DC ParaTransit Info The Wheels are broken, but it's not our chairs …

MetroRail’s A/C issues – WMATA responds

In light of WMATA's recent decision to implement "Conditional Eligibility" on MetroAccess riders, which will force many riders in time to have to use fixed-route transit, DC ParaTransit Info has started to take a closer look at the conditions of that system and its readiness to provide reliable safe transit for people with disabilities.

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One of the things we have noticed is the number of complaints online regarding the HVAC systems on MetroRail trains.

This can be a critical issue for many disabled riders - heat especially can have an amplified deleterious effect on people, dependent on their disability.  That's not even examining the effects of excessive heat on able-bodied riders themselves.

So we contacted WMATA to ask about the air-conditioning not working/heating being on issue.  Glenn Millis, the Director of ADA Programs in the Department of Access Services sent us back this:

Air-conditioning on hot, humid muggy days is important to everyone but especially so to those who because of a disability are sensitive to temperatures. On a hot, humid day, approximately 4% of our 1106 cars experience HVAC problems. As you probably know, each and every Metrorail car has it's own air conditioning system. This is why, on occasion, one car in a train may be warm but the others are cool.

Proper operation of the air-conditioning system is checked during a daily safety and functional test, which is performed on every rail car prior to its release into service. This is what commonly called a pre-trip inspection. When any defects with the air conditioning system are found the rail car is held out of service until repairs are performed. In other words our policy is to withhold any car with malfunctioning air conditioning from service.

Unfortunately, we do experience mechanical failures within the air conditioning system on the rail cars after the cars are sent into service. Those cars affected are removed from service where they are inspected, tested, and repaired before returning to service.

We did some of our own number crunching on these figures.

Qualifiers:

Please note that in our analysis we worked on the assumption that all 1106 rail cars would be active and in use, the analysis doesn't take into account variables we at DCPTI cannot quantify, such as how many cars are out of service at any given time for repairs, refurbishment, or just not needed at the time.  Likewise, we do not know how the 4% figure was arrived at with regards to timeframe - we do not know if that's the target for a day, a week, a month, a year ...

"Approximately 4% of 1106" cars equals just over 44 cars at any time that would have mechanical issues with their HVAC systems.

Those 1106 cars, if they were all in service at the same time, and given a consist of 8 cars, would come to 138 trains.

If the 44 rail cars with HVAC issues were distributed one per train (44 trains) that would equate to around one third of the trains running at that time having a car with such problems.

Statistically speaking, riders therefore have around a 0.04% chance of the car they get on having broken HVAC - but a 30%+ chance of getting on a train with a car that has such issues.

This analysis is based solely on Mr Millis' numbers regarding the target of how many cars have broken HVAC - it doesn't take into account train cars whose HVAC system has been turned off, or has been set to "heat" instead of "A/C".  We're unsure if drivers have the ability to change the HVAC settings for this to occur, our request for clarification of the possibility of human error like this has, as yet, gone unanswered.

4% of 1106 rail cars seems a small amount, and the standard disclaimers about any statistics apply - they rarely reflect the real world situation.

Our analysis based on the limited information we have available to us does result in the startling conclusion that riders have a 30%+ chance of boarding a train where one of its cars has HVAC problems - and given the complaints posted online, it certainly feels sometimes that people are hitting that number all the time.

But as we qualified at the start of this analysis, we did not (and cannot) take into account the number of cars not in service, which presumably will inevitably include some of those with HVAC issues.  We also are unable to say that there are 138 trains running at any time on the system.  These factors will naturally reduce the resultant statistical chances of getting on a car with a mechanical defect in its HVAC system.

Finally, we also have to note that WMATA's response did point out the pre-trip inspection regime. It's entirely possible that rolling stock with HVAC problems included in the 4% target figure is detected during the pre-trip inspection, and therefore is pulled out of service for repairs rather than be used on the system (though, with all due respect to the policies of WMATA, we aren't entirely certain that, in the rush to get cars out for peak periods, some of that defective rolling stock won't be pressed into service even so).

But having said that, the possibility of human error, incorrect settings of the HVAC system when it leaves the yards or by the drivers - whilst we cannot quantify it statistically until we hear back if drivers have the ability to change HVAC settings - may offset the reduction in the statistics maintenance and out of service trains creates.

We offer these figures to the general ridership as information only.  If WMATA feels our analysis is incorrect, we would gladly respond and change our analysis should we receive better information on which to base it upon from them.

With the switch to Conditional Eligibility, the disabled community needs assurances fixed-route Metro services are usable.  MetroRail cars without working A/C, or worse having the heating running, can be more than an annoyance both for able-bodied and disabled riders alike, hence our curiosity of the situation.

Whilst we understand that mechanical defects crop up all the time, and that WMATA has policies and targets with regards to HVAC issues being detected and resolved, a one-third chance of boarding a train with HVAC issues isn't something to be sneezed at.  Given the realities of the system, that 0.04% chance of boarding a specific car with HVAC issues may be the number to grab hold of and hope for the best - we certainly can't see how WMATA could realistically reduce the percentages.

Although we do find it curious that, in the real world, reports seem to indicate the majority of cars in service with HVAC or bad-settings issues appear concentrated on the Red and Orange lines.

DC ParaTransit Info is grateful for the assistance of Glenn Millis in providing the basic numbers in answer to our query to WMATA on this topic.  As always, WMATA is free to respond to our analysis of its numbers here or privately.