Calling All Buses! Your Retirement is Over

I don't normally read the Examiner, nor the Express, as I feel they are a huge waste of paper and don't like how they are left on the city's buses, metros and streets. This week however, the headline of the paper caught my eye when it featured the rise in passengers on DC's metro.

While reading this article, I laughed to myself as my eyes crossed these words - "Metro officials are considering putting retired buses back in service and adding more eight-car trains if the trend escalates." How exactly does a bus get pulled out of retirement? As a frequent bus passenger, I am very interested in this process. These days, I spend more time on the bus than I do the metro. After a tip from a good friend, I discovered the crosstown bus. The crosstown bus was one of the best moves I made when it comes to my commute. That decision was just confirmed as I read this article.

Apparently, "the railway now is routinely seeing close to or more than 800,000 riders a day, with most of the passengers traveling during rush hour." Great observation Mr. Metro man, but what are you doing about it?

Allow me to provide some more featured quotes from Metro's General Manager interview:
My responses in blue.

• "We still have some room, but it will not be pleasant conditions." - That is an understatement!
• "It’s like highways — there is a point where there’s no additional capacity.” - Like highways?!
• "The system could handle up to 950,000 or even 1 million passengers if more riders traveled during off-peak times." - Oh sure, let me just tell my employer/client to change their hours.
• "You might have to operate those cars without air conditioning. I’m not willing to make that call yet." - Thank goodness you have some sense - the AC is one of the few remaining benefits.

I don't have the ultimate solution, but I do know that years ago I used to enjoy taking the metro and showing it off to all those that visit me in this Capital City. Until we figure out how we can handle the surge of riders (can you blame them with gas being priced at $4.50?) I am going to stick to the crosstown buses and take in more of the city from the above ground view. Plus, at least this way, I always get a seat.

Until next time.