Based upon my extensive NYC subway experience, of course I was ripe to compare my opinions to the Washington Metro. Apparently often, in DC, an escalator is not operative. When it’s stairs – as in New York – I’m facing with a suitcase, I know it’s stairs and I lug upwards to a stair-induced-rhythm. But a broken escalator only reinforces with each manual step that I am lugging, making the load twice as heavy. The Metro train of cars was arriving and as they were passing by I saw the front cars were almost empty and the back cars, which were pulling to a stop in front of me, were jammed. I and three other ‘tourists’ began walking toward the front cars. Just as we arrived at the open door, it shut, practically de-nosing us. Explain that one. The biggest difference, no, not the biggest difference – that would be spotless track-beds in Washington – but another bigger difference is the fare card use. In NYC you enter the entire system with one swipe and put your card away. In DC you put your card in the turnstyle, it snatches it, reads it and spits it out about 20 inches away from where you inserted it. But you’re not done yet. To exit the system, at your stop you have to repeat this process and a variable amount is subtracted from your card total. I understand the system, it just increases the chance of losing your card by 100% and it is harder to keep track of the amounts spent and left.