Squeezing More out of Metro with Operational Improvements

Metro ridership has been steadily rising for years. The Orange Line in Arlington and Fairfax, the "Orange Crush," has the worst crowding. In 1994, when I lived near Court House Metro, I could get a seat on my commute into DC. By 2000, I would only occasionally get a seat living two stops further out at Virginia Square. Now East Falls Church is my closest station, and most mornings it's unlikely I'll get a seat. There is no way someone at Court House ever gets one.

Metro has added some 8-car trains, which help. There is a fairly simple operational change that I believe can add capacity at no extra cost. Philadelphia has used this since 1956, and call it A and B trains. New York City called it "skip-stop" until they recently ended the practice.

Here's how it works. During rush hour each train is either an "A" train or a "B" train. Each train skips some stops. "A" trains start at Vienna and skip Dunn Loring and Virginia Square. "B" trains also start at Vienna and skip East Falls Church and Clarendon. (Skipped stops should be the least used stops, and should come in pairs, to balance ridership between the A and B trains).

The trip from Vienna to, say, Farragut West becomes 24 minutes instead of 27, a 10% time savings. The entire trip from Vienna to New Carrollton shrinks from 57 minutes to 54, saving 5%.

That time savings could allow Metro to save cars and run longer trains. There are more than 20 trains operating on the Orange Line during rush hour. Freeing up one train will allow 3 6-car trains to be extended to 8-car trains, thereby increasing the capacity.

The shorter runs could also allow more trains. Right now, Metro can't fit more actual trains through Rosslyn, but one day that might change if they send Blue Line trains up the Yellow Line, change signal technology, or build new river crossings. If it does, or if they try this on a different, less constrained line, Metro could run the same number of physical trains more frequently. Instead of 360 second headways, for example, they can reduce to 342 second headways, increasing the capacity of a line by 5%.

How does this affect passengers? Most will benefit, but some will be inconvenienced. Here are outcomes for commuters to DC from Virginia stations:

• Vienna to DC: 2 stations reduced ride time (BIG WIN!)
  
• Dunn Loring to DC: Increased waiting time and 2 stations reduced ride time (about a wash)
  
• West Falls Church to DC: Either 1 or 2 stations reduced ride time (WIN!)
  
• East Falls Church to DC: Increased wait and 1 station reduced ride time (slightly negative)
  
• Ballston to DC: 1 station reduced ride time (WIN!)
  
• VA Square to DC: Increased average wait and 1 station reduced ride time (slightly negative)
  
• Clarendon to DC: Increased average wait; no time savings (lose)
  
• Court House/Rosslyn to DC: No change

A small minority of riders traveling to one of the skipped stations also experience increased times waiting for their train. In a few cases, they may actually have to change trains if both their boarding and deboarding stations are served by different trains.

Vienna, WFC and Ballston riders all benefit, Clarendon riders lose about 3 minutes average waiting time, and Dunn Loring and EFC riders may be slightly negative or about even. The three benefiting stations represent roughly two-thirds of the ridership of these 7 stations, while Clarendon represents about 8% of the ridership. Therefore, two-thirds of the riders benefit directly. And everyone benefits from reduced crowding on the trains because of the increased capacity afforded by longer trains.

Plus, this same system could work on the other lines, too, including ones not at maximum capacity. It's probably easiest on the Red Line, since it does not have to merge with another line like the Orange does with the Blue and the Yellow does with Green.

They've been doing it for more than 50 years in Philadelphia. When I lived there (near a "B" station), it was just considered normal operating procedure. If it can work there, why not here?

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(This post is cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington, along with almost 50 comments.)

Build the Invisible Tunnel!

I can't take credit for this idea--I read it somewhere else--but it's so good that it needs to be promoted and publicized until Metro takes notice and implements it.

The idea of linking the Farragut North and Farragut West metro stations with a tunnel has been around a long time (I found a W. Post article from 1994 that mentioned it) and makes good sense. WMATA published a comprehensive study of the tunnel option, including capacity and ridership impacts, etc.in 2004. The primary impediment to building the tunnel is money. WMATA's recent Station Access & Capacity Study estimates a cost of about $25 million.

The tunnel is a great idea and probably should have been built at the time the system was built. In the meanwhile, while we wait, the technology exists to build a virtual tunnel right now. Right now!! And there is absolutely no reason WMATA shouldn't. Ridership's about to pick up again in September, so let's create the virtual tunnel right away.

What is the virtual tunnel? Simple. Metro riders who have SmarTrip cards can leave one Farragut station and enter the other station within a certain time window--say, 10 minutes--and not be charged, a free transfer (click on the image above for a map/diagram). The 2004 tunnel study estimated about 15,000 people per day would transfer using the underground tunnel (using 2003 ridership numbers). Given the greater inconvenience of going up on the street and coming back down and having to cross two intersections (300 steps from faregate to faregate. . .I counted), fewer would choose to use the virtual tunnel than a real one, but still thousands per day I would guess. That would relieve pressure at Metro Center as well as convenience the passengers who choose to take advantage.

Here's the key point: there is no downside to implementing this idea. No downside. No studies required. No excuses to put it off. Repeat: no downside. All it takes is a little computer programming and a press release to get the word out. It adds flexibility to the system at virtually no cost. No one will be additionally inconvenienced, since passengers are more than welcome to continue to use the system as usual: if you don't want to make the transfer and walk, just keep using Metro Center as before. I have wracked my brain and cannot think of a single negative impact--all pros and no cons. If someone can think of a downside, please comment and let me know what it is.

I sent a note to Arlington Board member and WMATA Board Chair Chris Zimmerman a couple of months ago recommending he push this idea to WMATA, but I didn't hear back. I don't know the ins and outs of making things happen at Metro, but this is a no-brainer; they should just do it. And what better time than right now?

The Fastest Way There

The other day my wife drove over to Washington Hospital Center for a routine medical test while I was at home in Arlington. She called after her test to let me know that some medication she had received made her uncomfortable driving home and would I mind coming to pick her up (plaudits for her sense of responsibility: not taking a chance driving while not feeling right). She had the car, though. She suggested I take a cab (I could have Metroed there, too), but I countered that by the time I waited for the cab I could probably bike there. . .and it was a nice day out, to boot. I estimated it would take about 45 minutes to ride; if I waited 15 minutes for a 25-minute cab ride, that would be 40 minutes--a wash in terms of time; big savings on the cab fare.

So I biked over. It was a bit shorter than my estimate: 38 minutes. She was amazed that I had arrived so quickly when I called from outside the hospital to ask where to come get her. She told me later that it had taken her about that long to drive over herself.

Travel in urban areas by bicycle is often the fastest and most efficient way to travel. This has been my experience for years as a bike commuter. It's always faster than transit. And often faster than cars--especially during rush hour. Here are some links supporting this point:

- Average speed of a car in London is just 7mph, says Citroen

- Travelling by bicycle is faster than you think
- Proof that biking is the fastest way to get around town (Scroll down to page 4)
- Crosstown traffic in New York City was 5.2 mph in 2000 (you can almost walk this fast!)
- This European Commission study indicates trips of 5 km or less are fastest by bicycle.

We have a foldable bike rack that we keep in the trunk of the car, which I can mount in a minute or two. I got my wife, we put the bike on the car, and I drove her home. We hit a bit of traffic on N. Capitol Street which bogged us down. So guess how long it took us to drive home (and not even rush hour yet)? That's right - 38 minutes!

How Long Does It Take? Really?

Have you ever noticed how people "adjust" how long it takes them to travel? When you ask people about their commutes, they will either undershoot to rationalize their particular choice or overshoot to make a horror story.

To whit: my wife recently changed her workplace to Silver Spring 3 days/week. We live in Arlington a 17-minute walk from East Falls Church metro. She drives to work, primarily because the walk-metro-shuttle-to-her-work trip would take almost an hour and a half each way. I encourage her to Metro, but she's justifiably resistant.

Recently our neighbor was over for tea and inquired about her new work. My wife said, ". . and it only takes 25-35 minutes to get there." After choking briefly on my tea, I challenged her on this.
Tuesday mornings at 7:30 my daughter has her piano lesson, and my wife has left it to me to get her there (without a car, because she has it). "Why is it then that you have to leave by 7:15 on Tuesdays to get to work by 8:00? You could drop [daughter] off at 7:25 and still make it to work in 25-35 minutes, right?" I asked.
Suddenly her story changed to 40-45 minutes. . .just to be safe.

Not to pick on my wife, but I hear this all the time. My experience is that drivers time themselves from the clock in their car, so they only count the time from when they pull away until they park. People who ride the bus or bike or metrorail count from when they leave home until they either enter their workplace or get to their desks.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Just an observation.

We're #2. Do we do it to ourselves?

Today's Washington Post reported on the annual congestion rankings put out by the Texas Transportation Institute, and the DC area tied for 2nd with an average of 60 hours of congestion for peak period commuters.

What caught my eye, though was this tidbit:

"You feel helpless," an Arlington resident was quoted, who drives between Rosslyn and his job in downtown Washington.

Huh? Helpless?!? He DRIVES from Rosslyn to his office on 15th St. NW! I guess that's his prerogative (maybe), but then he has no right to whine about the traffic and claim that he's "helpless." He could freaking WALK to his office in 45 minutes or less. It's at most a 15-minute bike ride--maybe less. He could squeeze on a metro train for 6-7 minutes from Rosslyn to McPherson Square. He could also get a Metrobus to Farragut Square and walk a couple of blocks.

He complains, but he is also actually part of the problem. Remember, when you are sitting in traffic, you ARE the traffic, too. He's doing both himself and everyone else a disservice by not figuring out all his choices, which are many.

What more can we do? Here's a guy with half a dozen options who still chooses to sit in traffic for a 3-mile commute. No one's going to build a new bridge between Rosslyn and DC, nor add any more roads between the river and his office. Widening I-66 won't make any difference to him. The only thing that would improve his drive is if fewer people were driving. But if he's unwilling to get out of his own car, how can he expect everyone else to stop driving, too? He's his own enemy.

More Why People Don't Use Transit

My brother-in-law, who lives in Boulder, comes to the DC area three or four times a year on business, so we like to get together for dinner while he is in town. Today's the day. He's teaching a course in the Springfield area, and we decided to meet him in Shirlington at 6:30 this evening and choose one of the many fine restaurants once we are there.

My wife is attending a seminar today at 2400 N Street NW in DC, which she traveled to by Metrorail. I suggested to her that rather than come home first at the end of the day, she go directly to Shirlington and just meet us there. Neither of us has used transit to get to Shirlington from DC, but I'm savvy, so I know I could use the Metro trip planner to get her there.

So I did, and as usual it gave me three options:
1) Foggy Bottom Metro at 5:51 (Blue line); transfer at Crystal City to the 23A; arrive Shirlington 6:27 (36 minutes)
2) Foggy Bottom Metro at 5:49 (Orange line); transfer at Ballston to the 23A; arrive Shirlington 6:26 (37 minutes)
3) Foggy Bottom Metro at 5:46 (Blue line); transfer at Crystal City to the 23A; arrive Shirlington 6:27 (41 minutes). This one's not another option! It's the same bus as #1, just an earlier train.

None of these is the best choice, though. Being familiar with the area and our transit system, I was pretty certain that there are buses from the Pentagon to Shirlington. Lo and behold, there are. In fact, I learned that she could catch a bus direct from the Pentagon to Shirlington at 5:59, 6:02, 6:07, 6:15 (2 choices of bus) or 6:25. This is clearly the preferred choice--for two reasons. First, it's fastest (how come the metro planner failed to find this choice?). She can catch the train at Foggy Bottom at 6:03 and arrive in Shirlington at 6:27 (24 minutes). Second--and more importantly, it's way more flexible--if she misses her bus, it's a short wait for the next one. With the Metro Planner, if she misses the 6:10 at Crystal City, it's a 30-minute wait for the next bus.

All of this took me a good 10-15 minutes and a high-speed Internet connection to figure out. I'm not even sure if there might be some other good options that I missed (the Way to Go Interactive Shirlington map does not even show the 7E or 7C routes stopping in Shirlington Village). The larger point being that if we want people to use transit, it has to be way, way simpler. If people have to be an expert before they even get started, then they will just hop in their cars.

Let me assure you that if I had given her the Metro Planner options (or she had done it herself and not known to look for a Pentagon option) and she missed the bus by a minute or two, I would never get her to do it again. She would either drive or take a taxi. Or more likely, she would leave her seminar early, come home first and then drive with us to Shirlington, an hour-long exercise rather than 24 minutes.

So I instructed her to go the Pentagon and catch the 7C or the 7E. I had to write it down, though, because the 7A, 7B, 7D, 7F, 7H, 7P, 7W and 7X don't go there or aren't running or something. Why are there 10 different 7's? Just to make it harder on passengers? I'll rant on that on a different post (click here).

Riding the Bus: Not Easy

I'm a transportation and environmental professional. Twenty-three percent of my adult life I have not had a car at all, and the rest of the time only one (even now--with a family of four). I have ridden transit systems in more than a dozen US cities and three European ones. I put time into studying maps and bus schedules so that I can get around.
So if it's hard or unpleasant or anxiety-ridden for me, then it's going to be virtually impossible (or intolerable) for the person who has either a difficult time or a low tolerance.

About a week ago I was in the Clarendon area and I needed to get to Courthouse. It's about a 12-15 minute walk, but I had lingered and was now cutting my schedule tight. If the ART Bus was coming along, I could hop on and get there in 4-5 minutes. Fortunately, I was actually meeting with someone who had the schedules for the ART buses on hand. I checked the schedule: it said 11:47 AM at Wilson and Highland. I looked at my cell phone: it said 11:43 AM. Perfect--I could be at the stop in about a minute or so.

p>I get to the stop and look at the kiosk. It says 11:45 AM for Wilson and Highland; my phone says it's 11:44. Why don't the kiosk and the schedule jive? Did I make it on time, or was the bus a minute early and I just missed it? I feel just a wee bit of anxiety wondering.

So I wait. 11:47 comes and goes. I wait some more. . . 11:49. Now I'm getting a bit more anxious that it already came. . . or it's not coming at all--I've had the experience where buses just fail to show up entirely--. . .11:51. . .11:52. I'd be most of the way there by now if I had chosen to hoof it, but now I've invested 8 minutes waiting, and I'm shifting my weight from foot to foot, because I was already cutting it close and now I'm using up all my buffer. . .plus some. Do I hail a cab? Keep waiting? Run the 8 blocks? The next bus is scheduled for 12:05. I could go down into the Metro, but at that time of day I could wait 12 minutes for the next train. . .plus there's the extra time getting up and down the escalators.

11:53. Whew! Here it comes. The bus. I end up at Courthouse at exactly the same time as if I had walked (but $1.25 lighter). I have to cut out one task I was hoping to accomplish prior to my next meeting, but I salvage my schedule and am not late.

The bus was about as far off schedule as possible - 80%. Two minutes later and it's 100% off schedule (10 minutes is the most a bus with 20-minute headways can be off; if this bus had been 11 minutes late it would have ostensibly become the 12:05 running 9 minutes early).

If I weren't a transit maven and booster--just a professional businessperson trying to get around Arlington--would I ever take another chance on that bus? Unlikely. In fact, I didn't see anyone else on that bus who resembled a businessperson or professional. If I hadn't had the highly unusual experience of meeting with someone who keeps schedules on hand and happens to know that the bus is called the number 41? Hardly. Easy? Not really. Stress-reducing? Quite the opposite.

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