Metro responds

Last week I wrote a blog about a very disturbing Metro experience that apparently isn't all that uncommon. After reading through some other blogs and news sources, it seems that Metro has faltered in several areas of customer safety. I wrote Metro with a formal complaint, and then forwarded that email to the Blade, Metro Weekly, and the GLBT Liaison Police.

I received a phone call from Metro 2 days after my email, and a very VERY professional and courteous man spent a good amount of time discussing the situation with me.

Basically, the Metro transit police has about 400 officers employed to monitor over 80 Metro stations, 1,600 bus lines, and over 100 miles of railways throughout DC and the metro area. He explained that their resources are spread thin, and so every Metro station cannot be manned with an officer at all times (I just realized how sexist the verb "to man" is ... correction-- "every Metro station cannot be person-ed with an officer"). Therefore, it is sometimes faster to get the train to the officers rather than get the officers to the train.

Staffing, budget constraints, etc. etc. etc. and certainly not the answer I wanted to hear. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing this man could do to magically fix the problem.

So money and staffing aside, my biggest concern was the lack of communication on the part of the train operator. If the train is being moved and transit police have been (or will be) notified, shouldn't the passenger(s) know about it? Wouldn't an announcement by the conductor potentially deter the harassers?

Mr. Red Line Security Manager Man said that this was definitely a concern of his, and they were currently using the information I provided to identify which operator was running the train at the time. I think he'll get in trouble, which I'm not too happy about, but safety supersedes my guilt and hopefully this operator will not make the same mistake again.

Metro's advice? Ride in the train car closest to the operator.

I feel so safe.