Next VRE Fare Increase to Be More Modest

Last month, we told you how the Virginia Railway Express commuter lines were discussing raising their fares by 15 percent in January, even though they had just raised them 3 percent across the board in July. Well today WTOP reports that VRE CEO Dale Zehner will this week recommend a fare increase of only 7 percent. Given that the reasons for the increase are similar to problems facing transit and commuter rail agencies across the country, like high fuel costs and aging trains, the 7 percent hike seems a lot easier to swallow than a 15 percent one. Keep in mind, though, that originally VRE was talking about two big rounds of increases: 15 percent in January and then possibly another 10 percent in July, 2009. With this new plan to raise fares by only 7 percent in January, it seems even more likely that a second increase could be in store next summer.