PHOTO CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION BY BENDEPENDENT.COM
One of the totally unexpected yet completely awesome side effects of doing this blog is that other people are actually interested in writing about my writing. Such is the case with the DC Rider column in today’s Express.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Vicky earlier this month and it was so cool to meet another gal who’s as passionate about public transit as I am. I hope you enjoy reading this fun recap of Metro-Venture’s last two years, and I promise, there’s still more to come!
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Good Afternoon, Emily!
I admire your undertaking, and, I applaude you emphatically.
My one comment is really an answer to your question why there is queing at the Arlington bus stops, at the Pentagon and along the Columbia Pike Corridor. It is very simple: Order and Respect. When you are the first to arrive at the bus stop, or, you arrive and there is some ahead of you, the expectation is that subsequent patrons will line up, one behind the other, and so on. So, when the bus arrives, the patrons already on the bus can freely alight from the bus without being bum-rushed, and, those waiting to board can do so in an orderly fashion. Remember all the of after-the-holiday shopping trekkers that scrambled through doorways and trampled “fellow” shoppers for great deals, even though they stood in line for extended periods of time?
Nice recap!
Also love the little graphic that accompanies the article!
Em, it was so neat to run across the Post Express story, which immediately started getting passed ’round your old office when I brought it in.
FWIW, perhaps like Jyretha Darden, I too puzzled over your comment about people queuing up at bus stops in Arlington, since it’s the most efficient and respectful way to manage a mass of people in such transactions. When that doesn’t happen, people who are simultaneously rude, strong and selfish prevail, and that’s no way to order access to public services.
When I left the office the day we saw your story, I couldn’t help noticing the queue neatly lined up for one of the outbound buses next to FAA headquarters. But, aha, that was headed to the suburbs–Arlington no doubt! Where unicorns prance on rainbows.
I’m looking forward to educating myself about the systems now that I know all this fun stuff is here. One last note: As a rider on VRE, the contrast between that system and Metrorail is stark. VRE has its own issues but they’re nothing compared to Metrorail’s. Now that VRE has all-new locomotives and maybe 65-70% of its passenger cars are new, it’s like riding in a limousine on a private highway compared to the Metro. And I’m sorry to say I’m old enough to remember when Metrorail was described like that when compared to NYC or any other major city system.