 9am!!

DCFireEMS updated all day long about downed trees, the fire in DuPont and other problems around the area in a effort to inform the people. (and have some fun too! Really you can’t downplay the awesomeness of having a good sense of humor )

Back to WMATA…. sometimes they send their vague alerts and you are left to wonder what the heck is going on ….

Like this gem…. Sorry but how exactly is the Red line affected by a train malfunction at Deanwood???

If you follow DCFIREEMS too, if they get called (ie when its serious) you will get a better picture of what’s happening, be more informed, and actually able to determine if you need to find a Plan B in order to get around town.

Approaching 30,000 miles….

michelle — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:48:56 +0000

Not this car!

Yesterday I got a piece of mail about my 2007 VW telling me its time to schedule an appointment for 30,000 mile scheduled maintenance. Too bad my car is only approaching 19,000 miles (even more amazing since I bought the dealer model that had about 7,000 miles on it )

Bought in Oct 2007 I’ve only put on about 12,000 miles in just under 3 years. When I still lived in Odenton I was only driving about 4 miles per day to and from the MARC station and now I barely drive during the week, since I usually take the bus to the Metro station…. YAY!

I’ve only had one big Pearl Jam related road trip with this car (Philly 2009) and that was small compared to some of the places I have driven to see them. Otherwise my driving is basically trips to see family throughout Maryland and running errands in the DC Metro area.

Maybe I should start planning a road trip???

WMATA Board of Directors ….

michelle — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:34:29 +0000

is useless. NTSB pretty much confirmed it last week as they presented their findings for last summers Red Line crash.

Today the Examiner further drove the point home with their article about board members not attending meetings…

They need to go….. implode the current board! Get board members that actually ride the system…. daily. We know what is wrong, and maybe able to think outside the box about some possible fixes . I still can’t believe the extension to Dulles was approved while the current system devolves into meltdown mode when there is some issue that starts the awesome-ness of a single-tracking backlog on the Red Line…..

If you live in DC or VA…. click here to get address for who to voice your concerns too…

Here is the address for Marylanders…… (Thanks to Unsuck DC Metro)

Washington Suburban Transit Commission
4351 Garden City Drive
Suite 305
Hyattsville, MD 20785
Tel: (301) 577-2063
Fax: (301) 577-2193
E-mail: twebster@mtamaryland.com

ALSO… I urge you to contact Senator Barbara Mikulski….. she ripped WMATA late last year over safety issues…and is a member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee that funds WMATA.

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski

503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-4654

Online Contact Form

Oh…. and enjoy those fare hikes

Baby steps….

michelle — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:34:13 +0000

Today WMATA introduced what can only be seen as the first step to be able to finally add value to your SmarTrip card online.

Be warned… it is tedious. They want a lot of information and once registered you can only see your balance or report the card lost or stolen.

Did you previously register your card to protect the value? Make sure you remember the Phone Number and Zip Code you registered with…..

Next up… Fines for Seat hoggers?

WMATA…. One Year Later.

michelle — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:45:46 +0000

Its been a year since the Red Line crash. What has really changed?

Catoe is gone. This has to be a good thing… WMATA has been in major need of a change at the top in order to (hopefully) trigger changes from top down. However the effects of replacing him remain to be seen.
Trains are still running in manual mode. Aside from the herky-jerky train movement, it seems very odd that on the Next Train Arrival signs it more often then not displays a train as boarding (that has already left the platform) and the next train behind it is arriving in the station. If whatever is telling the sign that a train is boarding, how come its not telling the train coming into the station that there is a train at the platform?? (Yes I know there is no train at the platform…)

NextBus – This is an A. Some mornings its not working, but more often than not it is.
Fare Hikes… Blah. But I’m fine with them as long as they do not make any service cuts.
Communication. This I think is the one area that has made good forward progress. Remember last year? Any e-alert from WMATA referred to either a Major or Minor disruption due to “Mechcanical Difficulties” or “Sick Customer”. There was no way to gage what the heck was happening and how you may need to find an alternate route home (or where ever you were headed). The alerts right after the Red Line accident referred to “Train with Mechanical Problems”.

Twitter of course erupted calling out WMATA for this understatement of the year… and it was then updated to a delay due to “Police Activity” – still not accurate, and this is why I suggest getting breaking news alerts from WTOP.

Fast forward to 2010. WMATA is better at the alerts… now they will actually refer to “Derailment” or “Person Struck by Train”…. and it really does help.

WMATA has a long way to go….And I am kinda surprised they have started the expansion to Dulles, without solving some of these basic problems, especially with the Governor of Virginia threatening to withhold its share of WMATA funding.

WMATA Service Cuts!!

michelle — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:00:35 +0000

On March 19 WMATA released a press release outlining proposeed fare increases and service cuts that are under consideration in order to close the huge budget gap. It also listed dates and locations for public hearings and an online survey for the general public to weigh in on the matter.

Fast Forward to last evening ( Mar 29 – - 10 days later!!!) when the neighborhood listserv exploded because someone realized that WMATA was proposing to close the Cheverly Metro station on weekends, due to low ridership. (Having seen the parking lot on weekends I’m not surprised).

The answer to this proposal was a Facebook group that opposed it (or course) and a metro station rally to show WMATA that Cheverly Loves its Metro station!! The problem? The rally is scheduled for Weekday Rush Hour…. what exactly will that show Metro? Hey, we can’t be bothered to use the metro on weekends, but lets protest during the week so you can really see the difference of usage weekend vs weekday.

Oh and guess how much this awesome service cut will save WMATA? – - $100,000 (along with closing Deanwood and Morgan Blvd)….. Seems pointless….

Close Cheverly if the usage is really too low to justify opening it on weekends…. the Landover station is 5 minutes up Rt 202…..so no real hardship.

I’m more concerned about the 30 minute train intervals during weeknight service; 6 car trains during rush hour; closing at midnight or 1am on the weekends (its already tricky enough trying to make sure you are on the right train by midnight during the week.)

Want to let WMATA know how you feel…. take the survey………… the long one… where you can pick and choose what fare increases and service cuts you support.

Also, contact your local government officals, especially if you live in DC or MD… WaPo ran a story today highlighting the fact that while VA will meet their WMATA funding, MD and DC will not. Then contact your federal government officials and let them know that WMATA needs dedicated funding

#snomageddon…. WMATA’s performance

michelle — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:46:53 +0000

The snow started falling late morning Friday morning, but didn’t really start sticking to the roads until sometime in the late afternoon. Luckily i t was my flex day… so after my early trip to a pre-apocalypse Safeway…Iwas inside and off the roads. But I had a front row seat to see how the road conditions rapidly deteriorated.

I live on a hill, so around 6pm/7pm cars started sliding all over the place. Then there was an accicent! Then the buses trying to go down the hill (towards the accident) started piling up. I felt sorry for them. FF to Saturday… Obviously no Bus or Above Ground Service… which I am fine with. Sunday….. same situation. Bus I could understand… but Rail? I thought they should have made more progress on Saturday so a few above ground stations could start running.

Monday… started out the same… but some buses did start running. Still no Above Ground Service! Really?!?!?! Monday evening….. WMATA should have made a statement about what the status was …. but as usual with WMATA… why communicate?? Sometime after 7pm they released a statement that limited service had been restored to some above ground stations… and trains would be running every half hour (they later shortened it to 20 mintes). Tuesday ….I almost went in… but decided to bail due to the approaching storm, didn’t ant to risk getting stuck downtown.

Wednesday…. it was bad out… so again I am fine with no Bus and no Above Ground Rail.

Thursday…. limited bus and no Above Ground Rail. Really still???

Friday…. limited bus (as of 9am my bus is running… but it wasn’t when I left my house)… Ok. Limited above ground service… and trains running every 25 minutes. Unacceptable.

I left my house … and started my trek. Shame on you Cheverly residents that did not shovel your walk. Ice I can navigate. But 3 feet high untouched snow?? At one point I had to walk in the road… not safe…. because this road is pretty heavily traveled. Luckily…. my neighbor saw me…. turned around and came back and offered me a ride to metro! YAY! I arrived with 4 minutes to wait for a train. Then we held between Cheverly and Deanwood…for some reason. Held outside Statium Armory for awhile. Meanwhile the train is getting more and more packed. At some point the Orange train turned into a Yellow train?!?!!? The we held at Capitol South for at least 10 minutes. Arrived at Fed Center SW, on the opposite side of the platform, to find an out of service train on the other side.

But I made it. I am now hearing via Facebook and Twitter that the Rail commute is rapidly turning into a nightmare. I hope WMATA runs a real rush hour service tonight with Trains every 6 minutes…. there is NO reason not to!

Beware of Ice….

michelle — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:10:47 +0000

This winter has brought a crazy amount snow to the area. Luckily since I primarily take public transit to work I haven’t really had to drive in the mess (and with this most recent snow fall, I haven’t even cleaned off my car yet! wwoohoo… I always wanted to be one of those people that just lets it melt off).

Shoveling the 2 Foot #snowpocalypse snow from December was not how I wanted to spend my last weekend before XMAS, but it wasn’t too bad. This past weekend I got the sidewalk, porch, front walk; and driveway all shoveled out in about 25 minutes! Woot!

Which bring me to my icy situation. I have a neighbor whose only priority is shoveling his driveway so he can get his car out. BUT his front sidewalk is directly between me and the bus stop. Today it was a big sheet of ice. I am happy I didn’t fall…. what makes this even odder is he takes the bus too… and we work in the same office building in DC (really odd!)

Soooo shouodl I say something to him about the ice and my precarious walk to the bus?