Subway cars in DC might be missing a certain elegance soon, if Metro’s new general manager has his way. John Catoe wants to get rid of carpeting on the trains, saying it’s hard to clean and expensive:
“Real world tells you it’s expensive, it doesn’t look good—particularly when it snows and you bring a lot of salt in there—and it doesn’t smell very good after it gets wet.”
Carpeting in Metro cars has never struck me as filthy or smelly. It’s a nice contrast with New York’s rubber floors. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the direction Catoe wants to go. Besides removing the carpet, Catoe wants to remove some seats so there’s more standing room.
Catoe does have two good ideas. He’s responsible for the new red warning lights on train platforms, which apparently won’t be extended to include every line’s color (blue and orange would look slick). He also wants easier access to handrails for people who don’t want to get inadvertante abdominal exercise reaching for Metro’s too-high bars.
Link via Wonkette
-Posted by Will Sommer
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