Poll: Washington-area residents warming up to Metro again but that doesn’t mean more are riding
By Robert McCartney and Robert McCartney Senior regional correspondent covering government and politics Email Bio Follow Scott Clement Scott Clement Polling director Email Bio Follow May 10 at 7:00 AM Metro’s reputation in the region has improved dramatically in the past two years and has almost reached the positive levels it enjoyed before a fatal smoke incident in 2015, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.
“I would attribute it to the new [7000-series rail] cars, which are bright and clean. The on-time service is better. The repair work has been professionally accomplished,” Fuller said. Among those who say they are using Metrorail less, more than half cite either a specific criticism of the subway or their preference for driving or another form of transportation. Just over 1 in 3 say they ride less because of a change in a work or living situation.
The Post-Schar School poll finds Washingtonians’ ratings of Metro are positive but not glowing, with 57 percent of area residents calling the system “good” while 11 percent call it “excellent.” Negative reviews include 16 percent who called it “not so good” and 6 percent who called it “poor.” Regular riders are most likely to report positive changes. Among those who take Metro a few times a week or more often, 44 percent say the system has gotten better in the past two years, while 37 percent say it’s stayed the same, and 18 percent think it has gotten worse.
“The overall cleanliness of the trains had been declining,” said Smrchek, who typically rides the Red Line. “I think the service itself has improved. I haven’t had any delays or problems whenever I’ve used it.” The transit agency says that last year, on-time performance for the rail system reached the highest level in seven years. This year, in an effort to show that it stands by its service, the agency began offering fare refunds for rush-hour trips delayed by 10 minutes or more.Nevertheless, in March the agency reported that in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, ridership hit a new low, sinking to fewer than 600,000 average weekday trips for the first time since 2000.
D.C. resident Carolyn McCollum, a former government attorney and retired flight attendant who lives in Fort Lincoln, said Metro has improved but she rides it less because she now commutes to work in Elkridge, Md., which isn’t served by the subway.“They allowed it to go down and not keep up regular maintenance. Now that they have put a focus on improving it, it has gotten better,” McCollum said.
“When I heard trains are coming to Loudoun, I said, ‘Oh boy, the crime rate is going to go through the roof,’ ” DiPasquale said, anticipating that criminals would use the subway to travel to the suburb.
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