Gallery Place/Chinatown. © 2012 Michael W. hicks

As breadmaker Mark Furstenberg pointed out in our Answers Issue this week, D.C. is still a car city. That's particularly true in the suburban swaths served by the Metrorail's red line. And at this point, the riding the red line has become a miserable experience for many. Peruse the WMATA Twitter feed, and tweets about service delays quickly fill the screen.

One of the underpinnings of urban planning is that travelers should be able to get around without a car. But what are people supposed to do when it's impossible to know if they'll arrive at their destination on time?

Yesterday after a broken rail in the morning, red line riders were caught in massive delays during the rush hour. During a power failure late last night, riders received no communications about why they were sitting motionless for up to an hour.

Yet Metro wants to raise fares to close a $116 million budget gap. As our smart commenters here have pointed out, the first step should probably be an audit of the budget to see where inefficiencies can be eliminated. Metro fares—unlike fares for Metrobus— have stayed relatively commensurate with inflation, so a rush to raise fares without showing how those fares could improve service is likely to (and should) go over like a lead balloon.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Take The Long Train Home: What's more frustrating than having to squeeze onto a crowded six-car Metro train even though the subway system can handle eight cars in each station? Watching a ten-car train go by. The transit agency recently disciplined some workers for allowing a train too long to fit properly in stations to run all the way around the Red Line, from Shady Grove to Glenmont, before anyone noticed, on Dec. 2. It's not the first time this has happened, and we bet it won't be the last. -1

Today In Ben Stiller News: Forget fancy economic development plans—maybe the District should just hire Ben Stiller as a tourism promoter. The Smithsonian says visits to museums downtown declined last year, because a long bump from the 2009 release of Stiller's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian finally wore off. Meanwhile, HBO is set to produce a comedy about a Jewish family living in D.C., written by Jonathan Safran Foer and starring Stiller. Which, presumably, will lead to more visits by out-of-towners to the Sixth and I Synagogue, where his mom is the boss. +1

State Of The Traffic Is Bad: Not only will Mayor Vince Gray not be a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama's at tonight's State of the Union speech, but streets between the Capitol and the White House will all be jammed up due to security-related closings. Which basically means Gray should probably watch the speech from home like the rest of his constituents anyway. Prediction: Obama will not mention D.C. statehood, anxiety on Twitter will follow. -1

Goodnight, Sweet Prince: The Nationals ended the season just barely below .500 last year, and the thinking in baseball circles was that the team was maybe just a few moves and a few years away from becoming a serious contender. But given the chance this winter to make one of those moves, the Nats whiffed like a batter chasing a Stephen Strasburg fastball, reportedly letting free agent first baseman Prince Fielder sign with the Detroit Tigers because they didn't want to pay him for as many years as he wanted. Is it too early to say wait 'til next year if pitchers and catchers haven't even reported to spring training yet? -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 40 Today's score: -2 Today's Needle rating: 38

© 2012 Michael W. Hicks

Metro Center. © 2012 Michael W. Hicks

You For President: Normally we stay as far away from presidential horse race politics as we can, but today was a weird day. First up, the guy everyone was so fired up about six months ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out of the race (even though he's on the D.C. ballot). Erik Wemple ranks the reasons the local punditry gave for Perry's flameout from 10 to 1. Then Newt Gingrich's second wife claimed he wanted an open marriage (insert schadenfreude over the Defense of Marriage Act's biggest defender wanting to step outside of his own marriage). Then, businessman and pizza man Herman Cain endorsed...wait for it...You. You for president. Yeah. We don't even know, but thanks for the warm fuzzies. +2

Let It Slush: Unlike the surprise snowstorm last week, it looks like we'll at least have some notice for the next one. Flurries may develop tonight with some wintry mix tomorrow. The "winterless winter" isn't likely to get much colder than this, though, at least if historical averages hold true. And we're not complaining: An extended spring is always welcome. +3

What's $0.20 Among Friends? Virginia lawmakers are proposing a 20-cent bag tax in the state. The steep price isn't going over well, though one of the state's representatives says, "Responses on my blog ran about 64 percent of the people were perfectly fine with a nickel." On! His! Blog! That's social science for you. Here in the District, of course, the bag tax is a mere 5 cents. +5

Yesterday's Needle rating: 33 Today's score: +8 Today's Needle rating: 41

The Examiner's Emily Babay adds via Twitter: "Metro revenue tech, police officer accused of stealing thousands of dollars in coins from @wmata fare card machines, feds say."

We'll update as more information becomes available.
Full release after the jump.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles today ordered several immediate actions today following the arrest of two Metro employees for alleged theft of revenue in connection with their jobs at the Authority.

The employees – Metro Transit Police Officer John Vincent Haile, 54, of Woodbridge, and Revenue Technician Horace Dexter McDade, 58, of Bowie, Md. — were arrested by Metro Transit Police (MTPD) and charged with conspiring to commit theft from programs receiving Federal funds.

An investigation was initiated in October 2011, when financial irregularities were brought to the attention of Metro's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The investigation was conducted jointly by MTPD, Metro OIG, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Police and the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria.

Revenue technician McDade had responsibilities for collecting revenue at Metrorail stations. Officer Haile worked as part of a specialized team within MTPD assigned to protect revenue collection.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles ordered several immediate actions today:

•  Officer Haile has been suspended without pay and is in the process of being terminated. Technician McDade also has been suspended.
•  The Chief Financial Officer will immediately bring in forensic accountants to conduct a thorough review of control systems and management over revenue systems to fully understand how wrongdoing occurred and to implement tighter detection systems. The review will take place concurrently with ongoing efforts of the Office of Inspector General.
•  The supervisor responsible for the revenue facility has been relieved of his duties.
•  Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn will conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of all policies and procedures pertaining to MTPD officers assigned to the Revenue Collection Unit – a process that may include reassignment of employees assigned to the Unit as the OIG and internal reviews are conducted.

Sarles expressed his appreciation for the assistance of the FBI, the Alexandria Police Department, the Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Alexandria, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Metro's Office of Inspector General.

http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=5132

You Line, I Line, We All Scream For Uline: Years ago, the Uline Arena was the place the Beatles chose for their first U.S. concert; these days, it's an empty husk of a building that's barely visible except from passing Metro trains. It might soon be a music museum, though. Architects at HKS are convening a summit to come up with design ideas; if they find one that's economically viable, the arena might one day come off the roster of vacant properties held by Douglas Development Corp. No word on whether Paul McCartney could be lured to play a set. +2

Wrath of Khan: Local boxer Lamont Peterson will have to beat Brit Amir Khan a second time if he wants to keep his belts. So says the World Boxing Association, which ordered a rematch of last year's fight at the Convention Center because of "multiple irregularities" in the refereeing and scoring of the bout. No reason to worry, though; as long as the rematch is held in D.C., Peterson should be fine. Uh, because of the strong crowd support, of course. -1

Track Marks: Going somewhere this holiday weekend? Don't be in a hurry. Metro has repair work planned for the Red, Orange, and Blue lines; virtually everyone who took the Red Line anywhere this week already knows how inconvenient single-tracking there can be. There won't be any trains between L'Enfant Plaza and Eastern Market, which means any tourists hoping to check out the Capitol will be hoofing it. (Or taking Uber?) -2

Tie One On: Business casual is the order of the day for the men at most D.C. law firms (even if suits and/or blue blazers are still de rigeur on the Hill). Which may be why an attorney based at WilmerHale, David Powers, has teamed up with a buddy to start a business that rents neckties: Why buy 'em if you almost never have to wear one? For $29.99 a month, you get the use of five fancy ties. If this isn't a sign the economy isn't actually improving, we're not sure what is. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 39 Today's score: 0 Friday bonus: +2 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 43

Ft. Totten Station. © 2012 Michael W. Hicks

Divorce Equality: When the District passed a law allowing same-sex marriages a few years ago, it was cause for great rejoicing. Some of the marriages, though, don't appear to have kept the joy going. So now the D.C. Council is looking into easing divorces for same-sex marriages where neither partner lives in a jurisdiction where same-sex marriage is legal; the idea, apparently, would be to keep things relatively uncomplicated for any couples who only came to D.C. because it's one of the few places in the country that treats gays and lesbians fairly. The legislation ought to confuse the culture warriors, though; right-wing types who are opposed to marriage equality should favor gay divorces, but then they'll be on record backing special treatment for same-sex couples! Which, as anyone who tunes in to The 700 Club knows, is the centerpiece of The Homosexual Agenda. +2

Gay Enough For You?: Speaking of gay and lesbian Washingtonians, it's time for another installment of arbitrary rankings by national magazines. Today's edition: Gayest city. The Advocate rated D.C. only the 16th-gayest city in the country, behind some places you might not expect (Orlando and Salt Lake City finished in the top two). Some of the criteria involved in making the list: Number of WNBA teams and nude yoga classes. Should the Mystics sponsor naked yoga this year, we expect our ranking to go up. +2

Fares R Us: The latest financial scheme is out from the Metro board, and it calls for raising prices, especially focusing on paper farecards, which would cost up to $6 for a trip. Then again, train service has improved significantly in recent years, so it's only natural that Metro would want to raise subway fares 5 percent to pay for all the upgrades. Wait, what? Oh. Never mind. -2

Basketball On The Cheap: The Washington Wizards haven't won a regular season NBA game since April 11, which was 274 days ago. Sure, there was the offseason and the lockout in between, but the team's gone 0-8 to start the year, and owner Ted Leonsis says it's all going according to plan. Which may be why tickets to tonight's game against the Toronto Raptors were going for 90 cents on StubHub a few hours before tipoff. For any visiting Toronto fans: That's 91 cents Canadian! The good news: That's pretty cheap. The bad news: Once you buy a ticket, you're then doomed to watching the Wizards play. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 36 Today's score: 0 Today's Needle rating: 36

No Pants Metro Ride, Jan. 8th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

Occupy Hyperbole: For a few months now, people have been camping in McPherson Square, to the growing consternation of city and federal officials. The latest rhetorical salvo against the Occupy D.C. encampment came today from D.C. Department of Health director Mohammed Akhtar, who compared the situation to refugee camps in war- and famine-torn regions of the world. Which manages to both overdramatize the McPherson Square camp, and also minimize the suffering faced by actual refugees. All in a day's work! -2

De-Titled: Chances were always good that the Lamont Peterson-Amir Khan fight would wind up in a rematch; that's how boxing works, after all. But now word is that the fighters may not have a choice about it. British newspapers, taking up Khan's cause, are speculating that the World Boxing Association could force a rematch based on what they claim was suspicious behavior during the fight, which occurred here in Peterson's hometown, D.C. Hopefully the Brits will remember who won the War of 1812 (even if they burned down the White House in the process), and leave Peterson's title alone. -2

Looking Like A Fool With Your Pants On The Ground: When historians look back on our era, what, exactly, will they make of the No Pants Subway Ride? Will it be considered a sign that even amidst an economic collapse and the general decline of the American endeavor, people still knew how to have fun? Or as the sure sign that things had gone irreparably awry? We're not entirely sure. But we suspect there will be another one next year. -1

All-Star After All: There weren't many bright spots this season for the Washington Redskins. But at least one ignominy—the decision not to send London Fletcher to the Pro Bowl—has now been remedied. The linebacker and defensive captain will replace injured Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher in Hawaii for the second year in a row. Hail to London, if not to the rest of the team. +1

Friday's Needle rating: 40 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 36

All that changed this week with the new D.C. Circulator site launch. It that looks better, but more importantly, it works better. The Circulator red, so stylish on a bus yet so unattractive on a website, has been replaced by clean white space and functional maps. The NextBus function is now easier to find, which is a handy tool, even if the buses come every 10 minutes.

Around here, we sure do gripe about transit a lot, but we're also happy to give credit where credit is due.

Photo by ElvertBarnes via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic License 2.0

Orange Line, January 2nd.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

Commuters who rely on federal transit benefits to help pay for their daily trips to work likely will have to wait until at least March to get their benefits restored to current levels — if at all.The benefits are slated to drop from the current maximum of $230 per month to $125 as of Jan. 1, even as benefits for parking rise to $240.

Transit advocates had been pushing for Congress to extend the higher benefits, but the effort got lost amid the end-of-year scuffle over the payroll tax. Now, advocates have given up for this year.

"We're going to continue to push for it in the new year," said Brian Tynan, director of government relations for the American Public Transportation Association.

But he said Congress has only a few days available in January to deal with any legislation, so it likely wouldn't be picked up until at least February.

Even if approved, it would take human resources employees until at least March to implement it, APTA estimates. The benefit is given to some workers as a direct perk — including most federal workers in the Washington region — but also as pre-tax deductions from paychecks.

In addition, local riders will have to shoulder an even bigger share: Both Virginia Railway Express and Metro have proposed raising fares in July.

So this seems like a big deal. Metro officials claim that the recent drop in ridership—even as transit became more popular across the country—can be blamed on reductions in the federal workforce. It stands to reason that diminishing benefits may present even more of a hardship for the system. Sure, people have to get to work, but if the parking subsidy is going up, then more folks are likely to drive in to the city.

And that's crazy. Transit in the District relies heavily on federal workers, driving during rush hour is already a most terrible experience, and, oh yeah, public transit is better for the environment. As a public policy decision, incentivizing solo car trips while reducing benefits for transit is maybe the worst idea we've heard all year.

Photo by cuttlefish via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License