MSU Red Cedar Message Board

People Mover not cost efficient but it does what it is suppossed to do especially when downtown is humming. It moves people from area of the city to another. Coleman Young's brainchild.

"Incomptence and negligence" is totally on point. The Metro system is about 35 years old but the buffoons running it are taking it downhill. It's down with a few inches of snow. They mow down their own maintenance crews on a regular basis. Until about a year ago they didn't bother to link frequencies with first responders in case of a mishap. The platforms are big enough but are jammed in the middle because there are not enough in-service cars. Management is afraid to rasie fares to acquire rolling stock or cover even basic maintenance.

And Metro has to manage only about half the track mileage of the CTA and maybe 1/6th that of MTA. Try Rosslyn or L'Enfant around rush hour. A lot of the Metro track has two lines sharing it, even outside central DC. When the system blinks things turn into chaos quickly in those busy stations. Have rarely seen that in NY or Chicago. Metro has less crime than the CTA so that's certainly a plus.

Here's an example of how Metro manages things like "routine maintenance" and access when doing it. Returned last week Sunday about 9PM, and headed for the DCA station. Either yellow or blue gets me home. They close at midnight on Sunday, so I figured I was good to go and wouldn't have to grab a cab. I swipe in and the escalator is not only not running, there's a tape barrier in front of it.

WTF? I ask the half-wit Metro employee what's going on. She says " You can't get to the trains." Why? Because we are working the tracks. While this is going on 4 or 5 other pax swipe in. Now we can't get out w/o swiping again and paying the minimum fare? The guy behind me says .... Then why don't you get off your fat ass and put up a sign out front that says the station is closed? Answer: "Not my job."

How often are you downtown ? The people mover doesn't work well at all. It is almost empty most days....yet during busy times (Autoshow) you can't even get on...there isn't sufficient space. The trains only go in one direction leading to long wait/ride times. Not to mention there are plenty of times when the thing isn't running at all.

Pretty much sums up WMATA...

Yep. Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle share a similar vibe on a lot of fronts.

It really serves nothing, maybe the Joe or the Greektown Casino but it just goes to nowhere in a loop

I'm down there quite often. Like I said, it does what its intended. But I grant you the maintenance problems and low ridership during non event times puts it at risk of becoming extinct. Personally, I'll jump on it occassionly but I can easily walk from the Joe to Greektown and avoid the long lines.

TTC subway is very limited- it's only a U shape north and south with one line east and west. DC Metro has the nicest trains but some inconvenient stops like Adams Morgan. Boston, NY, and Chicago seem to get you anywhere you need to go in the city.

Denver and Cleveland have some limited light rail routes.