October 25, 2007
Transit on Thursday: Fare Hike Proposal Edition
WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details:
>> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65
>> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35
>> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70
>> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain at $1.25. If you pay with cash, it'll cost you $1.35.
>> Parking fees at Metro lots would be increased $1.15 across the board.
Now that they've agreed on a proposal, Metro's Board must schedule meetings to allow for public comments. Those meetings are expected to be as soon as mid-November.
So what do you think of the proposal? If anything, it strikes us as being modest enough that it could likely fall short of actually meeting the budget needs of Metro, which is facing a significant shortfall. But, as long as it's coupled with Catoe's earlier proposal to start giving away SmartTrip cards for free and providing them in grocery stores, it has the benefit of being unlikely to be seriously challenged on the grounds that it unfairly targets low income residents -- something the Board was clearly keen to avoid.
After the jump, Metro mourns the loss of a bus driver, and will have special early morning service on Sunday to accommodate the Marine Corps Marathon.
Photo by Samer Farha
An Empty Seat:
Metro is mourning the loss of one of its bus drivers today, who died this morning in a traffic accident. The 39-year-old driver, whose name has not yet been released while his next of kin are notified, was a five-year Metrobus veteran. NBC4 reports that the driver died after his bus broke down on southbound I-395 near the Shirlington exit shortly before 6 a.m. No passengers were aboard.
The Post is reporting that a woman driving a Nissan Sentra tried to pull around the stalled bus on the left, but got into a fender bender with a tractor-trailer. The truck driver then hit the bus driver, who was standing at the back of the stalled bus, while attempting to go around the incident on the right shoulder. Authorities are investigating the incident, but no charges have been filed.
Metro to Open Early, Add Trains for Marathon:
Metro will open two hours early, at 5 a.m., and run additional Blue Line trains on Sunday, October 28 to meet demand for the Marine Corp Marathon. Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon are expected to be the busiest stations on the morning of the race, which starts at 8:15 a.m., so if you can avoid them in the early morning, you should.
Weekend Track Work to Affect Red, Blue, Green and Orange Lines:
Track maintenance and rail car testing on the Red, Blue, Orange and Green lines this weekend (October 26-28) will cause inbound and outbound trains to take turns sharing one track from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, October 27, and from 9 a.m., to 7 p.m., Sunday, October 28.
Red Line: Add up to 20 minutes of travel time between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metro stations because of track maintenance.
Orange Line: Add up to 30 minutes of travel time between the New Carrollton and Cheverly Metrorail because of track maintenance. Every other Orange Line train will terminate at the Cheverly Metrorail station and return to the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail station.
Blue Line: Add up to 15 minutes of travel time between the Stadium-Armory and Addison Road-Seat Pleasant stations because Metro is providing Verizon Wireless track access to conduct maintenance and emergency work on its cables from 10 p.m. to closing (3 a.m.) Saturday, October 27.
Green Line: A dd up to 15 minutes of travel time between the Navy Yard and Congress Heights stations should due to Verizon Wireless maintenance from midnight to closing (3 a.m.) Friday, October 26. Inbound and outbound trains between the Greenbelt and College Park Metrorail stations will also share one track while new trains are tested from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 27.
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Wow, having to pay $1.35 to ride the bus, in exact change, may very well be a more effective way of forcing people to adapt to SmarTrip than was the idea to eliminate paper transfers.
I agree, DCfist. Who can fumble for the quarter AND the dime. It will either encourage people to switch to SmarTrip or it will slow the buses down as everyone searches and fumbles for their dimes at the farebox.
there's no excuse not to go to smart trip cards across the board, especially if catoe is willing to give them away.
standing behind someone using change to pay for the bus in the morning is like those visa commercials where everything is flowing smoothly until some neanderthal decides he's going to muck things up with his old fashioned money. time to get with the times, dinos.
How can they provide free SmarTrip cards without eliminating one benefit of the cards, the ability to go into a negative balance?
It does seem modest, but it leaves WMATA more leverage for future hikes if shortfalls persist. Compared with other metro mass transit systems, the proposed fares are reasonable. Does WMATA work with local municipalities to provide subsidies for low income and/or senior riders? This is common in many municipalities, and would seem more useful than free Smartcards.
Great. So all those ridiculous people who already take up time finding a quarter for bus fare will hold me up even more finding a darned dime.
Suck.
As someone who basically just rides the bus and uses a smartrip, I obviously approve of this plan. Although, if anything, I might feel kind of like a freeloader.
I'm really surprised the suburban reps went for that parking increase. Weren't they flipping out about a fifty cent increase just two weeks ago?
Well, as someone with a commute from the end of the red line who could drive to work but for reasons of lifestyle and environment chooses not to -- I am not thrilled. This is an increase of $13.75 a week for a rider like me and math tells me that could run in the hundreds of dollars for the year. Makes me reconsider whether I shouldn't just drive if the cost is a wash.
I think the proposals are reasonable, especially if they couple that with eliminating paper transfers.
Oh...and that makes my grand total for a weekly commute with parking $73.75 -- if I drive and get three parking tickets a week I'd still pay less and have leftover money for gas/repairs.
All of you pissing and moaning about the cost of your commute, guess what...you made your bed. Now stop bitching and sleep in it. You wanted more house and more yard, presumably more than you needed. Well, there's a cost to that. Suck it up.
Being a former PWC resident I really do sympathize with those who travel on Metro to DC from Springfield, and others who make similar trips from other outlying areas. It feels like you're being robbed paying that much for parking, searching through the garage for a space that's open and then having to wait for a train that will take at least 45 minutes to get in to the city. I don't think the cost/benefit analysis is in these commuters favor, especially w/this parking hike proposal. My suggestion to them is take the commuter bus. Much more bang for your buck.
For real. The cost of living in the suburbs or exurbs is substantial. Stop whining and fork over your money!
There are plenty of affordable close-in suburbs and inner city neighborhoods if your commute is too expensive.
To each their own. Living in Reston makes a lot of sense if you work near the Tysons/Dulles corridor. And people's situations change. New job, significant other, etc... And plent of people commute from DC to the Burbs.
The self rightousness of the inner Beltway set is pretty tired.
Just to play devil's advocate, I noticed a huge difference in my paycheck when I moved from DC to VA. Considering I'm entry level with student loans, it really did make a difference for me.
Just to continue to play devil's advocate, how much do you spend in commuting to DC? Enough to eat up some of that difference I presume. And I'm not talking about living in the close-in burbs. I'm talking about those people who moved to the hinter lands.
And don't give me the self rightousness BS. Yes, if you work in Tysons, by all means live closer to it. That's my point. Don't bitch so much when you CHOSE to live further away from work. If your situation changed, well that sucks for you and I sympathize, but if you picked your home, shut up and deal with it.
Peeps in the burbs feel they're entitled to inexpensive gas, free parking, and 5 rooms per adult. Stop crying me a river and change your living situation. Maybe then I'll sympathize with you.
to #16
I'm sorry, but it is self rightousness. By your logic, we should all be like the breed of New Yorkers who would never consider a relationship with someone who lives outside of the Upper East Side. It's not easy to pick up and move on a whim, even if you rent. A serious job hunter may need to make tradeoffs on some factors, including commute. And if you live in the hinterlands, you are more likely to take MARC than Metro.
Some of us don't need sympathy. I have a 20 minute door to door commute by Metro. My wife could walk to work but rides to keep me company. I still feel for people who genuinely feel pinched by this whatever their circumstances
I've got friends in Maryland and Virginia and I go see them all of the time. You're missing the point.
Do I bitch when I see my mortgage payment each month? No, it's the cost I've decided to incur in order to live close to work and live a certain lifestyle. I'm just tired of people incessantly bitching about transportation costs who CHOSE (read it...i've capitalized it for emphasis...hope this helps you) to live far away. Shut up! Change your spending habits or something to make up for the cost difference. Don't just sit there and bitch like you deserve a traveling discount!
And if you take MARC, chances are you'll have to get on the Metro to get to your job. Nice try on that one.
Alright... We're done here
I'm going to have to side with guest121 here -- it's not being an urban elist to say people who choose to live far from where they work should expect to pay for it (in time and money). When I first moved to DC, I lived in Dupont Circle and worked in Fairfax. My commute by Metro was an hour long and cost roughly $7/day. Sure, I could have lived closer to the office and cut down significantly on my commute costs, but I decided the cost and headaches of the commute were more than offset by the amenities available in my neighborhood.
Just keep in mind that Metro doesn't owe you a cheap commute. Every transit agency expects to lose some riders when they raise fares, but most riders will stay put (they might think it's worth it, or it might still be cheaper than parking downtown) and the system overall will benefit from the extra cash.
My commute below is just an example of the dilemma of some commuters.
I was born & grew up in DC but we're very happy in MD, our kid is doing very well in our school cluster & we have no wish to move when real estate has become so expensive anyway.
Plenty of us live WITHIN an hour of our jobs downtown & CHOOSE not to drive & pay for daily parking. I live near Kensington, about 12 miles from downtown, my round-trip fare on Metro is $5.70, parking is another $4 per day. I can't afford $20 a week just to park, so some days I park in a nearby neighborhood & walk 12 min. to the station. I can't take Ride On b/c I have to pick up my kids from daycare on the way home, and their daycare is too far (plus it's all uphill) for 4 year old twins to walk home in all kinds of weather & temperatures. I can't take MARC for now b/c only 4 trains a night stop closest to my home - if I miss one at Union Station, I have to wait another 30 min. for the next one, and that conflicts with daycare closure...
I think what guest121 is saying is that your choice to live father out comes with opportunity costs in the form of a longer and more expensive commute. My choice to live in the city has the benefit of allowing me to walk to work. However, I live in a relatively small space and whatever savings I would have enjoyed from my free commute are eaten up in a higher mortage, condo fee, and tax rate. Space and payment considerations were not as important to me as location when choosing where to live.
If you want a cheaper commute, either live closer to work or work closer to home.
I rarely take Metro rail or bus, so NO, I'm not BUYING a SmartCard. When they're free I'll take one and start using it, but until that day comes, I'm digging out the quarter and the dime.