Photo by PoPville flickr user Barbara.K

From WMATA:

Beginning at 10 p.m. tonight and continuing through system closing on Sunday, shuttle buses will replace Orange Line trains between Court House and Foggy Bottom and Blue Line trains between Pentagon and Foggy Bottom to allow for rail fastener renewal, insulator replacement and sludge removal from the tunnel beneath the Potomac River.

Two stations — Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery — will be closed.

Orange Line trains will operate in two segments: between Vienna and Court House every 20 minutes, and between Foggy Bottom and New Carrollton at normal weekend service levels.

Blue Line trains will operate in two segments: between Franconia-Springfield and Mt. Vernon Square via the Yellow Line bridge at normal weekend service levels, and between Foggy Bottom and Largo Town Center at normal weekend service levels.

We’ve known it was coming…

From WMATA:

The south entrance of Dupont Circle station, located at 19th Street NW, will be closed through October, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1, to allow for total replacement of three escalators with new, modern units.

The project is part of Metro’s multi-year, $150-million plan to improve escalator and elevator reliability. Under the current plan, 94 escalators are scheduled for full replacement over the next seven years.

The existing escalators, each 188 feet long and rising 85 feet to street level, are among the least reliable and most difficult to maintain of Metro’s 588 escalators. Originally installed in 1997, the current escalators are non-standard (they were custom built to fit in the narrow entrance that was originally designed for two units), and their manufacturer no longer makes escalators, making finding replacement parts near impossible.

During the project, the three existing escalator units will be demolished and removed from the site; the area beneath the units will be modified; and new, standard size, industrial-grade escalators will be installed. Due to the tight nature of the work zone, each escalator segment being removed and installed will travel on three separate cranes between the site and street level.

A full closure of the entrance is required to provide for customer safety while heavy lifting of escalator segments takes place in a narrow workspace. As a secondary benefit, closing the entrance will allow the work to proceed on a faster timeline than would otherwise be possible.

Crane operations at street level will necessitate occasional overnight closures of 19th Street NW.

Photo by PoPville flickr user oddlittlebird.

From WMATA:

Metro will advance major rebuilding work over the weekend of January 27-29. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday.

Red Line

Crews will continue to advance NTSB-recommended track circuit replacement, a key step toward restoring automatic train operations. This weekend’s work will take place between Dupont Circle and Van Ness, with buses replacing trains between those two stations. Two stations — Woodley Park and Cleveland Park — will be closed, with alternate shuttle service provided.

Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through system closing on Sunday, shuttle buses will replace Red Line trains between Dupont Circle and Van Ness.
Red Line trains will operate between Shady Grove and Van Ness and between Dupont Circle and Glenmont. During daytime hours, every other train from Dupont Circle will turn back at Silver Spring.
Woodley Park and Cleveland Park stations will be closed.
Customers traveling through the work zone should allow about 25 minutes of additional travel time. All other customers should allow about 10 minutes of additional travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Barbara.K

From WMATA:

Metro is advising Red Line customers to allow additional travel time during this morning’s commute due to a cracked rail outside Tenleytown Station on the inbound track.

Trains are single tracking between Friendship Heights and Van Ness with delays in both directions. The disruption is expected to last throughout the morning commute.

Every other Red Line train will turn back to Silver Spring at Farragut North.

Metro personnel are en route to begin repairs.

For alternate bus options along the Red Line, click here select your station and look for “bus maps.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From WMATA:

The Massachusetts Avenue Line, Route N2 only, will be rerouted between Friendship Heights Station and Ward Circle to Wisconsin and Nebraska Avenues via the routing and schedule that existed prior to September 25, 2011. This change will restore the connection between Cathedral Avenue and Tenleytown requested by customers.

On the Park Road Brookland Line, Routes H8 and H9, several trips that operate only on days when Carroll High School is open will be discontinued due to low ridership. The affected trips are the H8 departures from Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood Station at 11:33 a.m. and 2:47 p.m. and H9 trips from Carroll High School at 11:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.

In addition, the following trips on the H8 and H9 will be discontinued due to low ridership:
• Departing Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood Station at 2:31 and 3:06 a.m. on Fridays and at 2:35 and 3:08 a.m. on Saturdays.
• Departing Mount Pleasant at 2:28 and 3:03 a.m. on Fridays and at 2:36 and 3:09 a.m. on Saturdays.

Routes 62, 64, A4, D2, D8, G2, U4, U5, W2, W6, W8: Certain late Friday and Saturday night trips will be eliminated due to low ridership. Click the link for details.

Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

I figure we haven’t done a poll in a while so for the Friday Question of the Day – let’s talk commutes – how do you most often get to work/get around town?

Personally since I became a member of bikeshare I use the bikes in place of riding metro pretty often.

And since we talk about it a lot, I’m also curious how many folks are members of bikeshare?

And last but not least since I love sweet city rides – I’m curious how many in PoPville own a car?

Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

You can read about the D.C. Taxi Service Improvement Bill here. And only a couple weeks left to take CM Mary Cheh’s taxi service survey.

“If the District establishes a uniform color scheme for taxis, what color should it be?” I’m voting Orange.

Photo by PoPville flickr user sciascia

From a WMATA press release:

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles today ordered several immediate actions today following the arrest of two Metro employees for alleged theft of revenue in connection with their jobs at the Authority.

The employees – Metro Transit Police Officer John Vincent Haile, 54, of Woodbridge, and Revenue Technician Horace Dexter McDade, 58, of Bowie, Md. — were arrested by Metro Transit Police (MTPD) and charged with conspiring to commit theft from programs receiving Federal funds.

An investigation was initiated in October 2011, when financial irregularities were brought to the attention of Metro’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The investigation was conducted jointly by MTPD, Metro OIG, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Police and the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria.

Revenue technician McDade had responsibilities for collecting revenue at Metrorail stations. Officer Haile worked as part of a specialized team within MTPD assigned to protect revenue collection.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles ordered several immediate actions today:

• Officer Haile has been suspended without pay and is in the process of being terminated. Technician McDade also has been suspended.
• The Chief Financial Officer will immediately bring in forensic accountants to conduct a thorough review of control systems and management over revenue systems to fully understand how wrongdoing occurred and to implement tighter detection systems. The review will take place concurrently with ongoing efforts of the Office of Inspector General.
• The supervisor responsible for the revenue facility has been relieved of his duties.
• Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn will conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of all policies and procedures pertaining to MTPD officers assigned to the Revenue Collection Unit – a process that may include reassignment of employees assigned to the Unit as the OIG and internal reviews are conducted.

Sarles expressed his appreciation for the assistance of the FBI, the Alexandria Police Department, the Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Alexandria, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Metro’s Office of Inspector General.

Just saying – a lot of metro fare increases…

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From a WMATA press release:

Over the three-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, Metro will advance major track work on the Blue and Orange lines, along with single tracking on the Red Line. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday night and continue through system closing on Monday, January 16.

Blue/Orange Lines
Beginning shortly before 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing Monday, free shuttle buses will replace Blue and Orange line trains between L’Enfant Plaza and Eastern Market, making intermediate stops at Federal Center SW and Capitol South stations.
Two stations — Federal Center SW and Capitol South — will be closed.
Blue Line trains will operate every 16 minutes in two segments: between Franconia-Springfield and L’Enfant Plaza, and between Eastern Market and Largo Town Center.
Orange Line trains will operate every 16 minutes in two segments: between Vienna and L’Enfant Plaza, and between Eastern Market and New Carrollton.
At stations served by both Blue and Orange line, trains will operate every eight minutes in each direction.

Red Line
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing Monday, Red Line trains will single track in two areas: between Dupont Circle and Van Ness-UDC to allow for NTSB-recommended track circuit replacement, as well as rail and fastener renewal, and between Takoma and Forest Glen to allow for fiber optic cable installation and platform rehabilitation. Throughout the weekend, Red Line trains will operate between Shady Grove and Glenmont every 24 minutes. Between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, additional trains will operate between Fort Totten and Farragut North. Customers should allow additional travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

The Washington Post shares details of a proposed 5 percent increase:

Riders who use paper Farecards would face the biggest change. Whether going two stops or 10, they would pay one-way flat fares: $6 during rush hour, $4 in off-peak times.

The proposed budget would increase rail fares in rush-hour periods by an average of less than 5 percent for those using Smar­Trip cards, according to Metro. The maximum peak fare would rise from $5 to $5.75.

Rail riders would also see changes in off-peak fares. The base fare would increase to $1.70, from $1.60, a trip. The maximum off-peak fare would be $3.50.

Bus fares would increase by a dime, from $1.50 to $1.60. Cash payments would be rounded to the nearest dollar for buses.

Most rate changes would go into effect July 1.

Does anyone still use paper cards? If so, will the greater increase on paper cards encourage you to use a smarttrip card?

Photo by PoPville flickr user available_photons

If preparing for your no pants ride this Sunday – plan for some extra time.

From WMATA:

Metro will continue to advance rebuilding efforts over the weekend of January 6-8, 2012, with trains sharing the same track along portions of the Red, Blue, Orange and Green lines. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday night.

Red Line
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing Sunday, Red Line trains will single track in two areas: between Dupont Circle and Friendship Heights to allow for track circuit replacement, and rail and fastener renewal, and between Takoma and Forest Glen to allow for fiber optic cable installation and platform rehabilitation. Throughout the weekend, Red Line trains will operate between Shady Grove and Glenmont every 30 minutes. Between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, additional trains will operate between Fort Totten and Farragut North.

Blue/Orange Lines
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing Sunday, Blue and Orange line trains will single track between Smithsonian and Eastern Market to allow for rail fastener improvements. Orange and Blue line trains will depart endpoint terminals every 26 minutes, resulting in trains every 13 minutes at stations served by both lines.

Green Line
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing Sunday, Green Line trains will share one track in two areas: between Georgia Ave-Petworth and Fort Totten to allow for rail maintenance and between Naylor Road and Branch Ave to allow for fastener renewal. Green Line trains will operate every 15 minutes.

Yellow Line trains will operate every 15 minutes to align schedules with Green Line trains.

Metro is advancing a six-year, $5 billion Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that is focused on safety and bringing the Metro system into a state of good repair. In FY2012, the CIP includes projects to replace escalators; retrofit track; replace critical track circuitry and equipment along the right of way; rehabilitate third-rail power systems, running rail and track pads; modernize 12 stations; replace 100 Metrobuses and the rehabilitate 100 more; renovate three bus garages; and install 30 new track turnouts.

The Trip Planner on Metro’s website will not reflect the impact of this work on schedules.

Always a good time. The event is organized by Capitol Improv and takes place this Sunday from 2-5pm:

Remember to try and keep undergarments PG-13 or “safer.” Indecency laws are purely subjective so as long as we avoid making people say *gasp, I’m offended* we should be ok.

Also remember this is NOT a nudism event or group, nor is it affiliated with any nudism event or group. The point of the day is not to “protest pants” it is to enjoy the hilarity that ensues when 400 people one day just… forget their pants!

Also remember to comply with any and all instruction given by anyone of authority. This is supposed to be a fun event for everyone so we aren’t out to protest or break any laws.

The afterparty this year will be held at Nellie’s Sports Bar near the U street metro exit. The event page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/342198655793527/

Hope to see lots of bare legs on the 8th!

If you’re on metro at the time and spot some intrepid travelers be sure to upload some shots to the PoPville flickr pool or send them in an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Rukasu1

From WMATA:

Blue and Orange line customers should expect delays in both directions this afternoon and evening (Thursday, Jan. 5) due to a track problem outside Stadium-Armory Station.

Metro is working to address the problem and estimates that repairs will take until 7 p.m.

Customers are advised of the following:

• Blue and Orange line trains will single track between Eastern Market and Stadium Armory until repairs are made
• Repairs are expected to continue through the evening commute (estimated time of repair is currently 7 p.m.)
• During the rush hour, trains are expected to experience 20-30 minute delays through the affected area
• Stations and trains may be subject to crowding conditions

Metro is deploying additional personnel to assist customers and provide information.

Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

From a WMATA Press Release:

This morning, Metro conducted a post-incident review of yesterday’s incident that caused the emergency evacuation of riders and prompted an investigation of a mechanical failure on one of its 5000-series rail cars.

“I want to thank the D.C. Fire Department for its leadership and recognize the outstanding job they did, both on incident command and on the safe evacuation of our passengers,” General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles said. “Our review this morning concluded that the methodical and deliberate plan that was developed with the highest safety precautions possible, combined with the exemplary work of fire, transit police and safety officials resulted in a safe and orderly evacuation in a reasonable time frame.”

While the root cause of the loss of the friction ring from Blue Line train #406 has not yet been determined, Metro officials have further identified that the loss of the friction ring is related to a potential hub failure — a part of the brake assembly that holds the friction ring in place. The cause of the possible hub failure remains under review. Metro has identified 34 hubs from the same batch on sixteen 5000-series rail cars. Those sixteen cars have been removed from service while inspections continue.

The review also identified two areas where Metro will be focused on after-action improvements. The first is improving customer communications to passengers aboard standing trains and to others before they arrive at the impacted stations, as well as those traveling throughout the system. The second area is radio communications that are challenging in certain underground locations. Signal boosting technology continues to be tested in several locations, and is being conducted today to identify possible solutions to improve radio performance.

Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi

Dear PoPville,

I often take a taxi home from National and whenever I leave the airport, the cab driver charges me $2.00 for luggage. This is the case even when I am only carrying a medium-sized duffle bag, which is small enough to bring in the back seat and as carry-on luggage. The sign in the cab says that they will only charge for “large” luggage, and when I looked it up under DC cab regulations, it says that the bag must be 32 x 18 x 9 inches for the cab to charge you extra. I generally really like DC cab drivers, but I am sick of arguing with them every time I cab it home from National. Do you or your readers have the same issue, and any suggestions on how to handle this?

This problem will likely become moot soon. A couple weeks ago the Taxi Commission proposed:

Proposed amendments will: (1) increase the “additional mile” rate from $0.25 per 1/6 mile to $0.27 per 1/8 mile which represents a mileage rate increase from $1.50 per mile to $2.16 per mile [for both intra-city and interstate fares]; (2) increase the waiting time rate from $15 per hour to $25 per hour; (3) eliminate extra fees including luggage fee, large bag fee, trunk fee, unenclosed animals fee, personal service fee, additional passengers fee, and fuel surcharge fee and; (4) change the snow emergency rate into a flat fee.

Of course the “mileage rate [will] increase from $1.50 per mile to $2.16 per mile”.