quote:

Reason all this bothers me is that some months I don't use the services enough to make it worthwhile to get the monthly pass and I don't like the limitations that doing this implies.

Lena,

Tell us how you really feel. I agree with you 100%. I think that this could be a possible way to force people to buy the monthly pass. I admit too that as an English teacher, the month of August wasn't a busy month and I really didn't need the monthly metro pass. When I went out, I usually walked there.

Shawn

hey lena, yes, i am now a believer.

i should have read this thread befor getting on the metro to the airport but i have been soooo busy.

i agree that it is not fair to add the supplement all of a sudden for a service that was included in a normal ticket before.

they could justify adding a 1 euro supplement to and from t4 since that is the new exttension they opened but making it more wexpensive to t2 is not cool at all

saludos,
jer...

by the way, it has been a looooong time since i had a monthly pass but i thought you did not have to buy it if you do not need it one month.

used to be you could get the new month's pass or not.

for example, in august when you are on vacation you do not need to buy it, you can just get a 10 trip ticket instead.

is this still true?

sasludos,
jer...

Of course, nobody forces you to buy the monthly pass, you only get it when you want, my point is that if you don't get it for a certain month you know you will have to pay those extra charges at the airport or not be able to use the Cercanías trains within the city, so you have to make sure and figure out if it's going to be worth it in the end. For economy as well as convenience.

Good point, Lena. That's why during the month of August, I really didn't need it and did without it some years.

Shawn

I had no idea you could use the cercanías trains within the city with a monthly pass! Does this go for that big ring of stations that circles the city (príncipe pío, pirámides, atocha, etc.) or is it just for the Atocha to Chamartín trayecto?

I've used it at Príncipe Pío, Atocha and a lot between Recoletos and Nuevos Ministerios, sometimes all the way to Chamartín, don't know about the rest. I found out about it by coincidence and while renovations happened at my house I used it a lot because I was living near Nuevos Ministerios and my office is right by Recoletos. But I was under the mistaken impression that you could use the metrobus the same way as well, until while accompanying a colleague between the airport and Atocha I tried to get her into the Cercanías at Nuevos Ministerios with a regular 10-trip pass and she couldn't go through. A Metro employer who was there explained that I could with the monthly pass but a metrobus ticket was not good for using Cercanías at any point. If you've read the thread you know I think that's unfair.

Let me add my two pennies
All of you are talking money concern...
I think like Lena that Madrid subway system is fantastic but what about the humane aspect point of view? Am I the only one who is annoyed with all these up and down stairs?
Is nobody care about those old people and disabled who are climbing with much difficulty these stairs, not to mention mothers carry babies in prams as if they're Samson the hero. I must say it makes me furious.
I was hoping that with all the new renovations these stairs will disappear or will be transform to escalators..

Second issue is air-condition, summer is almost here, and to think of riding the metro again suffocating, smelly, sweating people with no air-condition...
Why they think it's enough to built more train stations and not to improve the condition of the coaches and the quality of the ride for the passengers?

Nava

I agree with you 100% Ladies, on all points made about the Metro system and it's pricing strategies, it's all messed up, and quite unfair in the many ways that have been described by you, I won't go into specifics, except one, the problem with the stairs, I have been getting increasingly worse over the last few years, my Spinal condition took a turn for the worse in 2005, and my walking & stair climbing ability went with it, my lower back is on fire most of the time, and any stair climbing is pure agony for my legs, and I too have had to use the many stations in Madrid where there are predominantly many flights of stairs, and each time it was really agonizing, and there is no compensation for those of us who have these kind of disabilities/Incapacities and problems with using very deep metro stations with great steep flights of stairs, I truly hate it, even more so with all the reconstruction going on, there is no provision made to help those of us with such difficulties. In London England, when such works are carried out, they close the stations, and arrange special Bus services to bridge the stations, and it stays that way until they have finished installing Elevators or what ever else they are doing, and to my knowledge, people with disabilities don't have to pay to use those services, and more often than not, they are totally free to use between the affected stations, although I can't swear to that, as when I'm in London I'm strictly a car user as I cannot stand up when riding the either the bus or Metro, as it hurts my Spine & legs too much, and NOBODY in London or anywhere else in England will allow me to sit down when asked, even when I explain my predicament, I've also had that a lot in Madrid & Barcelona too, some people just make my blood boil sometimes, but back to the pricing thing, well yes, they will charge what they do, until enough people get together and lobby government about it for long enough, it's been a raging war in London for ages, especially since Red Ken took over, and it will go on raging for time to come yet, so what can we do? just keep on suffering I guess, and keep on paying the ever increasing charges. ETA didn't help things much recently either, blowing up that Car park at Barajas, undoubtedly has caused financial repercussions all over the place, hence the additional 1.00 euro fee to get out at Barajas!! I don't doubt that there will be more increases to come, just as a result of that bloody car park!!

As for the air conditioning, don't remind me, it hurts just to remember some of the severely hot summers that I've had in Madrid, when the temperature gauge was reading 45,6,7,'Celsius' in the street, and not much better in some of the Metro trains either!!

Saludos.

Speaking of no escalators, I didn't realize until I started talking to friends that Opera doesn't have a single escalator. (I know that it's many more than just opera, but this one stuck out to me). I see so many people struggling to get out that place. No escalators don't bother me, but I do think about others.

That Line 5 will let you down every time and what I don;t understand is, if the ridership on line 5 is high, why isn't anything being done to improve the quality of the trains?

Shawn

Here goes another rant:
-There's lots of people riding lines 5 and 6 but they still suck, old trains, delays the works. See my previous rant for details.
-Some of the trains do have air conditioning but not all of them, and the older lines like 5 and 6 definitely do not and I can guarantee you it gets smelly in there, even at 8,30 in the am
-Don't even get me started on the escalators, sometimes I take the stairs to burn off a few extra calories but that's my choice and I decide if my knees feel up to it or not. What bothers me is when there is no choice. While my parents visited last Christmas we moved by Metro and they both have mobility problems and it was very frustrating and irritating. Particularly when one escalator is broken or you have a station that has escalators up to a certain point and then you still have to climb at least a flight of stairs to get out to street level.
-I for one will help anybody I see with a baby carriage up and down the stairs, just last week I helped a lady with a suitcase up a flight of stairs because an escalator was broken. She was trying to carry two suitcases at the same time, as I'm sure she was afraid if she left one behind it would be stolen. I also give up my seat to pregnant women and elderly people but not many other people do. And that unfortunately has nothing to do with the metro system but with rude and selfish people
-I still think the Madrid transport system is pretty good but I am angry that they keep hiking the prices and building all this new stuff that makes the politicos look good, without fixing the older stuff or making all existing stations wheelchair accessible, or putting escalators and elevators in all, or getting rid of the old, nasty trains and making it more comfortable and humane (good choice or words Nava) for everybody.
End of rant, for now...

quote:

Originally posted by lena:
-I for one will help anybody I see with a baby carriage up and down the stairs

Olé Lena!

I can´t tell you how disgusted I was last week when I flew into Barajas T-1 from Philadelphia, with baby and two carry-ons...having flown solo (hubby had stayed in Madrid). Can you believe that there is no escalator...only STEPS going down to immigration? I had to leave my two carry-ons at the top of the steps and lug the baby down the stairs in his carriage, leave him there, going running back up the stairs for the bags, go running back down to the baby. This, after a transatlantic overnight flight. Meanwhile the pilots and airline attendants passed me on the steps smiling. What were they smiling about??

Ok, for the first few months after my pregnancy (fortunately no c-section) I chose to look at the metro no-elevator/escalator situation with a positive attitude and convinced myself that it would be a great way to get back in shape (although I don't think my uterus agreed with me on that one )...lugging that baby carriage up and down those steps and all. However, I did appreciate all those friendly passengers who did offer to help!

quote:

What were they smiling about??

The fact that you were struggling and they didn't have to or they could've seen how cute Angelito is. You decide.

Seriously, I just don;t understand how you can renovate a station and do nothing with the trains. My pet peeve is line 5. I have a friend who hates line 1, but I've never had any problem with it. Ríos Rosas in da hous. In general, yes, a very good system, but the infrastucture needs work. i don;t know how old people do it, but then again, it's people who help them that makes the difference.

I don't know if Chamartín is up to par, but before I left, there wasn't a single damned escalator woking there, but it's undergoing a major renovation. Go figure.

Shawn

I think the majority of old people just take the bus... they usually have more time and carry monthly passes (10EUR is a good deal for elderly).

I take line 4 to work which is not bad. The trains are fairly modern and they go every 3 minutes during the morning rush hour. I usually manage to grab a seat too. Also I've noticed in Goya they are installing at least 2 elevators.

I took line 1 in the morning just ONCE and I will never make the same mistake again. The trains go every 2 minutes but boy are the PACKED. I must have looked like a ghost because a guy actually offered me his seat.

I think Chamartin just got reopened and is supposed to be super duper modern.

I also have a big gripe with people not giving up their seats to elderly or pregnant women. I'm usually the only one that will notice an older lady/gentleman and offer them my seat. Sometimes I see non-Spanish looking guys (I think immigrants) offer their seat and also happened to see a Spanish girl once or twice. But NEVER a Spanish guy. Don't their mothers teach them to do that? What's up with that???

I hope they design the newer escalators better than the older ones. I believe it's at Principe de Vergara station (maybe Velasquez) where you have to go down 4 different sets of long, long escalators to the trains.

My ears were about ready to pop from the pressure change and I was afraid of melting because we were so close to the earth's core.