Random bag checks begin on Metro

...as reported by the Post. All I can say is, about time. The Metro's vulnerability to attack has secretly freaked me out ever since the terrorist attacks on London's public transit a few years back. You can walk right in to any station and onto any train carrying practically anything.

There may be high tech security measures in place on Metro currently (explosion-proof trash cans, surveillance cameras) but they are not nearly visible enough for my taste. I guess there are no civil libertarians in foxholes.

And it doesn't help that all those Fallout 3 posters are up in Metro stations right now. How would you like to see this every morning on your way to work?

Peeps on the Metro

Have you ever wondered what DC Metro employees do all day?



This is impressive. Notice that they have chosen peeps whose faces are slightly off-center--so that they appear to be facing/talking to each other.

Four people show at citywide hearing on Metro fare hike

Seriously. (WP)

Part of the reason, according to one rider, is that the hearing was held at "a conference center in Reston, that was not easily accessible by bus or rail. The rider said she could not even find it on MapQuest."

Brilliant.

Metro is proposing to increase parking fees by $1.15 a day, and fares by 30-80 cents per ride.

Giant to start selling Metro SmarTrip cards

(WP) Wow. How convenient is that?

I am never shopping at Whole PaycheckFoods again. Except when I get that "grass-fed, free-range, Tibetan-virgin-massaged lamb stuffed with pine nuts and feta" craving, or need a new bag of organic 50-cents-apiece marshmallows. (Actual product, that second one)

Metro riders: Calm. The hell. Down.

It's a familiar sight to anyone who has to take the Red Line during morning rush hour: people scrambling, clawing, sprinting, wedging themselves into doors, poking other people's eyes out with poorly controlled umbrellas, in their rush to board the next train.

The hurry would be excusable if this were the last train to leave the station like, all day. But it's not. The LED sign overhead clearly states that the next train will arrive in one (1) minute. And those signs don't lie. Ironically, this is one of several reasons the Red Line tends to slow down--the train can't leave the station on time because people are hanging out the doors.

Seriously. Is it such a big deal to be sixty seconds later to your destination this morning? What were you planning to do with that sixty seconds? Will your boss be mad if you clock in one minute late? Unless you work for the military or in a sweatshop, doubt it. (And you don't--not in that suit.) Have you considered waking up one minute earlier to avoid this difficulty? Personally, I set my alarm for 5:59 so I won't be one. minute. late.

It's this type of inanely discourteous behavior that threatens civil society as we know it here in Washington. Under a more heartless regime, the train would take off as scheduled and leave these crazy people to their fate. But this is Metrorail. So it's up to all of us to stop the madness. Do yourself a favor. Take a deep breath, step back, and wait sixty seconds for the next train.

Green Liners finally get their due!

WMATA is extending the Yellow Line up to Ft. Totten.