I Won't Last in D.C. More Than a Year

In what might be the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time, DCist is reporting that Washington D.C.'s Metro service (i.e., its subway) is apparently considering getting rid of its late night weekend service.

If you're unfamiliar with the situation, it used to be that Metro stopped running every night around 12am. Sometime in the late 90's (or was it early 00's?), Metro added late night service on Fridays and Saturdays, keeping the trains running until around 3am.

When I lived in D.C. twice in the 90's, the midnight cutoff for Metro was a nightmare. There were numerous nights where I had to choose, at 11:50pm, whether to leave a concert I was seeing at the 9:30 Club in order to make the last Metro train, or watch the rest of the show and take my chances getting a cab afterwards. If you've ever been to a show at the 9:30 Club, you'll know how hard it is to catch a cab there. Back in the mid-90's, it was pretty much impossible. And, despite a bit of an economic boom in the area in recent years, it's still too difficult today. I had a hell of a time getting a cab after The Frames' show at the 9:30 Club earlier this year.

Metro's addition of late night weekend service was a step in the right direction. It's no coincidence that D.C. has been growing in the last few years, and that more and more apartment buildings, restaurants and bars have been popping up throughout the District.

So instead of expanding this effort, and adding hours on weeknights, Metro instead is looking at ending late night service altogether. Brilliant. Let's give an incentive to people to either (a) not come into the District and spend money, or (b) drive home drunk from the bar. Let's also clog the streets on weekends with people looking for places to park. And let's hurt bars and music clubs by forcing their patrons to head for the door at 11:50pm to make sure they can catch the last train home.

Arg.