Metro Opens its Doors

After a blistering series in the Washington Post on problems with the Metro system's operations and management, the board that oversees the system is creating an 18-member Riders Advisory Council. The council would meet once a month to talk about budget issues, route changes and customer service.

The board apparently took its time to act - the advisory council proposal was made in December, and the group's chairman, Fairfax County supervisor T. Dana Kaufman, told the Post, "That specific proposal has been the most consistently requested for two decades."

Transit system critics aren't satisfied. The Sierra Club proposed the advisory group but wants it to be independent of the transit agency board. The leader of another group, metroriders.org, says the panel's makeup (six members each from Md., Va. and D.C.) will keep his group's members from participating.