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DC Commuters Pray To Pope Francis To Fix Metro. Their Answer May Be In His Last Encyclical.

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After numerous high profile safety lapses this year, users of the District of Columbia’s Metro system are hoping for a miracle to save the beleaguered transit agency.

With Pope Francis heading in to town Tuesday night, some city commuters thought it might be a good idea to ask his holiness to bless the train line that’s been plagued by break downs and infrequent service.

One of those commuters, Noah Rosenheck, launched a Change.Org petition late Monday night, and by Tuesday morning, it had already reached its goal of 100 supporters.

The petition reads:

Dear Pope Francis,

Our Metro system is having some troubles. All of DC would be grateful if you could find the time to bless it during your upcoming stay. Maybe a Papal Blessing is just what it needs.

A Papal Blessing might be the only thing that can save the train line that, already this year, has seen a fatal smoke incident, a derailment near a heavily trafficked train station and countless outages and back-ups.

Pope Francis directly addressed the concerns of Metro riders in an encyclical letter from May in which he derided the quality of life issues brought about by a poor public transportation system.

“The quality of life in cities has much to do with systems of transport, which are often a source of much suffering for those who use them,” Pope Francis wrote.

The pope says that governments need to give priority to public transportation in order to reduce the number of cars circulating in cities and the problems they bring with them, such as the traffic jams and the need for more roads and parking.

“Yet some measures needed will not prove easily acceptable to society unless substantial improvements are made in the systems themselves, which in many cities force people to put up with undignified conditions due to crowding, inconvenience, infrequent service and lack of safety,” he says.

During the Papal Visit, traffic congestion and public transportation crowding are expected to test the city’s capacity to handle the influx of tourists and pilgrims.

Metro has indicated that it is ready to handle the challenge. It appears riders, however, are not as optimistic.

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