Metro

Rather than using Metro Access, I took the regular Metro train to the Newseum yesterday, There are several reasons why I did this. First and foremost was flexibility. On Metro Access, travel times have to be arranged by 4:00 p.m. the day before the trip. On the subway, of course, passengers come and go at will. I preferred the freedom from timetables that the train gave me.

The train is quite convenient. I live immediately next door to the Virginia Square Station.

And, for people with Metro Access cards, the train is free! This creates problems of its own, though. It's easy to get in the station - you just show the Metro Access ID card to the Station Manager, who then lets you in. The problem is that, once you get in, there are gates scattered throughout the pathways of the station. The gates require insertion of a fare card before they will open, and a non-paying Metro Access customer has not got a fare card.

At first, this stymied me. When I arrved at a closed gate, I sat at the gate and looked worried for a while. Then I attempted to remedy the situationn by frantically travelling up and down the length of the station. When this solved nothing, I'd stare at the "emergecy" buttons and wonder if this was an emergency. I'd also yell "HELLO!? HELLO!?" up to the balcony above the platform.

Finally, though, I figured it out. Now I just force the gates open by prying them apart. A loud alarm goes off, and a Metro guard rushes over, but who cares? I get through the gate!

Once in, its time to ride the train. In a wheelchair, this is presents many challenges. For example, in my experience (and I believe I'll spare you the details of my exact experience!), a wheelchair must enter the train while moving absolutely straight forward. Any angle causes the tires of the wheelchair to get caught in the gap between the platform and the car. It's pretty hard to get exactally straight in front of a moving door.

Once the door opens, getting through it and into the car is the next problem. This is es[ecially true if the car is crowded. A crowd of riders is easy to handle. They are generally curteous and make space. What is frightening is manuvering into a car filled with contraptions.

On my trip to the Newseum, directly inside the door of the car I was riding was another person in a wheelchair, 2 men with large rolling carts of luggage, 1 man with a big double baby carrage, and 2 bicycles!

I think that probably it is always a wise decision to take Metro Access!!