Does Metro deserve its bad reputation?

WASHINGTON -- Delays, breakdowns, overcrowded conditions and unpleasant employees -- Metro certainly has a less than sterling reputation with some of its every day riders. But is that stigma justified?

A report by the non-profit organization Understanding Government says Metro suffers from a "reputation deficit" that detracts from the agency's ability to advance mass transit solutions for the D.C. region.

"What that really means is that we get a bad rap," says Metro spokesperson Angela Gates. "For instance, if there is a delay during morning rush hour and we have a bad morning rush hour, that whole week, people are talking about how bad that rush hour was. They don't realize that for the last month we have had perfectly fine rush hours."

Among some of the other findings in the report:

Solutions to the D.C. region's overloaded highways are likely to be found in WMATA's less-regarded Metrobus service, not the higher profile Metrorail system.

WMATA is an "unsung hero" in the economic development of the Washington region, helping spark economic renewal in several D.C. neighborhoods and in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

Intensive quality improvement and personnel training efforts at WMATA may not allow the agency to catch up with infrastructure problems that have been inherent since the transit system opened in 1976.

If it overcomes these problems, WMATA has an opportunity -- seldom commented on by agency officials or outside observers -- to be a leading force for mass transportation improvements in the U.S. as a whole.

Understanding Government met with WMATA employees from the General Manager to station managers, from engineers to in-house economists to come up with the report. The group also interviewed passengers and outside experts who have studied the Metro system.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)