Metro: Weâre getting better give us another chance
Paul J. Wiedefeld
At  Thursdayâs Metro board meeting  General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld  citing the latest round of performance statistics   said the transit agency has âmoved the needleâ on rail reliability and on-time performance.
Board members generally agreed the glowing picture painted by  Wiedefeld  and  his  staff in the latest report  which captures the systemâs performance from July to September  was a signal the state of the system is indeed improving.
 Wiedefeld  disagreed with reporters who asked whether the flattering statistics painted an overly glowing picture of the state of the system.
âYou have to go back to where we were at first. We had an unsafe system  where people were saying they were afraid to use it â  Wiedefeld  said  pointing out improvements in performance have also accompanied improvements in safety.
âItâs not a matter of patting ourselves on the back â  Wiedefeld  said. âI think there is a recognition in the community that people have to understand that we have moved the needle. Please come back and try us.â
 Wiedefeld  said  the agency  is looking at the data to determine the cause of the decline  though across-the-board fare increases may be related. Though both rail and bus fares increased in June  bus riders tend to be more sensitive to price changes because as a group they have lower average incomes than rail riders.
At  Thursdayâs Metro board meeting   [TGT] citing the latest round of performance statistics   said the transit agency has âmoved the needleâ on rail reliability and on-time performance.
Board members generally agreed the glowing picture painted by  Wiedefeld  and  his  staff in the latest report  which captures the systemâs performance from July to September  was a signal the state of the system is indeed improving.
  [TGT] disagreed with reporters who asked whether the flattering statistics painted an overly glowing picture of the state of the system.
âYou have to go back to where we were at first. We had an unsafe system  where people were saying they were afraid to use it â   [TGT] said  pointing out improvements in performance have also accompanied improvements in safety.
âItâs not a matter of patting ourselves on the back â   [TGT] said. âI think there is a recognition in the community that people have to understand that we have moved the needle. Please come back and try us.â
  [TGT] said  the agency  is looking at the data to determine the cause of the decline  though across-the-board fare increases may be related. Though both rail and bus fares increased in June  bus riders tend to be more sensitive to price changes because as a group they have lower average incomes than rail riders.