November 7, 2008
Bus to Rail Transfer Discounts Coming in January
You already knew that in January, WMATA is doing away with all paper transfers and increasing the SmarTrip transfer window to three hours. This morning the Post explains that these transfer changes will at long last include discounts for bus to rail transfers that riders (and DCist commenters) have been asking for since SmarTrip was first introduced. Currently, rail to bus transfers are discounted, but commuters who start on a Metrobus and then enter the Metrorail system pay full price for both.
The plan involves balancing out the discount between both bus to rail and rail to bus riders. Currently, rail to bus customers get a deep discount on the second half of their trip, paying full price for their Metrorail ride and 35 cents for their bus trip. Under the new plan, those transfers will become more expensive, going up to 75 cents for the bus ride. At the same time, bus to rail customers will finally see a discount, amounting to 50 cents being knocked off their Metrorail fare when they enter the system within three hours of a bus ride.
Some Metro officials reportedly would like to delay the implementation of this change, in order to make sure customers have lots of time to get used to and understand the new transfer fare structure. But according to the Post's account, Metro's board is set on instituting the change at the same time as the elimination of paper transfers, on Jan. 4, 2009.
Do you think the plan to balance transfer discounts is fair?
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It's nice to not have that disparity, but the fee adjustment of a rail to bus transfer sort of negates the whole thing.
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Heck YEAH!!! It's about time. Even with an increase in transfer prcie for Rial to Bus riders, I think it is silly that it has never worked the other way around. Discounts for ALL!!
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Of course. It has never made the slightest bit of sense that if I ride TO work, it's one price, and FROM work, another.
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i think it's fair, and i think that whoever the hell thinks this should be delayed yet again needs a kick to the groin.
just get the damn thing over with. it's the whole band-aid analogy. just rip it off and deal with the pain for a second. wmata seems to revel in peeling things back very, very, very slowly.
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Maybe I'm not thinking it all the way through.. but doesn't this mean that Metro will get 10 cents less on every round-trip bus/rail journey?
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I don't actually like the idea of discounting rail fares by 50 cents for bus transfers. Mostly because the discount doesn't really help people who live closer to transit options and essentially acts as a subsidy for suburban rush-hour travelers.
Let's take two scenarios:
Scenario 1: Suburban traveler paying the max rush-hour fare Metrorail trip
Current fares:
Coming: $1.25 for the bus, and $4.50 for the rail.
Going: $4.50 for the rail and then $0.35 for the bus.
Total cost: $11.60
New fares:
Coming: $1.25 for the bus, $4.00 for the rail.
Going: $4.50 for the rail, $0.75 for the bus.
Total cost: $10.50
Scenario 2: City dweller taking the shortest rush-hour Metrorail trip.
Current fares:
Coming: $1.25 for the bus, $1.65 for the rail.
Going: $1.65 for the rail, $0.35 for the bus.
Total cost: $4.90
New fares:
Coming: $1.25 for the bus, $1.15 for the rail.
Going: $1.65 for the rail, $0.75 for the bus.
Total cost: $4.80
Let me know if these figures are off somehow... but at first glance, it seems like a bad idea that just helps suburbanites who commute into the city.
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@alewis, you are math impaired.
$1.25 + $4.50 + $4.50 + $0.35 = $10.60, not $11.60
The round trip is about the same now.
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Somewhat related, I finally got an official answer about the relaunch of NextBus, from John Catoe in today's chat:
So it sounds like they're going all out, which will be very nice.
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I've never understood the rationale for the original policy. People make vague allusions to social justice, but are there really that many people who take one-way trips involving a bus/rail transfer only? And if there are, are they really more likely to be low-income?
It seems to me that no matter whether you are coming from near or far, day or night, work or school, rich or poor... you will eventually need to get back home, and you will probably retrace your original journey on your original mode combination, with a reverse sequence of transfers. So the change will make no difference at all to your bottom line.
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You're either on the bus
or
Off the bus.
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The rationale for the original policy is, you can hand a transfer pass to a bus driver, but you can't stick one in a metro turnstile machine. Now it will all be computerized this technological limitation is gone.
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How does it work if you have to transfer from one bus route to another?
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Learn to love google.
http://www.wmata.com/metrobus/riding_metrobus.cfm#transfers
bus-to-bus transfers are free within a 2 hour time period.
I seriously pity anyone who has to take a bus to the metro and then be on Metro long enough to spend $4.50 on that trip. Can't you take the $200+ a month you spend on transit, plus the 2 hours or more you spend each day on busses and trains, and convert that into a place to live that's not halfway to West Virginia?
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Whew, everyone in here needs to chill. Warshington, kindly try to argue your point without the name calling. I've removed your previous post - you can repost your point if you remove the personal attacks and unnecessary swear words.
OnlyatBrandeis, bus to bus transfers will continue to be free, just as they are now, except that the time frame will increase from 2 to 3 hours.
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I'll say one thing about riding the bus...it's cheaper than a cab ride. Even if the fares go up to 4 dollars. For us Bussites..it's a win/win situation.
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While I agree that the increase in cost for the rail to bus folks sucks I've always thought it unfair that they were the only ones with a discount. I prefer this new situation as it provides parity throughout the system. Just because rail to bus folks got a better deal before doesn't mean that that should continue.
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hce: hot damn! it's another i'll believe it when i see it moment, but if catoe is at least talking about it, that's a very good thing!
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This is dope as fuck. Especially the increase in transferability time. This means I could take the bus to work and head back home for lunch at no extra charge. Then I could go back to work at 1 and dip out early at four to get another free bus ride. WOOOHOOOO WMATA!!!!