As Metro continues to take delivery of new rail cars and puts them into service, the congestion experienced by rush hour (peak time) commuters should be alleviated or at least reduced. As has always been the case, the distribution of these new cars to the various lines is the result of some political and financial maneuvering by the local jurisdictions. This time there seems to be a broader distribution and that’s a good thing.

Metro has also met a promise it made earlier to have 20 percent of its fleet running as eight-car consists during the rush hours. Now, if the number of four-car trains can be eliminated a lot more people will be happy. There is something about a four-car train that says “you’re not as important as the other people waiting for their trains” even though the raw numbers may justify the reduced capacity.

Security cuts

I find it hard to believe that the administration would cut funding from the fiscal 2009 budget that was to go to transit security. Transit vehicles have been a prime target for terrorists in a number of cities around the world. To think that the threat to this nation’s transit systems is gone just doesn’t make sense. Even if there was intelligence that showed a lack of current interest by terrorists in the subway systems in New York or Washington the history of activity would indicate otherwise. Cutting that funding makes a statement that we are no longer paying attention. Yes, millions have been spent to install various tools for protection but this will not keep up with any advances that the bad guys could make in the years to come.

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Wi-fly

There is some good news for those who take their laptops to Reagan National or Dulles Airports and find that they have more than a little time on their hands. The airports now have Wi-Fi service available throughout the terminal(s) via Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. The connection fee will vary depending on the service you use. Even if you don’t have an account with one of these companies, you can connect by having your laptop search for and lock into the nearest connection. The connection fee is $9.99 per day, which sounds like a lot for all but business travelers who can deduct the expense, but it sure would make a two- or three-hour wait go faster to be able to get some work down or to surf YouTube for a while.

Safer drivers, please

Carolyn writes: “If you’re really interested in traffic safety, the only answer is improving the drivers — not just the cars. Please teach them the difference between yield and merge for starters. I’ve seen cars fly off the ramps, and the drivers don’t even look to see if there is traffic approaching. Also speed is an issue. Cars aren’t built as sturdily as they were years ago, so any impact at high speeds will cause more damage and cost lives. I’ve been going 70 and cars fly by like I’m standing still. No driver has good control at such high speed, especially when they don’t know what other drivers are going to do. There just isn’t time to react.”