The ban is back: No more H2O on Metro

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON - After telling riders they could drink bottled water on trains and buses because of the stifling weekend heat, Metro is now telling riders to put the water away.

"The issue was discussed this morning at a meeting of the executive leadership team," says Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel. "But we are not continuing the relaxation of the bottled water ban."

Temperatures outside are still hot, but not as sweltering as the weekend. So it's back to the old rules for riders: no drinking on the system.

"There were no issues with allowing the water over the weekend," says Stessel. "But it's a slippery slope. The general manager believes that the (no drinking) rule is a good one and it is in place for a reason."

Read more: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2468517

[Texasgal]

1. Weird...

Why?

[The Hitman]

3. Ever ridden metro?

It's quite oppressive. All of DC government and its agencies are.

Remember this incident and its subsequent court case, decided by soon to be chief justice John Roberts?
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94999&page=1; http://openjurist.org/386/f3d/1148/hedgepeth-v-washington-metropolitan-area-transit-authority

[Texasgal]

4. Nope, never have

How strange. I read the article and I just don't understand what the big deal is? I mean... fries? Water? WTF?

[The Hitman]

6. It's DC

There are no explanations.

[Chan790]

26. The reason is simple and dumb.

Metro is immaculate.

It runs for shit, is constantly broken, has major repairs every weekend, is consistently behind schedule, has a terrible safety record and the average ride is the the most expensive per mile for a light-rail train system in the country...but it is the cleanest system in the world.

Oh, it's also $26M in the hole for the year and threatening us with another fare-hike (3rd in 2 years) because the advisory board refuses to cut the absurd amounts allotted for custodial-work and architectural features for stations or the plan to replace every car in the system every 8 years on average going forward so they always look pristine and newish.

I get a lot of shit for saying this every time I say it but it's still how I feel...I'd gladly have a Metro as filthy as the NYC Subway if the fare was $2.25 flat-rate and ran as efficiently as NYC Subway too.

[The Hitman]

28. Hell yeah

Get rid of the worthless escalators too.

[elleng]

33. Right, let people walk up.

[The Hitman]

34. You have to do that half the time anyway!

[Laughing Mirror]

40. Gotta keep it spotless and pretty on the surface

You'll notice not a smidgeon of graffitti on it's spotless walls, it's always been kept pristine clean from the very beginning. After all, it functions not only as a way to get around but also as a showpiece of the great capital of the world. Or so it thinks.

[Chan790]

41. Well, of-course

It's a brilliant allegory in microcosm of the federal government.

That's also consistently behind schedule, over-budget because of poor management, doesn't run efficiently & gilded in a veneer of false civility and order. Also, every time someone new comes to the Metro Governing Board and tries to change things for the better, they get attacked for it and run-off for upsetting the status-quo.

My favorite one was the "Look how much you can save by riding Metro" tool that was taken down after a week because it told 2/3 of riders who used it that they'd save money by driving instead of taking Metro. (This is true for anybody who uses trains exclusively and not buses (or a mix of trains and buses) in the system, commuting across the DC border.)

Metro: Only in DC would this be an acceptable solution to a transit problem.

[Dappleganger]

15. I've ridden Metro plenty of times.

You're dreaming if you think it's 'oppressive.'

[elleng]

19. Thanks!

:thumbsup:

I'm very fond of the system.

[The Hitman]

27. You don't live in DC then...

[elleng]

31. I lived IN DC for 20+ years, and now live in a suburb.

[The Hitman]

32. Orange line? You riding that every day?

Yeah... then you must be rather masochistic if you love metro...

[SoCalDem]

5. probably litter problems n/t

[hlthe2b]

2. Assholes... and deadly, if one of those trains gets stuck under ground.....

Absolute idiots-- just begging for a lawsuit.

[cwydro]

24. Read the article.

You can carry it with you. Just can't actually DRINK it while onboard.

I don't understand the ban, but I think I could do without drinking on the system as long as I had it with me. Surely if a train was stuck, no one would care.

[AmericaIsGreat]

7. People putting alcohol in water bottles maybe? n/t

[stockholmer]

8. Insanity, what the fuck is happening to the USA?

The police state is trying to regulate almost EVERY aspect of your lives and intimidate you into utter submission. If you think this is hyperbole, then you are already in the sheep pen.

[krabigirl]

21. agree with you 100%.

[elleng]

9. Foolish; I expect related to litter.

I don't advertise it, but don't go anywhere without water, including Metro rail and bus, for years.

[Mariana]

10. The prohibition seems to be against drinking it

I think carrying it is all right, you just aren't supposed to open it while you're riding. Is that correct? That's not any great hardship most of the time, but I still agree with you that it's foolish.

[elleng]

18. Don't know what the rule is. I carry and drink, fwiw.

[H2O Man]

11. That's bad.

I take it personally.

[RagAss]

14. LOL !....didn't see that you already weighed in !

[KoKo]

16. Many of us do...but it seems that "others" think the "Terraists" are gonna KILL US...

So our "Four Freedoms" are DOA.

[Obamanaut]

12. It wasn't that many years ago that people did not carry around bottles

of water, because there were no bottles of water.

And yet, we survived.

It is not necessary to have a plastic bottle semi-attached like an appendage every where one goes.

[KoKo]

17. Ever try to find a water fountain when you are stuck on a subway when it's over 100 Degrees? You

CANNOT GET OFF THE TRAIN!

[Mariana]

35. I'm trying to figure out when, exactly,

in the poster's probable lifetime, there was no such thing as a bottle of water! I'm fairly sure that people started putting water into bottles pretty quickly after bottles were invented - and that was a LONG time ago!

[former9thward]

37. Not really. Plastic bottles of filtered water started in the 1980s.

People started carrying them around in the 90s. Some people think they are on foot in the middle of a thousand mile desert.

[KoKo]

38. True and True...

Some people think they are on foot in the middle of a thousand mile desert.

That gave me a chuckle ....since I was around before water bottles were necessary...LOL's

[Obamanaut]

39. This post pretty much has your answer -> There was also a time in

my lifetime when teevee sets had tubes one could replace at home, cars did not have air conditioning as standard equipment, and yet we survived.

Here's the link to the water bottle question for you http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1573687&mesg_id=1575714

[RagAss]

13. Whaaa?...They banned H2O Man from the Metro?

[H2O Man]

23. This is the hump

that clogged the camel's straw, I think. People will be taking to the streets.

[RagAss]

25. LOL !...and I'll be there !

[KoKo]

29. We might be in the streets...but will it be covered...?

until it's covered...we "ain't in the streets" according to the PTB.

[Renew Deal]

20. You can drink beer and liquor on the Long Island Rail Road.

I guess DC is quite the opposite.

[krabigirl]

22. what the ??? why can't people bring water on trains? our society has gone mad. nt

[KoKo]

30. Yeah...it's true. Society gone Mad. We though it was just Bush...

sadly.

[AsahinaKimi]

36. Water and Food items

Can not be consumed on the San Francisco Metro Muni. Yet, I have never seen anyone fined or thrown off a light rail for it. Most people like to carry backpacks these days, which hold a place for bottled water, or a canteen. My backpack has always contained bottled water when I go out. I don't think anyone will start cracking down on people here, for drinking water on the Muni Metro or the Buses. Smoking yes, water no.