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Metro is testing what transit officials hope are clearer ways to direct travelers through the system, part of a plan that aims to simplify how commuters access information about destinations, bus-rail connections and payment.
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The most noticeable change could involve station signage that includes the direction of train travel alongside the terminus stations — such as New Carrollton or Vienna — to indicate where a train is headed. The project, announced Tuesday, also could include more Metrorail maps at stations, floor decals and cues at escalators directing riders to specific exits and platforms. Lines could be renamed or have secondary names with letters or numbers, much like New York’s system.
Metro also announced Tuesday it is planning a two-week Red Line shutdown of some of its busiest downtown stations in late December to replace a 1,000-foot ceiling beam, install fiber-optic cables and replace or clean track parts.
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Transit leaders say the signage changes are intended to better serve riders who use public transportation less often since telework reduced office visits and five-days-a-week commuting. Regular commuters need less guidance since their trips become routine, while transit leaders say the overhaul would offer help to those who ride sporadically or to a variety of destinations.
The changes are the latest under consideration as Metro tries to win back commuters who abandoned transit during the pandemic. It comes as Metro is staring down a $750 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year while ridership was cut in half.
Many of the proposed changes to fixed and digital signs already are being tested at the L’Enfant Plaza station, with more signage modifications to come. Transit employees will gather rider responses through surveys and questionnaires, which will be used to develop permanent changes systemwide.
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“What we’re trying to do is attract new or infrequent riders by making transit easier to navigate and access,” said Sarah Meyer, Metro’s chief experience and engagement officer. “We are really focused on improving wayfinding, as well as technology upgrades and digital infrastructure that allow our customers to access the system better and figure out where they’re going.”
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Transit officials said riders have indicated they often are confused while navigating a bus system that includes 11,500 stops and 11 regional transit centers, and Metrorail — the nation’s third-largest subway system — with more than 120 miles of track in two states and the District.
A customer survey showed 39 percent of registered SmarTrip users took a wrong rail station exit in the past year. Nearly 30 percent of respondents told Metro they have used the wrong platform, while 23 percent said they boarded a train going in the wrong direction. Seventeen percent of riders said they have taken the wrong line.
Among them was Sandra Pape, who exited the Metro earlier this year — fresh off a flight from Alabama — and began looking for her D.C. hotel. She had left the wrong end of the L’Enfant Plaza station and quickly got lost in a labyrinth of brutalist buildings.
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On a return trip this week with her sister, Pape used a large mural of a dog in a NASA spacesuit above an exit as a signpost.
“We look for the Weimaraner in the spacesuit,” she said.
Some riders who use the Metro system more frequently saw less of a need for changing station signage or names.
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“I don’t think they’re terrible the way they are,” said Madeleine Smith, 25, of Arlington, while waiting Tuesday at L’Enfant Plaza.
Still, she said only a “local” would know the direction of New Carrollton — the eastern terminus for the Orange Line — listed throughout the system to inform riders of the train’s route. New York, she said, uses easier terminology, such as “uptown” and “downtown.”
Metro officials say such wording is easier for visitors and infrequent Metro riders to understand. The transit agency is testing whether to add directional cues to signs, like “northbound” and “southbound.”
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Other proposed changes are subtle, such as including regional landmarks on station exit signs, clarifying where an elevator is located or giving tracks different numbers.
Metro also wants to test the use of maps at stations that include more detail about nearby stations and less about those that are farther away. Plans could include adding digital maps with real-time train location and travel time information, as well as digital signs that give riders information before they enter a station.
“More signage would be good,” said Kenny Walton, 61, of Odenton, as he sat on a station bench this week, scrolling through his phone while he waited for a train. “But times are changing. Maybe they need to add more things on your phone?”
Transit officials said improvements also are planned for the agency’s website and mobile app this year, including real-time transit updates, a MetroAccess vehicle-tracking tool and online chats with customer service representatives.
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The plan includes providing more information in stations and online about how to use Metro’s mobile payment system, with an eye toward eventually letting riders use mobile or physical credit cards to purchase rides without a transit card.
Metro also plans to continue adding digital signs at bus stops. The transit system has 150 in use with real-time arrival information and is scheduled to add 100 more this year.
Metro wraps up summer work as Green Line stations reopen ahead of schedule
Alongside its proposed signage changes, Metro announced the Red Line will not run at Gallery Place, Metro Center or Farragut North from Dec. 18 to Dec. 30 to replace a beam along the tunnel ceiling outside Farragut North that is 1,000 feet long and 100 feet wide. The beam and the concrete around it has been showing wear from water intrusion, said Metro Chief Infrastructure Officer Andy Off.
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The beam spans the length of both Red Line tracks, holding up the tunnel’s ceiling while supporting an employee work room and machinery above it.
“It is something we’ve been monitoring for quite a while,” Off said. “We did do special inspections on this and don’t view it as an imminent safety hazard, but certainly something that we need to get after relatively soon.”
Between Dec. 22 and Dec. 24, Metro also will close the Judiciary Square station on the Red Line to replace machines that turn track switches.
Both Metro Center and Gallery Place will remain open during the Red Line closure. Blue, Orange and Silver line trains will continue to operate out of Metro Center while trains on the Green and Yellow lines will still run at Gallery Place. Shuttle buses will bridge Red Line riders between Farragut North and Gallery Place during the construction period.
Metro chose the holiday period to complete the project because about 40 percent fewer passengers historically ride Metro at that time, Off said.
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