Earlier this week all of the escalators at the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro Station were out, and on Friday, Metro hinted at least one possible cause.
The transit agency tweeted a photo of two different flip-flops and a woman's shoe with the caption, "Look at what we pulled out of the Foggy Bottom escalators this week."
There's no word on whether any of the passengers wearing the shoes were hurt, but judging by the photo, the escalator caused extensive damage to the flip flop on the right.
Earlier this week Metro issued a report that said, "458 out of 588 escalators were operating in May 2011 (based on hours of available service). This represents a significant decrease from April, with 22 less escalators in operation for the month."
Metro officials have said for some time that the main issue is aging infrastructure. But it certainly cannot help when multiple shoes get caught up in the already issue-plagued system.
Bottom Line: Pay attention when you ride up or down those moving stairs.
