Metro, You Broke My Heart

Ah, Metro — maker of promises they can’t cash.

My wife commuted in with me yesterday morning; later in the day, she needed to leave well before I could.

I checked the Metro website. They were running buses along the light-rail route, and a handful of other routes, all listed prominently.

Among them the Number 8 South Main route, which has a stop half a block from my house.

Perfect — it’s the route my kid takes home from school all the time.

What could go wrong?

Plenty, you might (not) be surprised to learn.

The light-rail bus worked fine and was free; I got off at the Medical Center and walked over to the stop for the 8 bus and waited. And, of course, waited some more.

For an hour or so, until I had only 20 minutes before Metro was stopping all service because of the curfew. I nabbed the last llight-rail bus back downtown to the Press office, hoping that somehow my wife’s cel service would be working. Instead I bummed a ride home.

Number 8 bus, I’ll never trust you again,

— Richard Connelly