Random Commuter Observations (TM)

Perhaps more people would be interested in public transportation systems if such systems did not treat their passengers like cattle.

Just an idea.

Yesterday afternoon, the heat caused some kind of track breakage on the metro. As a result, my train held for a good ten or fifteen minutes at each station before sloooowly inching its way on to the next. And just for laughs, they threw us all off at one stop so they could send the empty back in the other direction, requiring us to board the already jam-packed next one coming along. My ride, which usually takes about 25 minutes, was spun out to at least an hour and a half, all of it hot, sweaty and stinky.

I found myself jammed up next to one of those types who seems to feel the need to talk constantly, spewing a stream of the most hackneyed cliches in a loud voice calculated to draw the attention of everyone around him. Friends, I try to be charitable in my dealings with Humanity, but really, I find this type mighty hard to bear. Unfortunately, my single, tight-lipped smile of acknowledgment and immediate reversion to my book only seemed to have provoked him. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps a feeling of having been somehow offended, but as he continued to jabber at those around us, I could feel his eyes constantly sweeping over me like a searchlight as I rigidly kept my head down. Finally, at one of the stops, he said something like, "Screw this - I'm going to go get a drink at a bar," and stomped off in a huff.

I have yet to figure out in my forty-something years on this earth why I seem to hold such an attraction for cats and crazy people, but there it is.

UPDATE: We get results:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Metro is planning a major change in service patterns next summer to alleviate congestion in northern Virginia.

The change would reroute a third of blue line trains along the yellow line bridge, crossing the Potomac River and up to Greenbelt along the green line. Three trains also would be added each peak travel hour between West Falls Church and Largo Town Center to relieve crowding on the orange line.

The shift aims to accommodate evolving Metro ridership patterns and prepare for service to Dulles International Airport.

The change would mean more frequent service to about 15,000 riders and make better use of the yellow line bridge. However, thousands of riders traveling from stations south of the Pentagon on the blue line would have longer rides.

The Llama speaks. Washington listens.