Life on the Rac - Day 1

Yesterday at about 11:30 AM, I officially became a member of the WMATA Riders' Advisory Council (RAC). The WMATA Executive Board unanimously approved a resolution that appointed me and 20 other citizen advisors to this Council.

Prior to the meeting I was introduced to Chairman Dana Kauffman and CEO Richard White. Both were very cordial and expressed high hopes for this long over due partnership between Metro and the customers they serve. I also had an opportunity to meet fellow RAC members Don Padou, Dr. Sharon Conn, Kevin Moore, and Dennis Jaffe who also chose to attend this historic board meeting.

I'd like to thank Debra Johnson, Metro's Director of Project Communications, who has been very helpful and encouraging throughput the last month of discussions on progress, status, and expectations.

In my naivety, I'd forgotten the attention that this council would get from the media. Both before and after the Executive Board Meeting, the other RAC Members and I were interviewed by members of the press, including The DC Examiner, The Washington Post, WTOP, and the Associated Press. They all asked questions about who we were, what we hoped to accomplish, and our pet projects. I heard that latter in the day one of the other members was invited for an interview on WAMU public radio. Kojo Nnamdi Show Real Player Windows Media Player

In all the commotion of the day, I didn’t get an opportunity to speak with Steve Eldridge, Sprawl & Crawl Columnist for the DC Examiner. Steve was inspirational in my decision to apply for the RAC in the first place, and I wanted to thank him.

Yesterday, in the Washington Post was an article that described how honored I am to actually get a nomination to the RAC. In all, 940 people applied for the 20 contestable spots on the Council, “it has turned out to be easier to be admitted to Harvard University this year than to snag a spot on the 21-member board. Four times easier.”

By the end of the day, Metro posted the following a press release, Riders' Advisory Council Established, where my qualifications as “a small business owner who provides Metrochek for his employees who commute to work”, was highlighted. It’s very surprising that of all the information I provided, they chose this aside to emphasize. I promise to post my application in a subsequent Blog.

My goal, is to use this Blog as an opportunity to share with the WMATA Metro Riders my observations and sharable information I learn, while being a member of the RAC. I also hope to generate a forum for YOU to bring me ideas and solutions to help us all to improve the services of WMATA. My intent is that through collaboration, our shared need for reliable and safe transportation in and around Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, and Prince Georges County we can help WMATA to meet the demands of YOU its customer base.

Thank you in advance for your support.

I. Michael Snyder
WMATA Riders' Advisory Council
Council Member for Maryland - MetroRail