leafing through

After returning from our trip, here’s a wishlist of ways to improve our own public transportation system.

1. Clearly marked public restrooms. Currently, some stations have restrooms available to the public. However you often have to ask the station manager to let you in and this isn’t readily known and for visiting foreigners who may or may not speak the language, it’s not always an option. This morning on my way to work I saw a man pee on the platform. He was probably on his way to work too and just had to go. This one’s pretty basic. Public facilities in the public transit system. I don’t know why it wasn’t built in in the first place.
2. Guard panels on all the platforms with doors to keep people from falling or jumping on the tracks.
3. Marked entry and exit areas on the floors so people can form a more orderly line rather than crowd about the doors preventing people from exiting.
4. Number the stations. It’s easier to tell someone to go from station Y4 to Y6 rather than U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo to Mt. Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center. Then riders would also know how many stops before they arrive. We should still name the stations, but just number them as well.
5. Take out the rows of seats and make 2 lines of parallel seats to make more standing room. Also make more handrails and hand holds for those standing. I noticed this morning, many people spill over their seats and take up 2 seats anyway, it’s such an inefficient use of space.
6. Wider doors on the trains. This is probably only an option for new trains, but it’s ironic that people are bigger here in the U.S. and yet we make these tiny doors that barely let 2 people in or out at a time, yet in Asia & Europe, they have very wide doors easily fitting 3 people, or luggage, or wheelchairs, bikes, prams, etc. I’ve had the door shut on me before I was able to exit, not because I forgot to get up, but because too many people in front of me had to get off.
7. Take out the carpeting. It’s unsanitary and on rainy or muggy days you can smell how unsanitary it is.
8. Record all the announcements. Some drivers enunciate better than others. It’s easier to just have all the station announcements pre-recorded. They do this on the buses already. Having it announced in multiple languages wouldn’t hurt either. Maybe Spanish?
9. I learned in Japan, each train line plays a unique jingle to help people identify their trains and lines. The jingle also helps the blind, and when the song is over, the doors close so it helps people know how much time they have to hop on or off (think Final Jeopardy). This is easy, inexpensive and very practical. I think even a simple 3 notes to chime the doors closing would be an improvement.
10. Install luggage racks above the rail seats for peoples’ larger items or even small luggage.
11. Expand the rail lines. More stations, more coverage. This is very expensive but probably the best way to improve any public transit system.
12. And a big wish in my lifetime… high speed rail to connect all the local transit systems along the East Coast. And I’m not talking about the piece of junk called Acela Express (averaging maybe 80 mph?). Maglev.