Our "brand-spanking-new high-tech Metro" is about 40 years old now. I'm not sure what caused the afternoon problem, but the morning screw-up had to do with a piece of maintenance equipment derailing and possibly damaging the track.

Part of the problem Metro has is the lack of a dedicated funding stream. Passengers pay a far higher percentage of the costs than for any other transit system in the U.S. and non-riders still whine about that, forgetting how heavily subsidized roads are.

But, of course, sitting in non-moving traffic on Route 50 would be a worse commute. At least on Metro I can read or knit during delays.