goldberg/flickr

Over at Greater Greater Washington today, Michael Perkins points to a long-time problem for tourists and visitors to the capital--the Metro ticket machines. The machine offers three different fare columns, differentiating fare based on time of day. This overwhelming chart confuses people, Perkins says, and creates unnecessary barriers to navigating WMATA trains.

The solution? Perkins suggests axing the different time-of-day fares for those without SmarTrip cards:

One way to simplify fares for tourists and people who don't have SmarTrip cards would be to simply make a fixed fare, equal to the peak-of-the-peak fare, that applies all the time to paper farecards. With this, Metro could also eliminate of the paper farecard surcharge.

 

Such a move would not be without drawbacks. SmarTrip card usage is high for bus (78%) and rail (82%), but there are still barriers for people with disabilities and limited incomes that prevent them from using SmarTrip cards. Any move to reduce the discounts available on paper farecards should be implemented alongside improvements that allow everyone to use SmarTrip.

But a table with just one, instead of three, columns would simplify the system particularly for those visiting DC, who are very likely to buy paper farecards. Since everyone knows (or should know!) what station they're going to, it makes the decision easy. You no longer need to know what time you're going or returning. If you're traveling during the peak of the peak, there's even a small discount compared to today because the fare for paper and Smartrip are the same.

Are there any other drawbacks you see to this idea?

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WMATA

Of all the institutions to offer "official, branded merchandise," D.C.'s Metro doesn't seem like the most likely. The public transit system is functional enough, respected enough, but hardly the source of personality and flair that makes it a natural fit for merchandise.

Still, the effort's worth a try. Why not try to tap into the fierce tourism of our nation's capital?

But the offerings in Metro's recently relaunched gift shop, unfortunately, come across as drab and homogeneous as so many of the Metro stations in D.C. (via D.C. Rider). The gift shop will be a hit if everyone decides they like black, grey, and a sad, utilitarian M adorning everything. Then again, let's look more carefully at some the items and consider giving WMATA the benefit of the doubt here.

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Plan accordingly, D.C. travelers. The following tweets are all from the last hour, and earlier ones suggest that two of the three escalators have been down for hours.

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Wikimedia Commons

New blog reports suggest that our summer on the Metro might be hotter than we hoped for this year. WMATA's new initiative Operation Cool Breeze is faulted for being, as the blog Unsuck DC Metro phrases it, little more than "Operation Hot Air," as multiple maintenance workers allegedly criticize its extensiveness and feasibility.

Summer's many virtues often disappear at the Metro door for commuters. Few experiences match navigating down into the hot tunnels only to enter vehicles that feel like even more of an inferno. Sweaty and jam-packed Metro cars swell with tourists as well as business professionals who would pay a handsome price not to be wearing their dripping business clothes. And then there's the body odor...

Earlier in 2011, Metro announced "Operation Cool Breeze" in a press release that may have given hope to many a beleaguered Metro passenger. The program would "inspect and overhaul the air conditioning units inside the agency's 1,142 rail car fleet." Metro had reportedly "hit the ground running" on the assessment in February and March, with a goal of completion by April 1st.

But in a day when the heat index is supposed to reach up to 105 degrees, we learn that the air-conditioning initiative may have fallen far short of its goals.

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John Hendel

As if moving day wasn't full of delirium already, the other week I found myself staring up at UFOs. I was in Eastern Market unloading box after box, not even on my own behalf but to help my friend Scott.  The two of us had already packed and then unpacked countless items, feared coming storms, and bonded over diner food before I noticed the extraterrestrial presence intruding on our day.

As I carried another armful of hangers back to his Eastern Market rowhome, I stopped in my tracks to look at the side of the U-haul truck. There it was: the face of an alien staring right at me. I read the text below:

The Air Force originally stated a flying saucer was found. They later claimed it was just a weather balloon. Learn more at...Uhaul.com

Does U-haul believe in Roswell's aliens?

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Google Maps

By John Hendel

Reality-show star, former Alaska governor, and possible 2012 presidential candidate Sarah Palin comes to DC this Memorial Day weekend to speak at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally. Her speech will take place on Sunday  near the Korean memorial, from what Rolling Thunder's current schedule indicates. As if DC's transportation woes weren't already great enough this weekend, the head of Rolling Thunder predicts perhaps more than a hundred thousand people will show up, according to an interview with CNN.

Palin has also, despite falling in the polls, risen as a celebrity among the conservative Tea Party movement that's emerged across the United States. Yet the Tea Party has already revealed itself to be too scared to travel through DC. Did Palin pick a poor city to kick off her One Nation bus tour?

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Twitter

Laid-off journalists, rejoice. A new job has been posted, and the pay is good. Spectacular even, at $73,000 to $110,000 a year, all for writing blogs, tweets, and Facebook updates.

The DC Metro system is, according to the Washington Post's job listings, in the market for a social media manager. Yes, you would be handling the "day-to-day management of WMATA's social media activities, including: social media monitoring and analysis; detractor response; comment moderation; Facebook facilitation; content development and publishing; editorial calendar management, execution, and maintenance; and measuring results against defined metrics."

Although when you imagine the comments that WMATA would have to moderate, might $100,000 seem too low a salary?

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Wikimedia Commons

By John Hendel

Memorial Day Weekend may be a celebration for most people, but for those who run DC's Metro, the holiday means work. WMATA is in the midst of a six-year, $5 billion Capital Improvements Program to upgrade and fix its system, from escalators to laying cables to increase cell-phone service to replacing 4,700 fasteners. But these projects also signify a headache for the DC commuter--four stations closed and an anticipated extra 40 minutes on a person's weekend Metro commute.

So how should the commuter plan ahead for this weekend? And more importantly, how is WMATA getting the word out about these delays and accommodating the stressed capital travelers?

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Memorial Day weekend is always a rough day for travelers but just pray you’re not passing through Dupont Circle—home to perhaps the capital’s worst escalator.

Dupont Circle’s a busy station and a critical stop on the Red Line, and to function properly, the station’s north entrance on Q Street relies on its three escalators to easily transport riders in as stress-free a way as possible. Or it should, anyway. One of these escalators, unfortunately, seems to be just for show.

Don’t believe me? Here, consider this photo that TBD’s Erik Wemple snapped.

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Creative Commons/Ed Yourdon

The rain that's falling today isn't sneaking up on anyone. Forecasts have been predicting these conditions for days. There's even a flash-flood watch going on.

Which makes today a highly umbrella'd day. And apparently some people out there are unsheathing some oversize specimens. Here's what @nprmonkeysee wrote on Twitter this morning:

"The giant golf umbrella has no place in the urban commute. NONE. #goodmorning"

That may be a case of wishful thinking. These rain shields are available everywhere, including your neighborhood CVS.

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