Metropocalypse

Latest Episodes:

Episode 17: Will Nats Fans Have To Race To The Metro Station? Oct 03, 2016

Show notes

As playoff baseball returns to Washington, D.C., thousands of Nationals fans could face a choice: Stay for the end of a game, or leave early to catch the right Green Line train? Also, we discuss the acute misery of Blue Line riders: New data suggest their Metrorail experience is the worst in the system.

Episode 16: Has Metro’s ‘Death Spiral’ Begun? Sep 13, 2016

Show notes

More than a decade ago, a top Metro official warned of the potential for a "death spiral" involving a confluence of maintenance problems, budget pressures and rider dissatisfaction. Chris Zimmerman was on WMATA's board at the time, and he explains why those warnings went unheeded. We also ask three Metropocalypse listeners about their experiences using the rail service.

Episode 15: Report Cards, Wish Lists And Maglevs Sep 06, 2016

Show notes

WMATA regularly gives itself a report card called Vital Signs, and the latest has some good news about railcar reliability, but bad news about on-time performance. We also discuss what Metro riders really want, and whether the U.S. has the desire and will to build high-speed maglev rail lines.

Episode 14: Broken Culture, Honest Announcements Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

We talk to Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans about what he wants to see as the transit agency tries to fix its infrastructure and its culture. We also hear more from the man in the middle of it all, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. And who's that coming from the train speakers? Nina Totenberg?

Episode 13: Metro’s Summer Of Stumbles Aug 19, 2016

Show notes

We walk through all the ways Metro is having a bad summer with Politico's Lauren Gardner, Greater Greater Washington's David Alpert and members of the Metropocalypse Facebook group. There's also bonus appearances from public radio luminaries.

Episode 12: ‘Death Star’ With Earth Tones Aug 15, 2016

Show notes

Next time you're in an underground Metro station, look up and around. Are you in a calming streetscape setting? Or does it feel more like an interstellar battle station? Historian Zachary Schrag discusses the architects’ original intent.

Episode 11: Track Fires vs. Garbage Fires Aug 08, 2016

Show notes

As the bad news keeps coming for WMATA, we've been thinking about how Metro's woes compare with those of older systems. Kate Hinds, who covers transportation for WNYC in New York, reminds us that every city's subway has its strengths and weaknesses.

Episode 10: Labor, Safety And Money Aug 02, 2016

Show notes

Rep. Barbara Comstock discusses how changing the pay structure for Metro's unionized workers could help the transit agency close up some of its budgetary holes. And Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, offers a counterpoint from the perspective or organized labor.

Episode 9: #Hotcars And Hot Work Jul 26, 2016

Show notes

Why is the air conditioning so bad on some Metro cars? And what, exactly, is happening out on the Orange Line tracks during SafeTrack surge No. 5? Martin Di Caro goes looking for answers.

Episode 8: Metropocalypse Now! Jul 18, 2016

Show notes

Martin Di Caro and guest co-host Lauren Gardner of Politico take a bus bridge with Rep. Don Beyer and encounter a bottleneck along U.S. 1. Come for the conversation about politics and policy — stay for the impressions of Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando.

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