General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says that he needs an additional $1 billion to improve Metro. I think he needs his head examined.
With the kind of money that has already been spent on this subway system, we riders have seen very little improvement. They are single tracking during rush hour, closing rail service at 11:30 p.m. instead of 12 midnight, and closing on weekends at 1:00 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.
MetroBus has also been shut down on many routes. More people now are refusing to ride the Metro because they feel they are losing money. Metro is wasting lots of money on poor management, with station managers seen falling asleep on the job and,in December, six employees fired for falsifying inspection records.
The general manager needs more experienced people who know how to cut costs, how to get rid of people who are not doing their job, how to cut too-high salaries. Furthermore, when Metro does receive money, there needs to be someone to oversee the way it is allocated: Is too much being spent on jobs that could be done for less money? Could salaries and job responsibilities be reviewed to make sure the monies are spent appropriately? It’s time to make some changes, but not to throw more money at the problem.
