I start a new job (woo hoo!) this week, and will be taking the Metro for the first time. My only mass transit experience involves the Boston system, over 20 years ago, so I don’t think I have much of a frame of reference. If it helps, I have to go two stops on the Blue line, transfer to the Orange line, and go two more stops… total trip time of about ten minutes, not counting waiting for trains.
I know to keep an eye out for pickpockets, not take out my phone in front of folks, stand on the right/pass on the left on the escalators, let folks out of the train before trying to go in, don’t stop suddenly in front of people (especially at the top/bottom of escalators and fare machines), and try not to make eye contact. I have a SmartCard, so no need to mess around with money/tickets. I looked up the crime stats- the transfer station has no reports at all in the past three months, and the departure/arrival stations primarily have fare jumping/drunk in public incidents, though I see that the system has seen a big increase in overall crime (and mugging/pickpockets in particular) in the past year. I don’t have to drive to the station, so I don’t have to worry about carjacking/auto break-ins.
Any experience Metro users who can give me any tips/suggestions? I want to be sure to be a courteous/smart commuter. If you have any stories about the slug system (which I’ll also be taking advantage of for the first time- so many new things to try!! ), I’d love those too!
It’s pretty safe, crime wise, as long as you exercise standard minimal precautions. I wouldn’t be concerned about it. I use my phone all the time, and see a lot of other people do likewise, including petite women. The only time I’d be really concerned is in the deserted parking lots of the PG county stations late at night. That doesn’t seem like an issue for you. The trip you describe is going to be full of white collar Federal employees and lawyers.
ETA: thanks for figuring out the “stand right, walk left” rule. I’m surprised how many people don’t get that. Also, sometimes the trains can be annoying right after school lets out.
I used to work for the company that built the fare collection systems for WMATA. Not that that helps you at all, but I thought I’d mention it. I rode it for a few days while I was in DC, and I found it generally clean, and less complex than the New York subway. I didn’t get mugged, and neither did my wife, so by that small sample size, it’s perfectly safe.
During normal commuting hours it’s just full of commuters – I never gave crime a second thought, and there’s not really any rules or customs that you can’t pick up in 5 minutes. It’s just a bunch of boring people going to work.
Different lines have different busy periods, but generally speaking, the earlier you ride the better. My main pet peeve was people not moving to the center of the car when there was a throng of people trying to get on the train.
Tourists will annoy you in the summer, and every once in a while there’ll be a rowdy group of schoolkids, but otherwise it’s a pretty painless way to get around.
My only experience of the DC metro was from a week long vacation there. And, I’m sure I was the dumb annoying tourist the first day.
The only thing that surprised me was just how courteous everyone was. It was crowded, but there was no pushing or shoving or cutting in line. Everyone waited their turn and got on and off in an orderly fashion.
Oh, and my wife was about 7 months pregnant during that trip. Every single time we got on standing room only train, somebody offered my wife a seat. Every time. Good people in DC, from my experience.
If you survived the “T” and actually got where you wanted to be, the DC Metro will seem like the Disneyland monorail. It’s well lit, well signed, and the people who work there will be helpful.
Rule #1: don’t stop at the top or bottom of the escalators - keep moving!
If you slug you should go to Rosslyn instead of the Pentagon. That way you cut out the long walk into and out of the metro. Lines are usually shorter too.
Quite painless, really. I’ve never lived there but have had family around DC off and on for years so I’m not unfamiliar with it. The tourists who don’t know the stand right/walk left and not to stop at the top or the bottom of the escalators things piss this occasional tourist off almost as much as they do the locals – or should I say, the ones who don’t figure it out. I’m sure many do eventually, but you’d think at least not stopping at the top of an escalor anywhere would be a common sense sort of thing!
I too was surprised at how courteous everyone was – to their faces. Several times while waiting for a train in my recent summer trip to DC, I positioned myself outside the range of the opening doors only to have a bunch of my fellow tourists rush in before me once they opened. The commuter inside patiently waited for them to pile in, then mumbled something about waiting for the outboarders – directly at me. Not sure if they were commiserating, mumbling to themselves, or thought I was another one of the annoying tourists even though I had waited, but it seemed pretty passive-aggressive to vent their frustrations at someone other than the rude party.
I understand that there has been a rash of phone thefts recently, but I think it’s still very common practice to read/email/whatever on your phone during commuting hours. Or maybe I’m the only one and I’ve never looked up long enough to see what other people are doing.
This is a fairly common utterance for commuters. If someone is holding or blocking the door there is a good chance that the door will jam. A jammed door will get your train deboarded. It’ll happen to me every few months, but more often during the spring/summer. It’s really farking annoying.
She’s not that nice – IIRC, they re-recorded her voice because she wasn’t stern enough. This after they replaced the original PA voice of decades standing because she wasn’t stern enough.
Anyway, with very few exceptions, crime on the Metro (which I’ve never seen) is limited to people getting their smartphones boosted. The typical profile is someone’s holding it casually (or balancing it on their lap like I do) as the train pulls into a stop and someone grabs it on the way out.
There’s also been some rowdiness associated with kids getting out of school, and that’s been on the rise. I believe it’s centered around Gallery Place, so it sounds like you won’t have to deal with it.
Ludovic, hey, maybe that was me! Fuckin’ tourists.
Tourists not understanding the stand/walk rules of the escalator or the elevator rules of getting on and off the train is by far the most common thing you’ll have to deal with. My solution is to drop a shoulder and damn the torpedoes, but I’m carrying somewhat more mass than the average commuter.
Yeah, the voice on the PA is considerably brusquer now. It used to be this melodious woman saying, “The doors are closing. Please stand clear of the doors. DING DONG.” Now it’s a sharp voice saying, “STEP BACK. DOORS CLOSING.”
OP, as long as you don’t stand around obliviously blocking access to elevators, doors, or farecard machines, you will be fine. Commuters are tolerant of pretty much anything that doesn’t disrupt the flow. Don’t stop at the end of escalators, don’t stop right as you get on or off the train, etc. As far as safety goes, it’s pretty safe, but of course take your normal common sense precautions. There have been occasional problems with youths fighting in stations and we have property crime problems like anybody else, but as long as you stay aware and alert you should be completely fine.
The system itself is pretty clean, quiet, and well-marked as compared to some other subways I’ve ridden, but has more than its fair share of mechanical problems. At any given point, about 25% of the escalators and elevators will probably be out of service. The trains also occasionally run into things or get stuck. We had a terrible crash in 2009 that killed a number of people (which I’m sure you heard about), which thankfully hasn’t happened again but which was symptomatic of budget and maintenance issues. If you want to see where it happened, ride the Red Line between Takoma and Fort Totten and look for where the fence suddenly changes and looks much newer.
Metro employees are a good resource if you have a problem, and other commuters are generally very willing to help if you get lost or something.
Yeah, there isn’t much more to it, get on the train, get off the train. I’ve never worried about crime on Metro. What pisses me off is that they don’t really enforce the no eating rules anymore. I remember when Donna Rice got arrested for eating on the Metro and I fully endorsed the action.
Know how the fares work. You are given a ticket when you purchase the fare; you need it to get off the Metro, not just get on it. I’ve seen massive slowdowns at the turnstiles when a bunch of New York City-based protesters didn’t realize they needed the ticket to leave.
The ticket is needed because the fare can vary depending on the distance. If you don’t have enough on your ticket, you can purchase an exit fare at the station, but it’s best to put the correct amount on the ticket (or buy a day ticket, if possible). There are also different fares at different times of the day.
The first/last car is generally the least populated if getting a seat is important to you, but since you’re only going a few stops it probably won’t be an issue.
Also know that if you don’t have enough money on your SmarTrip card to cover your whole fare the system will let you exit with a negative balance, provided there was a positive balance before exiting. It won’t let you back in until you recharge the card, but it’s a good thing to know.
:eek::eek::eek: That’s one of the stations I’ll be at!!! (( runs screaming )) puddleglum, I didn’t realise you can slug to Rosslyn. I might have to look into that (you rightly guessed my plan is to slug to the funny-shaped building ).
So I’ll add ‘move to the centre of the car’ and ‘keep SmarTrip card hand for exit’ to the list- do I need it to transfer as well, or is it just when exiting the system?
All these posts are incredibly helpful… thanks for reassuring me!
I have a SmartCard, so no need to mess around with money/tickets. I looked up the crime stats- the transfer station has no reports at all in the past three months, and the departure/arrival stations primarily have fare jumping/drunk in public incidents, though I see that the system has seen a big increase in overall crime (and mugging/pickpockets in particular) in the past year. I don’t have to drive to the station, so I don’t have to worry about carjacking/auto break-ins.
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