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The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
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represent the views of County News Online
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Metro still has
issues, but the football’s good
By Susan Olling
It’s just January, but there’s been some comment-worthy things going on
in the greater D.C. environs.
Until recently, I’ve believed that using our little subway system means
being on an adventure. Unfortunately, adventure may not be quite
the correct word that regular riders, including yours truly, would use
at the moment. I’m not worried about a terrorist
attack. This Metro regular wonders how much worse Metro’s
reliability and safety can get. Sorry, tourists, your opinions
don’t count.
During the first week of 2016, two cars on a train became
separated. During rush hour. While the train was
moving. It automatically stopped, and the passengers in the train
were stuck in a tunnel for about thirty minutes. The two cars
were eighteen inches apart. They were pushed back together, and
the train was pulled to the nearest station. Fortunately, there
were no reported injuries. Just the delays that always occur due
to single tracking around an incident. Metro’s still
investigating, but they’ve found an “anomaly” with something in the
train’s coupler system. Wow, a problem with the coupler
system. Who would have thought? I’m always a bit leery when
the train in which I’m riding stops between stations. Now we have
something new to think about. Has the train come apart?
One recent weekday morning, there were cracked rails on two stretches
of one of the lines. Passengers had to contend with single
tracking trains that created the usual delays for anyone trying to get
anywhere on that line.
Rowdy teenagers have been a problem on Metro for years, particularly
when these kids are out of school for the day. More recently,
there have been reports of bike riding on station platforms, kids
discharging fire extinguishers and kicking rail car windows, and
fights. Passengers have been attacked by groups of these
hooligans. Probably the worst of these occurred involved a
passenger who was mugged by teenagers on his way home from work.
During the attack, which apparently began as a robbery attempt, the
man’s jaw and collarbone were broken; and he had a
concussion. Once you’re in a train, there’s nowhere to go
when these little trolls decide to commit a crime. Metro police
should be more of a presence on trains and in stations to begin with,
but certainly when the kids are about. Probably too much to ask.
We can’t forget the robberies that go on as well. Favorite
targets are people who are hypnotized by their electronic devices
whether they’re on a train or waiting for one. Someone grabs the
electronic toy, and off they go.
I think I’ve mentioned in the past that one of Metro’s overhead
announcements mentions no smoking in the Metro system. A couple
of Saturdays ago, while waiting for a Shady Grove train, I smelled
cigarette smoke. Further down the platform was someone
smoking. If you can’t wait to light up, do it somewhere
else.
There was news a few days ago that some Metro employees were being
charged with theft. Per the reports, there was quite a little
scheme going on. But now they’re former Metro employees under
arrest.
Metro wasn’t the only entity causing lots of discussion. One of
our public utilities decided to upgrade its eService portal a week
before Christmas as people were due to pay their bills. A
few days after the exercise was supposedly completed, people were still
having trouble paying their bills on-line. We seemed to be part
of the smaller group that could get into our accounts and schedule
payments. As of this writing, the portal still has “issues” (no,
the word is problems). This company’s helpful suggestions include
trying to log-in during off-peak hours or using your mobile
device. Don’t try to log-in between midnight and 3:00 a.m.
That’s when there’s maintenance going on to resolve technical
problems. Or customers can call and pay their bills over the
phone. No, just get this “upgrade” done properly.
The Washington football team, at least that’s what some sportswriters
call it, stumbled their way into the playoffs and quickly stumbled
their way out. This bunch should be thankful they played in a
powder-puff division. At one point, it was thought the winner
among the sorry quartet that was the NFC Least might have a 6-10
record. Hope sprang eternal among the sportswriters, talking
heads, and fans. The Redskins faithful are now talking about
bigger and better things next season. Yawn.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Seattle-Minnesota game, though. Perfect
football weather and a clean game. Unlike what happened in
Ohio. Thank goodness the Steelers won.
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