No one’s job

For those unfamiliar, the D.C. transit system is at best a complicated affair, and, at worst, a nightmare.

Consider the case that when buses and trains are late, no one knows why or when they’ll arrive. And by the time their made aware of these answers it’s often far too late.

Too late to catch a cab or phone a friend or do any of the number of things they could or would have done if they’d simply known how long they’d have to wait.

So it’s not uncommon to wait a whole hour. Sometimes more.

Why doesn’t the metro alert pedestrians of their whereabouts? Why isn’t there a simple fix—an app that shows the real-time status of buses and trains?

It’s simple enough to make. Easy enough to build. (We already have the tech to make it possible.) So why in the world is this a mere daydream, and not an actuality?

I have a simple theory: It’s no one’s job. No one gets paid to create what doesn’t exist yet. And so no one proposes a solution, leads with a brighter vision, or creates anything of the sort that might lead to a better future.

Of course, it’s not the metro that needs fixing. And it’s not just in the 51st state.

All around us, problems stand to be solved. While pedestrians patiently wait for an impatient innovator, ruckus-maker and activist.

That could be you. It could be anyone. But it’s hard to be that someone if you’re content it’s not your job.