Public transit has failed the Washington Nationals.
As the Nationals faced off in the series-deciding Game 5 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, transit in Washington stopped operating in the middle of the seventh inning.
An announcement was made during the game, telling fans the last public train was leaving. The news gave fans a tough choice: Stay at the game and have no ride home or leave a huge game to ensure you make it home at a reasonable hour without spending a ton of cash on a taxi. Fans weren’t happy with the announcement, and chanted “Metro sucks!”
jumbotron warning gets the crowd fired up.. Boos and chants of "Metro sucks" pic.twitter.com/nM1GN0BPnb
— Carol Maloney (@carolmaloney4) October 14, 2016
Wow 43,000 people chanting "Metro sucks" is kind of beautiful, to be honest
— Alex Putterman (@AlexPutterman) October 14, 2016
Hey @wmata here’s a “Metro sucks” chant at @Nationals Park. pic.twitter.com/SB04amJFqB
— Ryan Kearney (@rkearney) October 14, 2016
Bryce Harper warned fans to stick around and take an Uber pregame.
“I hope everybody takes an Uber and doesn’t take the train. Once the train leaves at 11:30, our stadium is empty. Hopefully that doesn’t happen,” he said, referring to the uncertainty of D.C. Metro staying open for late playoff games.”
It’s easy to see both sides to this unfortunate situation. Public transit should increase its hours for highly populated events, but they are under no requirement to do so. Sticking to a predetermined schedule helps keep transit running smoothly. However, having the last train running during the biggest Nationals game of the year is cruel. That’s a no-win situation.
For those who decided to stick around, they got to see their hometown Nationals fall 4-3 to the Dodgers, eliminating them from the postseason. After, some had to find ulterior ways to get home. It sounded like the makings of a horrible night.
