Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with metro

Passenger flow per stop on the Shanghai Metro.

priorpark17 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:23:52 -0800

The Shanghai Metro System: I am looking for detailed passenger flow per stop/station. The automatic turnstyle system must collect the data showing how many passengers leave and enter at every Shanghai metro stop. I wonder is it publically available. In Chinese is fine.

DC Metro Weirdness

anotherpanacea — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:08:23 -0800

DC Metro-Filter: Last night I witnessed a strange stop in the metro system: a car with blackened windows pulled up to the edge of the platform, a guard with a shotgun got out, and some more guys wheeled a cart into the train while another one was removed. What was it? It's not really a big cash business, anymore, but I guess it could have been the 'till,' i.e. bags of currency taken from the machines that dispense fare cards. It was at the Foggy Bottom stop, headed towards downtown, so maybe some medical supplies being moved from George Washington Hospital to the White House or Congress?

Anyway, does anybody know what was going on? In a related note, is it possible that I saw a metro car laid out with a fine dining table service last year? I thought I'd imagined it but not I'm thinking that there's a lot more to the DC metro than a quick clean commute.

Name that busk

disillusioned — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:55:49 -0800

While in Paris, I stumbled upon a group playing quite an impressive strings arrangement, in a Metro station. What song is this?

Mysterious Kindle Krapouts -- Help?

Harvey Jerkwater — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:43:40 -0800

My Kindle ebook reader crashes and requires resetting during my commute home. Any ideas why? Here's the situation: I have a first-generation Kindle, and it's been reliable. However, three times in the last week, it's required that I crack open the back panel and push the reset button to unfreeze it. What makes this weird is that it happens under the same conditions.

I work in downtown Washington, DC, near the "Metro Center" train station. I'll read my Kindle as I head for the Metro, and all is well. When I get underground and to the platform itself, the Kindle's frozen. This doesn't happen on the way to work in the morning -- only in the evening. It doesn't happen in my office, or at home. It's only when I go in the Metro Center station, in the evening.

To save on battery power, I leave the wireless dingus switched off. But I wonder: is the Kindle receiving some signal or electromagnetic interference that causes it to lock up? Can that happen? Any ideas as to why the lockup happens only during the evening and not in the morning? It's happened three times in the last few days, so something is definitely up.

I have three theories: (1) the Kindle is locking up for generic reasons, and the "strange" timing will prove to be coincidental; (2) a powerful EM source that's active in the evening near the Metro Center station is making my machine hiccup, possibly through the wireless device; and (3) evil spirits haunt my machine.

Touring the DC Metro System

Amy Phillips — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:25:15 -0800

What activities do you recommend near less-frequented DC metro stops? A friend and I want to break out of our usual rut by visiting some new DC neighborhoods. Specifically, we want to take the metro to stops we've never been to before. We're hoping to eventually visit every stop in the system.

What restaurants/coffeeshops/museums/activities/etc. do you recommend? Anything within walking distance of a metro stop is fair game, but I'm especially looking for recommendations near more obscure stops (the suburbs, the residential neighborhoods outside of the usual NW nightlife, things that aren't on standard tourist maps). What should we see/do/eat/drink on our travels?

Help me live in DC without a wicked commute.

Loto — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:46:06 -0800

What would be the best way to live in DC yet work in Germantown, MD? After almost a year in Gaithersburg I've become quite sick of the suburbs. Having a short (5 minute) commute to work is nice, but it isn't worth it anymore. I want to live in the city, but I don't want to find a new job. The problem is my job is at the tail end of the I270 tech corridor in Germantown.

I'm willing to commute from DC, but just how feasible is this? I'm more concerned about mornings as I generally miss the traffic in the evenings due to the gym, various practices and happy hour. I don't want to live in Rockville and I'd prefer not to live in Bethesda.

Any ideas?

Put it in yah system

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:12:32 -0800

Do commuters ever swap ipods on the subway? A friend of mine in New York told me that he sometimes asks people what they're listening to on his way from Brooklyn to Manhattan which leads to spontaneously switching ipod headphone jacks. He says that sometimes people (often young women, but not as a rule) will ask him to do the same. It doesn't result in a pickup or anything, just a nice change of pace. He's not a particularly gorgeous or gregarious guy, he claims it's just a mild form of neighborliness on NY subways.

Has this ever happened to you, wherever you are?
Have you heard of it happening to others?
Whether this is real or not, how would I go about asking strangers to swap musical worlds with me for my own 30 minute metro ride in the morning?

Planes, Trains, and Metros

fantine — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:25:25 -0800

ParisFilter: what is the best way to get from the Gare d'Austerlitz to Orly Sud? Tomorrow I'm heading to Berlin, and my flight leaves from Orly Sud. So I'm taking a train from my city into Paris.

I was looking around on the official metro website and it suggested taking the RER C to St. Michel Notre Dame, and then another line south to Orly, including something called the ORLYVAL (?) via Antony. I'm familiar with the metro system in Paris, but mostly only in the center of the city. The trajectory/plan provided was rather confusing.

I'm not opposed to taking a taxi if that's the most efficient way to get into the airport, and as long as it wouldn't be too expensive. As for my timing, the train should arrive at 10h44 in Austerlitz and my flight leaves Orly at 14h30.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate!

Minneapolis bus transfer two-for-one?

gauchodaspampas — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:53:59 -0800

In Minneapolis, MN, I put my money in the fare slot for the bus, and two transfer tickets came out. Will they both work? I live in Minneapolis, MN. I was getting on the bus, and put my money in the fare slot, and two transfer tickets came out, instead of one. This is a relatively frequent occurance. Sometimes they just get stuck together or the machinery accidentally grabs two somehow, but I've never thought to try giving one to a friend to see if it works. Not that I would necessarily want to cheat the system, but... well yeah, I want to cheat the system. I'm poor and it's rush hour. Will both transfers work? Only one is timestamped and all that. It's not like it accidentally grabbed and processed two transfers. It grabbed two and thought it was one. The tickets used in Minneapolis are just paper cards with a magnetic stripe on them. I guess I've only ever gotten day passes in Chicago, but if I recall, they look basically the same. I don't know what other cities have similar or the same ticket system. The tickets look basically like the one here. On the back, there's a black stripe that looks to be a magnetic strip.

Hurry! Only a few minutes before I need to catch my next bus. Actually, in all likelyhood, I'll have caught it before anyone can provide a definitive answer. If we try using the extra ticket, I'll report back on if it worked or not. And hopefully I won't have any really important questions needing answers in the next month.

Where can I park my car near a DC metro stop for the next few days?

medpt — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:18:54 -0800

Where can I park my car near a DC metro stop for the next few days? We just moved to the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington DC. We had our car shipped, and it arrives tonight, but we haven't had a chance to take the steps necessary to be able to legally park on the street in our neighborhood (acquiring DC registration, DC insurance, and DC resident parking permit).

I don't think I'll be able to get to these things until the middle of next week. Ideally, I'd be able to legally park my car somewhere in the meantime, probably in Virginia or Maryland, that is somewhat near a metro stop, free, and relatively safe. Any ideas?

Coping with "extreme commuting"?

oostevo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:49 -0800

Anybody have tips for how a recently graduated college student who is used to rolling out of bed and stumbling to class can cope with a many-hours-long commute? Through a sort of comedy of errors, it looks like what I thought would have been a temporary commuting problem ('problem' here being a commute that averages 2 hours each way, sometimes stretching over 4 when there are traffic or public transportation problems) will be with me for the next year or so.

Does anyone who has survived having an obscene commute in the past have any advice for how to cope? Even simple things, like how to get used to leaving before dawn and getting back after dark, to podcasts, to how to eat marginally healthy meals with so few hours in the day to do things like cook would be appreciated. I drive to a subway and take that the rest of the way, for what it's worth.

(N.B.: I've tried nearly every avenue I can think of to remove myself from the situation, but the commute's not changing for the next several months, at least. So, while I'd understand reactions of "you dumbass! stop doing that!", it really wouldn't be constructive)

Where should I live in Arlington, VA?

decrescendo — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:15:47 -0800

Where should I live in Arlington, VA? I want to live on the orange line metro. I'm 23 and single and I want to be as close to the action as possible. I've been trying to find a place in DC proper for the last 2 weeks to no avail. I need to sign a lease by the end of September so time is running out. I believe I'm going to fall back to Arlington (not a bad 2nd choice, though). It'll be cheaper, easier to have a car, and safer, but still close to the DC action. I will be commuting to Crystal City, VA. Should I drive or metro? My company will pay for my metro fares.

Where should I live on orange line metro?

Rosslyn?
Courthouse?
Clarendon?
Virginia Square?
Ballston?

I would like to be near a lot of bars/live music/restaurants/young people/fun, and within walking distance to a metro.

What do you all think?

Help! I need a hand finding an apartment in DC for 3 people all about to commute in different directions.

decrescendo — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:39:15 -0800

Help! I need a hand finding an apartment in DC for 3 people all about to commute in different directions. I need to find an apartment in DC for 3 people. 2 bedrooms/1 den/2 bathrooms or 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms will work.

One of us is commuting up the red line to Van Ness. He is willing to pay between $900 and $1000. My other roommate is going to commute to Suitland, MD way down south on the green line and he said he's willing to pay up to $1200. I am commuting to Crystal City, VA on the blue/yellow lines and I could theoretically pay up to around $1500 if I had to. I'd rather not pay that much more than my roommates though. I'm not about to pay their way. $900 + $1200 + $1300 = $3400. I think we could swing around $3400. Maybe a little more if the place was amazing.

We are thinking NW DC would be our best bet; somewhere around Dupont Circle. It seems that this is a good common location for these 3 different commutes. However, we could be persuaded to look into another location. U St/Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights/Mt Pleasant and even Arlington/Clarendon could be options. We all want a walkable area without living in the ghetto, naturally. The green line seems a bit shady up north. However, red line is damn expensive.

Where do you think is best for this amount of money/amount of people/type of commutes? Specific websites for help and specific apartment complexes would be greatly appreciated.

I'd love to find a rowhouse but they seem to be so hard to track down. They seem to come and go so quickly that it's hard to find them when I'm not living in DC yet. They are also pretty damn pricey.

Thanks for the help.

Wrong. Shockingly wrong!

Morrigan — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:18:29 -0800

Extremely long shot horror movie question involving cats and the French subway system. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, I was scared witless by a televised movie involving a cat (cats?) in the subway system in France that somehow lured victims onto the electrified rail. Any idea what this movie was?

How far is that from here?

thrako — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:35:56 -0800

How are the distances between stations on the DC Metro website calculated? They do not appear to be tunnel, walking/driving, or even straight-line (great circle) distances. For example, this page gives "distances" between Metro Center and all other stations in the Metrorail system. It says the distance to Rosslyn is 1.36 miles, but the straight-line distance between the stations is more than 2 miles (according to this site and this site). Several other station-pairs appear to have the wrong distances listed. It seems to be worse for stations that are far apart. Some station-pairs have listed distances that are larger than the straight-line distance, which makes a little more sense. I am inclined to think the Google Maps distances are more or less correct, so how did WMATA calculate the distances on the website?

Which Paris metro ticket should I buy for a four day visit?

soulbarn — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:53:28 -0800

In Paris for four days. Riding the Metro in the center city, not out to the burbs, probably four boardings per day max. What kind of ticket? Per-ride? Daily? Weekly? Some other special ticket I don't know about?

My car runs Win98

vernondalhart — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:55:27 -0800

Ok, on top of the starter issues, my car has begun to idle very strangely... I last asked here about my car not starting---not that this has been fully resolved, but it works most of the time. Unfortunately, this makes it very difficult for the mechanic to find anything wrong with it.

Be that as it may, I have another issue. At about the same time, it started idling very strangely. It usually should idle at around 1000rpm, but sometimes when you start it, it idles at 2000rpm---moreover, when you put the clutch in after coming to a stop, it idles up and down from around 1200rpm to 2000rpm between two to seven times. Needless to say, this is not likely normal behaviour.

What makes it more confusing is that, much like the joke says, if you shut it off and turn it back on, it runs usually runs normally.

Now, this has been happening more and more often, but only since the starter issues began---which suggests that there is likely some relation there.

I've looked online, and about all I can find is information relating to similar problems in other makes of car, which seem very manufacturer specific, and totally not helpful---other than, perhaps, I need to replace my sparkplugs. Or maybe fiddle with the timing belt. Which, it should be noted finally, has never been replaced in all 226666 odd kilometers of driving.

Commuting to Georgetown from NoVa

wowbobwow — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:07:57 -0800

Help advise me on my work commute to Georgetown U from McLean,Va (I'm not close to metro). I just got a new exciting job (my first library job!omg!) at Georgetown University. I am trying to figure out a way to commute there from my home in Mclean, VA, where we have no metro station nearby. I could just get a month parking pass and drive, but the Key Bridge is closed in the mornings, and the Canal Rd mess is not appealing. My work schedule will be different day to day, week to week, so I can't really rideshare. I will sometimes have to be there early in the morning and on other days to past 11pm. I have looked into parking in Rosslyn and taking the free shuttle, but they are all closed to new monthly parkers (in my budget range, or they close too early). The same applies to the lot at the W. Falls Church metro lot. If you have some ideas I haven't thought of or gave up on too early, let me know! HALP...

Drat, my free car is acting up...

vernondalhart — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:24:17 -0800

Our 1995 Geo Metro seems to be having electrical problems This just started recently, and while we hoped it was a glitch, it seems not to be the case.

I wasn't in the car when it first started, but it sounds like the vehicle just wouldn't actually start, and the starter would not turn over. The vehicle was getting power, and boost did not help. The car successfully started later, and so we hoped it was ok. What I have noticed though, is that when it does successfully start up the usual beeping sounds distorted---you know, that screechy digital distortion that occurs when something that beeps isn't really getting enough power (at least that's what I assume it is)---and the engine seemed to idle somewhat unevenly, at least for a moment.

Other than that, I haven't noticed any problems, but it's not started twice in the last three or so days (without it being driven that often), so there's clearly something wrong. Any ideas? Is this a cheap fix? Expensive fix? Hire a witch doctor fix?

Thanks,

Are we barking up the wrong tree?

notcomputersavvy06 — Thu, 17 May 2007 10:02:26 -0800

Any secret search engines or sites for finding rental houses in the DC metro region? We're looking for a house to rent for a year that is within walking distance to a metro (at least 10 minutes), has at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, has a good elementary school nearby for our son, and where we can take him outside and he won't be dodging cars. We've looked on rent.com (primarily apartments so not helpful), washingtonpost.com (not many listings and primarily looking for roommates not families), craigslist (be far the most helpful but no luck yet), and www.militarybyowner. com (strangely outdated listings). Are we missing something? We've been looking for the past four months and still no luck. Perhaps our rental limit is keeping us back (we want it under 2,500 a month)? We're trying to find something in the Arlington, Falls Church, and more gentrified areas of DC. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. We're supposed to be moving in a month.

How does parking work for LA metro stations?

JPowers — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:58:09 -0800

Los Angeles Filter: How does parking work for LA metro stations? I'm moving to LA this month. I'll be working in Beverly Hills, the wife in Long Beach (I know!). We plan on living closer to my job, since I'll be working crazy hours.

Since the drive for her would be nuts, she's likely going to take the metro (since it spits her out in Long Beach about two blocks from her work).

Problem is: if we can't find an apartment within walking distance from a metro station (in Hollywood, North Hollywood, maybe even downtown), how does she get to and from the station each day?

Can you park at the stations?

Should she ride a bus to the station?

Any general comments on riding the LA metro welcome as well.

Looking for a gym in Montréal.

Laura in Canada — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:22:53 -0800

Hi, this is my first question... here goes: I live in Montreal (but am not a native of the city), I'm looking for a gym that has 3 month or "pay-as-you-go" memberships (as I may be moving July 1st). I don't drive, so it pretty much needs to be near a métro station; on that note I work & live on the Orange line (work=Cremazie / home=Cote-Vertu). I'm kind of lazy, but I do enjoy going to a gym... i.e. if it's not too much out of my way, I'll go regularly. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What is this thing?

damn dirty ape — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:06:43 -0800

What is this thing? This was plugged into a wall socket in the DC metro. It was just humming along. It looks like there's some kind of bell shaped hood on top. I'm guessing its a CO detector, bomb sniffer, or air freshener.

Best place to grab Metro North in CT?

clango — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:00:57 -0800

Popping down to NYC to visit the missus, probably taking the Metro North line into Grand Central from somewhere in Connecticut. I usually park and ride from New Haven, but would love to find a slightly smaller and more humane station further down the line. Suggestions?

Seeking DC area dentist for a crown

dcjd — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 08:31:35 -0800

DC dentist recommendation? My SO was told some time ago that one of her teeth needed a crown, but she has been delaying getting the work done. She recently moved to DC and found a dentist to do a regular cleaning, but didn't feel comfortable having this dentist do the crown. (the whole visit seemed rushed and the dentists' office seemed staffed by inexperienced temps)

Anyone have a recommendation for a good dentist in DC to do a crown? Thanks! (Metro-accessible locations are best)