Is our Metro system cursed?

Many depend on metro system to get to work especially to get to Washington D.C. With the parking rate increase in D.C. ($2 for an hour to park including Saturdays) and the recent metro and bus fare increase by 10 cents (at least it is only a temporary rate increase till June 2010) to make up the $40 million deficit for the current year, metro riders are hesitant to use the metro. Is that the only reason? Early this weeks’ accident on the metro red line in Rockville killed two of the metro workers who were fixing the lines with control equipments. They were struck by the high rail truck while working on the lines past midnight.


Since this past June of 2009, Metro has been facing a downfall starting with the deadly accident of two trains colliding, killing 9 people including the train operator and hurting 80 people, followed by a train striking and killing a person on the red line in the same month. There have been some accidents or the other in every single month up until now. While everyone should understand that if a person voluntarily stands on the track or jumps in front of the train, (to commit suicide) than it is not the metro’s fault, it also becomes important that metro accidents of killing workers and riders brings down the confidence of people wanting to ride on the metro. To where metro is now in terms of rating, it had taken a decade for the same metro to build up its ratings in the years past.


The chances of getting yourself killed are much higher when one rides on the metro. People are scared to take the metro anymore. In addition to this, metro is not making any improvements in terms of making its system safer to travel. When the tracks are not safer, old models of cars still carrying passengers, one does not want to give up their lives for takes. The general manager of metro, Catoe has resigned for these precise reasons. He does not want to be killed on the tracks while he is doing a walk-through on the work that is being done.


To compound to the issue, metro is increasing fares, instead of increasing the safety of the metro system. On one hand, there is the deficit that metro needs to cover and on the other you need to get more metro riders so that metro can get more revenue. But that is not going to happen until people feel that it is safe to ride the metros. If metro wants more riders, increase the safety of the trains and then increase the fares if need be. You cannot take away the carrots (train safety) in front of the donkey (passengers - pun intended) and except it to walk towards you (metro revenue increase) also.