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Sundays are normally quieter days on the city's public transit system, but yesterday saw one of the biggest changes to the way customers board Metrobuses since the introduction of SmarTrip cards in 2001.
WMATA announced in October that it would be putting an end to paper transfers this week, and yesterday, the change went into effect. From now on, only bus riders using SmarTrip cards will be able to take advantage of free bus-to-bus transfers and discounted rail-to-bus transfers. Bus drivers no longer give out paper transfers, and machines that dispense paper rail-to-bus transfers inside Metro stations are being removed.
By now, we all know the arguments in favor of getting rid of the paper transfers. Just removing the cost of producing and distributing them saves Metro $300,000, and the expected reduction in fraud associated with their demise should bring in additional revenue. As more and more bus riders adopt SmarTrip, passenger load times should also be reduced, increasing Metrobus reliability and on-time service.
Current SmarTrip users should also be happy about two new realities: The free-transfer period associated with SmarTrip cards has been extended from 2 hours to 3 hours, and transfer discounts now apply both to rail-to-bus AND bus-to-rail trips. The amount of the rail-to-bus transfer has been decreased to make it level with the new bus-to-rail discount, amounting to customers receiving a 50 cent discount on any trip involving a transfer between the two systems. Bus-to-bus transfers continue to be free, and will now be good for a full three hours.
Photo by lorigoldberg
All that said, we're bracing for some rough going as bus riders grow used to the new rules. One of the reasons WMATA has cited for the end of paper transfers was the hope that it would reduce the number of disputes between passengers and drivers over whether a paper transfer was still valid. Hopefully once things settle down, that'll be the case, but it's not difficult to imagine that the city's poor will find plenty to be angry about in the new system. The $5 cost of a SmarTrip will be prohibitive to some, and the tedious method of adding small amounts of cash to a card when you don't have a credit or debit card will be an obstacle to many others, especially recent immigrants.
Over the last month, I've spoken with bus riders who expressed deep suspicion over Metro's motives for the change. One woman believed that she would no longer be able to afford to ride the bus starting this week. Another told me to expect poor residents like herself who are angry about the change to harass bus drivers even more than they do now, arguing that they can't afford to buy the permanent cards and shouldn't be penalized a free transfer. A recent Street Sense cover story noted that many homeless people are worried that even if they manage to get a free card from a social services agency, eventually someone would steal their cards.
Be sure to share your stories of how you see the end of paper transfers unfolding on your daily commute. Also check out the City Paper's cover story from last month about how the end of the transfer is also the end of a D.C. institution: the free ride.
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I haven't seen a faregate show $1.15 like this morning in a very long time. I almost took a picture of it.
The bus driver had to show one person how to add money to their card. It added about 15 seconds to my trip. I also overheard one rider explain to another rider what SmarTrip cards are.
About two weeks ago I was on a bus and a young hispanic woman boarded and was trying to add money to her SmarTrip card and she had put in about three bucks before the bus driver realized she was doing it wrong and stoppped her. The bus driver didn't speak Spanish and the woman really didn't speak English. The bus driver asked if anyone spoke Spanish and so I jumped in with my bad Spanish and helped the lady out. The bus driver was actually great and said she would get the woman's money back to her, but unfortunately, not every bus driver will be as nice in the future and many don't speak any level of Spanish...I suspect more incidents like the one I experienced in the coming days....
I think the biggest issue is that the SmartTrip scanners on buses never work! So yes, City Paper, the free rides continue.
My own trip this morning was problem-free, but then it's a fairly short trip through middle-class Arlington, where most people were already using SmartTrip cards. I don't doubt there'll be some pain but this change is definitely for the better. Now if only we can get the virtual tunnel between the Farraguts.
If my experience on the 50 lines is any indication, Metro might save more than $300 grand in transfer fraud.
"and transfer discounts now apply both to rail-to-bus AND bus-to-rail trips. The amount of the rail-to-bus transfer has been decreased to make it level with the new bus-to-rail discount, amounting to customers receiving a 50 cent discount on any trip involving a transfer between the two systems."
Does this mean we'll get a $0.50 discount from rail to bus AND bus to rail? If so, does the same discount apply from express buses to rail and vice versa?
You should have seen the long lines for Smartrip cards at the Metro center today around lunch time !!! This was for the regular card, they were selling the $10 Obama card for cash at a card table off to the side.Not much of a line there.
These past few years in DC, I have longed for bus-to-rail transfers. Why, I asked the Heavens, did our otherwise-relatively rational Metro leaders not gift us with the ability for seamless and cheap transfers when they allowed rail-to-bus goers to move about so freely? My--and our--prayers have been answered. 2009 already is off to an awesome start.
Anyone who complains about Metro eliminating paper transfers will be hunted down. Stop crying because you can't flash some piece of ratty-ass paper from 2006 at the bus driver.
I wonder when we'll see the $10 Obama cards on sale for $5. Jan 21, anyone?
I have to say, while I am sympathetic to the difficulties that this transition may cause for some, maybe the fact that you can't get a free ride all the time will get a few people off their asses. I can't tell you how many times I see perfectly able-bodied people get on the bus, only to get off three or four blocks down the road.
At least now they won't be able to do so for free on a re-used bus transfer. It's not for me to judge what others do with their apparently ample free time. Maybe there's some social culture of hanging out at bus stops and taking lots of short trips with a free transfer that I am unaware of. But personally, I can't imagine waiting for a bus to carry me a quarter of a mile down the road.
Anyway, I would guess that most people wouldn't actually PAY for those rides if they can't do it for free anymore. The result should be faster and less crowded bus trips on the busier lines.
Faster and less crowded bus trips? Jamie, you are delusional.
I think that it is going to be a very big issue for the bus drivers due to no having the paper transfers. When I ride the metro bus there is always a problem with those tranfers and now that they will no longer be of use they are going to be more problems. I already have a smarttrip so I really don't care about the issue. It's just that my husband drives for metro an there were already problems with the transfers.
So far, so good. It seemed like boarding moved much more efficiently. I estimate that about 50% of the people had SmarTrip cards on the 70s bus today... a vast improvement over other days with a line of 10 people all paying in cash. The bus was also much less crowded; I can't be sure exactly, but I think people not being able to hand-off their transfers lightened traffic.
I have to say I couldn't wait for the SmarTrip-only transfers to go into effect. Today about 50% of people had SmarTrip cards boarding the 70s line. Not a bad success rate. The bus definitely seemed to have fewer passengers, but that is probably just a residual effect of people not being able to hand-off their transfers to others waiting at a stop.
Just for the record. I posted a comment, it didn't seem to go through... so I posted again. Oh well.
@badtzmaru, see @alewis[13]. In your face!
The amount of the rail-to-bus transfer has been decreased to make it level with the new bus-to-rail discount, amounting to customers receiving a 50 cent discount on any trip involving a transfer between the two systems.
Actually, the amount of the rail-to-bus transfer discount has been decreased to make it level with the new bus-to-rail discount. That took me by surprise yesterday when I hopped on the bus and saw that I was charged 75 cents (as opposed to 35 cents). I hadn't heard that they were implementing the bus-to-rail transfer discount, and evening it out by decreasing the rail-to-bus discount.