: News

Filed Under:

Transit Expert Issues "Withering" Report On Metro

March 11, 2010
Play associated audio
comments

By David Schultz

After a string of accidents and safety failures, Metro's board of directors commissioned David Gunn to do a full audit of the transit system. Gunn is a veteran of the transit industry who was once the General Manager of Metro in the early 90's.

This afternoon, Gunn gave the Board an oral summary of his yet-to-be released report. Chairman Peter Benjamin says he expected it would be frank.

"It was more than frank," Benjamin says. "It was withering."

Gunn says the system has a culture of "kill the messenger" that discourages the reporting of problems. He says this needs to change so workers can ask for help without fear.

Gunn also says Metro should consider scaling back subsidies for riders of MetroAccess, the para-transit service for people with disabilities. Gunn says the cost of these subsidies has grown more than 300 percent in the past decade.

Benjamin says Gunn will issue a full written report in a few weeks.

Arts & Culture

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.

Food

NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

Politics

NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.