What will they think of next?

As I read WTOP as I do every morning when I get to work I came across the following article and decided this was the perfect opportunity to catch up on my metro blogging. And as I have done in the past I will throw my two cents out there within the article – Enjoy!

Metro May Eliminate Carpet in Subway Cars
May 10th - 7:44 am

WASHINGTON (AP) - Metro may eliminate a luxury that was added 30 years ago to help lure suburbanites out of their cars. (I would hardly call the carpet a luxury – It’s a good day if you don’t step on a patch of pilled carpet that you may or may not trip on.)

The transit agency this summer will test the idea of removing carpet in a pair of cars and replace it with slip-resistant vinyl flooring. (Easier to scrape the gum off of and more likely that you will stick to the gross floor because of all the bottles that you find rolling around.)

Metro, the nation's second busiest subway system, is one of just a few major transit systems to have cushions and carpet. (We should feel so special – My ass hardly ever got to feel a cushion with all the people that ride the train and get on at the magical stop that allows you to feel the cushion on the seat)

Metro's new interim general manager Dan Tangherlini (can anyone pronounce this characters name....or is it just me?) wants to give riders a feel for a subway car that would be less expensive to maintain. (Thought – maybe this will allow them to lower fares for riding…....I may be on to something, although I seriously doubt it.) It costs more than $1 million per year to replace filthy carpet and worn-out seat cushions and more than $6 million per year to clean the rail cars (hmm…I never recall seeing any NON-FILTHY .carpet , is it perhaps because they Don’t replace it like they say they do?)

The carpet comes from Taiwan (why does everything have to be MADE IN TAIWAN?) and costs $5,200 per rail car. The seat cushions cost $17 to $35 and are made by prisoners in Virginia (I suppose I am ok with this, however Metro does travel throughout DC and Maryland also – what are THOSE prisoners doing????)

Information from: The Washington Post (http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=786884)
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


So there you have it folks, my two cents for the morning. Since I no longer ride the BBB and I find this terribly sad, I have to resort to reading about the CHRO unles something exciting happens on the RAGING RED when i go to lay in the "Cancer Coffin". One good things has come out of it though, I have found secret “traffic avoiding” ways throughout SE DC. When in doubt, follow the caravan of white people that are all turning at the same intersection and continue to follow them until you are in a familiar area.

Happy Hump Day!
~S~