It’s 9am and I just got to work and boy are my feet tired. For most people, that’s normal. I’m not most people and I’m not normal. “Normal” for me is 8am. 8:30 at the latest.
We left early today and we caught the earlier bus. Which ended up being sort of pointless because the bus made it as far as the next stop and sat there for somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes, waiting for the new driver. While I’m thrilled that the MTA is so casual with their employees that they can enjoy the freedom to show up at their leisure, a lot of people on the bus don’t have this flexibility. Some people have connections to make. Others have to be at work before a certain time.
Because the bus sat for so long I missed the train I normally catch.
Because I missed the train I normally catch, I got the train that got stuck at Gilroy Road when the Southbound train broke down, right where the track splits.
Remember all that fuss about “double tracking to improve the ride”? Yeah, they double-tracked it all the way up to Gilroy. Then it’s back to a single track until just before Hunt Valley Town Centre.
This wouldn’t have been so bad if they’d told us when it happened. As it was, we sat there for twenty minutes with no word from the driver and no way off the train. After that, we walked.
Fortunately I only had to walk to the next stop, then it was my usual walk from there to my office. I feel bad for the people who still had to go all the way to HVTC. Especially the ones going up there to meet a connecting bus.
2 Responses to “Oh, MTA. You Never Fail To Amuse Me”
Have MTA’s stations filled with smoke or caught fire yet? :) WMATA single-tracks through the tunnel under the Potomac. Orange and Blue line trains alternate, taking turns both in direction and which line to switch to after the tunnel. I can’t wait for them to finish out the rail to Dulles so it’ll be three lines alternating (Grey, Blue, Orange).
60-90 minutes a commute from Union Station, DC, to Herndon-Monroe, VA. All of the problems you’re describing are why I don’t schedule meetings before 8AM or after 3PM, despite my usual schedule of 6:30 to 3. Public transportation isn’t any more reliable in DC than it is in Baltimore, not when you have to switch lines and catch a bus.
By Ken on Aug 30, 2007
We don’t have anything to fill with smoke. Well, there’s a subway, but I don’t know anyone who actually uses it…
Things catch fire all the time, though.
By The Ninth on Aug 31, 2007