With the advent of Uber, it has been a while since I rode the D.C. Metro. I decided to ride over to D.C. For a meeting today (I am actually sitting in a cafe killing half an hour until the meeting starts) and figured I would take the Metro.
Things have changed since I last took the Metro. You used to be able to purchase a paper ticket for a small fee added to your fare. They have had the plastic cards for quite some time, but the paper option is now gone. The plastic card is not expensive at two dollars. With round trip fare into D.C. and the card, I paid seven dollars.
The paper cards were inserted into the turnstiles at both ends of the metro with the remaining balance printed on them. Those paper slots are now covered with a cheap plastic cover. There is a card reader on top of the turnstile that you simply touch the card to. Admittedly, this is faster than the paper system.
The nice surprise was that my train was at the platform as I walked down the escalator. I walked straight onto the train. And arrived at my destination much earlier than expected. I was really surprised at the train itself. It is a 7000 series train that was much nicer inside than the old trains.
The hard plastic orange seats of the old Metro have been ditched in favor of a lightly padded seat that appeared to be ergonomic. The seats, like most transportation are still a bit on the small side (width). The train still had the old map, which I find easier to read, as well as a digital version that updates with each stop. It even indicates how many stops until you arrive at yours.
The inside of the Metro stations also struck me as cleaner than I remember. I looked it up on my phone and discovered that Metro launched a program last year to aggressively clean and maintain the stations and trains. They believe cleaner is safer. Weird slogan, but hey, I like clean. If it takes a silly slogan, I'm all for it.
The Metro wasn't any more expensive than I remember. I paid $2.30 off peak into the city. Peak was $2.65 for my trip.
Metro also has a decent website where you can plan your trip. It combines both the train abd bus schedules. You can even map point to point and it will give you the best options.
Riding the Metro today was a nice surprise. I hope my return trip is on the newer train model as well.
