In one week, it will cost me $202.50 per month to take public transportation to work. That's with my compressed schedule of 18 work days. That's $28.00 more per month now. Less than one year ago, Metro raised its prices and cut out all discounts which resulted in a $55.10 per month increase for me.
In less than one year, a 36.36% increase. Not even counting gas to get to and from the station.
Damn them. Their elevators and escalators break down all the time. They can't handle emergencies - believe me, I know this firsthand - they were too slow to respond when a coworker had a heart attack and died and another time, I ended up telling people what to do when there was a fire because the damn station manager was a complete idiot.
They suck.
Here are some excerpts from the Washington Post article:
...
The combined fare and fee increases will push the price of many suburb-to-city trips to the level it costs to drive and park downtown.
For instance, rush hour riders who park at Shady Grove and take Metro to Washington will pay $4 to park and $3.90 to ride each way, for a total of $11.80. That's $1.35 more than they pay today and is comparable to the parking and gas costs for a trip downtown.
...
...14,000 rail passengers and 3,200 bus riders that transit officials expect to stop taking public transportation because of the higher costs.
They suck, plain and simple.
And while I'm grumpy - and Metro makes me so grumpy you'd better stay out of my way - I'm going to complain about "designer" furniture.
Specifically, Todd Oldham and Christopher Lowell's collections at LaZBoy (former) and Office Depot (latter). I've been perturbed by this for awhile.
Why does a simple 5' x 8' rug cost $500? Come on, these rugs are not Persians. While not all of the Oldham prices are ridiculous, the rugs are. I can cut and assemble my own rug for far far less. I do admit that I am considering the coffee table, though.
What bothers me more is the Christopher Lowell chair collection at Office Depot. I have looked for a good office chair for work (and home) for years and never been successful. My current chairs are causing me loads of problems. So I have looked around and I found the most comfortable one: the Town Mid-Back Desk Chair. But just look at that list price. Insane. $400. But cheaper chairs really suck. Really. So do I get a cheaper chair and suffer or do I spend $400?
I wish I knew what brand made that Lowell chair. I'd love to look at their regular line and not pay the "designer" price.
Nod (my albino cory) died yesterday.
:(
( 11:05 EH | grumpy. reasons metro sucks. )You have my sympathies. Counting parking, and on compressed schedule, I figure it's now going to cost me $219 per month. And I've learned to get into the system even earlier in the morning, there were too many delays and I kept showing up late to work. Which means more money, less sleep. FEH.
And this isn't even counting the portion of my tax dollars that's going into the Metro kitty. PTUI.
Posted by: Tanuki at 29.06.04 16:54