DC Metro System's Culture War

I can only wish the executive team charged with improving Washington, DC's beleaguered Metro transit system the best of luck - they will need it.

It's been quite a few years since I rode Metro regularly to work and back. And it's no secret that commuters on Metro have had much to contend with over the last several years - breakdowns, escalator outages, horrific accidents and safety issues, etc. Saturday, I took Metro downtown to meet some good friends. Here is how my re-introduction went:

I arrived at the station, which appeared to be in mid-renovation, but had no signs of immediate work being done. I approached the card machine; the posted fare schedule indicated my trip would be $1.35. I put that amount of money in the machine - but no card came out. Nothing indicated how I was supposed to retrieve my card, nor why it wasn't giving me one. Other riders came and went, purchasing their cards successfully. I hit cancel, and tried another machine. And another. A kind gal tried to help, but couldn't figure out what was wrong, either. The train came and went - I could hear it, see people rushing - still I had no card. Finally, alone, I looked around to see a Metro employee sauntering along aimlessly. I asked for help, and he gruffly replied that the fare was $1.45. OK, I said, but why won't the machine allow me to get a card? Visibly annoyed, he told me to put in another dime, and hit the button by the light that magically appeared this time saying "Take Card". I asked, why does the fare schedule read $1.35? I got a curt reply as he turned to leave, "Fares go up tomorrow".

Ha. Really.

Where do I begin to point out the things that were wrong with this exchange? I don't mind the ten cents. I am really annoyed about the total lack of customer service, politeness, empathy, and the fact that I missed my train (and was late). And I find it very poor that there was no signage indicating fare changes, a posted fee schedule that was apparently incorrect, and silliest of all - that I was somehow supposed to know that fares went up the next day, so therefore I had to pay a different rate than was posted... today.

The charming fellow that clued me in to the fare hike was perhaps only bested by the alternately sleeping/staring slovenly, disheveled young Metro employee on the train, slouching in a handicapped seat, shirt untucked, feet spilling into the aisle such that one was forced to physically go around him to walk to the seats farther back.

So the new folks at Metro have their work cut out for them. Good luck. You can't fire all your employees and maintain a working system, but changing such attitudes and work habits is a herculean task. Improvements will be slow, hard fought, and like so much of the DC government, require a gradual turnover of employees to new ones who somehow manage not to be infected with the lack of work ethic or inattentiveness that's brought us to where we are now.