Hooray (maybe) for the Farragut Crossing - a true story

Last week I went to an event near the Van Ness metro.  I started home about 10pm, taking the Red Line from Van Ness towards downtown DC.  Prior to the introduction of the Farragut Crossing transfer, I would have changed to the Orange Line at Metro Center.  However, with the advent of this potential time saver, I planned to exit at Farragut North, walk to Farragut West and catch the Orange Line from there.  If the timing worked out, there was a possibility I would catch a train that was one train ahead of the one I would have otherwise caught.  That could save me 12-20 minutes--well worth it.

What I failed to anticipate (and one of the disadvantages of the tunnel being "invisible.") was that it would be pouring rain at Farragut Square.  I mean just sheets of rain, with thunder and lightning.  Yow!  I stood for a moment with two dozen others at the top of the escalator shielded from the storm.  I could see the Farragut West entrance beckoning me just 500 feet away.  I retreated back down the elevator, figuring I would use the usual transfer.  But then I went back up to see if maybe the rain was slowing down.  It wasn't, so I went back down.  Next train to Metro Center: 20 mins.  Now I was regretting getting off my train at all.  Back up.

The walk signal turned in my favor on K Street, so I made a spontaneous decision and a mad dash, covering the total distance in under a minute.  It didn't matter, though, I got thoroughly soaked anyway.

The awesome outcome was that an Orange Line train going my way pulled up just as I got to the platform.  This was probably the same train I would have been on had I changed at Metro Center originally (only drier).  The first passenger I saw when I boarded the train said, "I just got a text from my friend saying it was raining, and I see she is right."

Farragut "Virtual" Tunnel (Farragut Crossing) Now Operational

I don't know if I should claim any credit for this finally happening, but I have been fairly vocal about it for a long time on several forums.  Finally on Saturday, October 29, 2011, the "Farragut Crossing" virtual/invisible tunnel transfer option began between Farragut North and Farragut West stations.

Here's the first line from my original post below:

"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."

That was August 30, 2008, 38 months ago.  I'm glad to see it finally happened, but it's a bit discouraging to see that a no-brainer idea like this one can take so long.  Imagine how long something expensive or contentious would take.

For history buffs, here's a comprehensive listing of all my posts and some other relevant links.

Farragut "Virtual Tunnel" close to reality (after only 3 years!)

The Washington Post reported today that Richard Sarles has included in his first 6-month report as full-time Director of Metro, that the "Virtual Tunnel" between the Farragut stations will be functional this fall.

I first promulgated this idea almost three years ago on the CommuterPage blog and have followed up numerous times since (More of the Invisible Tunnel, Testing the Invisible Tunnel, Now Even More Invisible?, Metro's response). Here's what the Post said today:  "In his first six-month report since being hired as Metro’s permanent chief, Sarles also said the agency will create a 'virtual tunnel' between Farragut North on the Red Line and Farragut West on the Orange and Blue lines, allowing riders to go from one station to the other without paying a new fare."

Why it took this long is a bit of a mystery.  Metro has been tying this service to changes in the SmarTrip card, which are finally just now being completed.  However, I learned way back in 2008 that the capability has always existed--even with paper farecards--to implement this service.

It will be interesting to see how popular the tunnel is once the ridership is educated about it.

Metro's Response to Latest "Invisible Tunnel" Query

The idea of a virtual tunnel between the two Farragut stations on Metrorail was the subject of several of my posts about two years ago (first, second, third, fourth). The idea is to allow passengers to exit one Farragut station and enter the other within a set period of time, counting the whole thing as a single trip rather than two trips.

Given that Metro is currently making significant changes to its fares, I suggested to Interim General Manager Sarles that now would be a good time to also incorporate this long overdue idea for several reasons:

• Metro staff is already working on making many changes, so it would be more efficient to implement now than come back and make more changes later.
  
  
• Many customers are understandably unhappy about fare increases. Implementing the invisible tunnel would provide a positive change in operations that would add convenience for some of your riders to help offset some of the negative PR that comes with fare increases.
  
  
• It's a no-brainer: It decreases congestion at Metro Center, provides a speedier ride for some customers and has absolutely no downside whatsoever.

Mike Russo, Metro's Assistant Chief Engineer for Automatic Fare Collection Systems, told me that they support the idea, but it "will not be an easy programming effort" because of memory limitations in the faregates, but that they hope to "re-examin[e] the Farragut transfer concept later this year" after the current fare changes are done. Here is the complete text of his letter:

Testing the Invisible Tunnel

If you haven't seen my previous posts about the invisible/virtual tunnel connecting the two Farragut stations, you may want to read them for background (1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post). In short, the technology exists to allow Metro riders to transfer between the two Farragut stations and treat them as though they were transferring within the system. Metro should implement this idea immediately, since there is no downside, many riders will save time, and congestion at Metro Center will be reduced.

Recently I had a meeting at American University, which provided me the perfect opportunity to try out the transfer for myself. I was traveling from Arlington, so I followed the route shown in the diagram above, getting off at Farragut West, walking up 17th Street to Farragut North and then taking the red line to Tenleytown. I made the same trip in reverse on the return.

I took a stopwatch with me to see how long it would take. For the initial trip I reached the top of the escalator at exactly the wrong time to cross I St. and had to wait the full light cycle. I waited about 25 seconds to cross K St. I was standing on the platform at Farragut North 5' 13" after the doors opened on my train at Farragut West. On the return trip I arrived on the street during the walk signal at K St. but had to wait about 20 seconds at I St. I was on the platform 4' 10" from the time the train doors opened at Farragut North. I did not run. I walked at a normal able-bodied speed. Someone in a hurry could make this transfer faster; if one stands on the escalators, it will take longer.

So what does this mean? In both cases I then had to wait a little bit for the train, so I likely ended up on the same one as I would have had I made the usual transfer at Metro Center. However--particularly on the return trip--had I arrived on the platform just in time to catch a train, that train would almost certainly be one train earlier than what I would have caught at Metro Center.

Based on this one experience, I would guess that a person making this transfer during rush hour will catch the earlier train at least a couple of times a week and possibly as much as half the time if they hustle. During periods with longer periods between trains, one will catch the earlier train less frequently, but it will save a lot more time when it happens.

The bottom line is that the transfer works and many riders will learn how to take advantage of it if it's made available to them. If you work at Metro or know who to contact to help push this forward, please do so. If you're a rider who would avail themselves of the transfer, please contact Metro and request it. I know that Chris Zimmerman has made at least one inquiry about it; perhaps he can continue to pursue this along a faster timeframe than sometime in 2010--if ever (see most recent post). A woman named Cyndi Zieman was recently put in charge of SmarTrip cards. Perhaps she can take a leadership position and make this happen. It's a no brainer; let's build the invisible tunnel!

(cross posted on Greater Greater Washington)

The Invisible/Virtual Tunnel - Now Even More Invisible?

If you're following my series of posts recommending immediate implementation of a "virtual tunnel" between the Farragut stations (1st post, 2nd post), you will be dismayed by this piece of news I read in the Washington Post yesterday: SmarTrip Upgrades Pushed to 2010.

As mentioned in my last post, in a conversation with a Metro employee, I was informed that the upgrades to the SmarTrip cards would include the capability to provide for many improved features, including these kinds of transfers (BTW - another potential tunnel that has been studied is between Metro Center and Gallery Place, which would also be a candidate for a virtual tunnel).

According to the Post, the software vendor, Cubic Transportation Systems, has missed deadlines and run over budgets and basically screwed this whole process up pretty badly.
Evidently, Cubic has been WMATA's fare technology vendor for the entire history of the agency (and apparently has gotten fat and happy and stopped worrying about satisfying their client). Might be time to inject some competition.

Back to the point of these posts, though. Given this new delay (and who knows if deadlines will be missed again), I could probably dig the tunnel myself with a shovel and a pick before the software upgrades are completed. I'm of the understanding that the current SmarTrip cards and farecards can accommodate the minor software change to allow for the virtual tunnel to be implemented now. Why not ask Cubic to make this simple change as a small concession for their inability to deliver the other upgrades on time and on budget? I think Metro could and should request it. What do you say, Mr. Catoe? Or maybe the new SmarTrip card director, Cyndi Zieman, can take the initiative to get it done herself.

Stay tuned! I tested the transfer personally and will relate my experience in my next post.
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(Shout out to Greater Greater Washington for picking up on my posts)

More of the Invisible Tunnel

I'm pleased that my recent post about creating a virtual tunnel between the Farragut stations has gotten some notice, which may actually be helping to move this idea forward. Blogs that have picked it up include:

Greater Greater Washington

Beyond DC (19 comments on this one)

Chuck Coleman's Random Thoughts blog included an electronic communication he had with Shiva Pant, sitting in for John Catoe, on a lunchtime chat. Pant indicated that the electronic transfer is in the works.

I had a personal conversation with someone at Metro, too. He told me something similar: the SmarTrip software is being significantly upgraded to allow for a lot more functionality with the cards (evidently, SmarTrip cards aren't all that smart right now). The capability to do transfers like this is being included in the software upgrade, but it's at least 9 months out before that upgrade will go into place. He said that he had heard that Chris Zimmerman had inquired internally about it. I don't know if that was because of my communication with Mr. Zimmerman or not, but I'm glad that he's engaged.

However, and this is important, just because the SmarTrip upgrade will include the capability to do this transfer, doesn't mean it will go into effect at that time! My contact said that the "business side" of the system has to be addressed, too. . .and that could take six months. It may be necessary to amend the fare tariffs to include this change, and that requires public input and other meetings, etc.--which take time.

So Metro needs to get started on that part of the process now.
That way, the "virtual tunnel" transfer can go into effect immediately upon the upgrade. Those of you who read this blog and have any contacts at Metro, please help out by checking to make sure the institutional infrastructure is prepared, too.

I read the fare tariff, and, in my opinion, I'm not sure any changes would actually be necessary. Currently, fares are determined by distance without any specific issues associated with transfers at L'Enfant or Metro Center or elsewhere. No fare tariffs would have to change if a physical tunnel were built between the stations. So I think one could interpret the tariff as already accommodating all transfers--whether they are through a physical tunnel or electronic tunnel shouldn't make any difference.

However, knowing bureaucracies like Metro, they'll figure out a way to make it a months' long process, so anything we can do to get that started should start now.

And a final soapbox. I believe that if Mr. Catoe directed staff to put this transfer in place now, it could get done in a matter of weeks. My contact said the current software is capable. Waiting for the upgrade is a convenient excuse. But every day that goes by costs Metro riders 30-100 hours of wasted time (my best guess) not to mention the lost opportunity of reduced congestion at Metro Center.

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?