While we sit here tap-tapping our fingers, eagerly awaiting the Metro Board’s next move on our collective fare fate, we will distract ourselves with other traffic and metro related tidbits: metro savings, the ICC goes on and weekend delays.

Photo by philliefan_99

A long-time complaint of commuters looking for more and better options to get between Washington and Baltimore could be remedied as soon as next year. The Baltimore Sun reports that the Maryland Transit Administration plans to expand MARC commuter train service to include weekends and additional weekday trains in 2008. The ambitious plan, which will still require approvals from relevant rail agencies, includes tripling MARC's capacity by 2035.

The change would allow those looking for a quick weekend getaway between Baltimore and Washington to save anywhere from $7 to $12 one-way, if prices for the MARC trains remain the same.

In contrast to today's MARC news, the Examiner takes another gloomy look at projections for the Dulles rail extension. Virginia and Airports Authority officials are still claiming they can open the first phase of Dulles Rail by the end of 2012, despite the recent FTA report calling the ambitious timeline in to question.

Photo by #4 (Meaghan)

Bad news today for riders who use the 32 Metro bus routes that take part in the NextBus tracking system. Or, good news for those who are tired of the system giving out bunk information.

WMATA plans to suspend the notification service by late October for up to 18 months, saying it's not accurate enough to expand as-is to the other 306 system routes, reports the Post.

The program, which uses a GPS system to track buses and update riders on how soon they will hit stops, is only accurate about 80 percent of the time, Metro officials said. That rating is apparently not up to snuff with the standards of Metro chief John Catoe.

While we readily give two points to Catoe for not letting a sub-par system slip through the cracks, and there are obviously plenty of other things on which Metro could focus their time and attention, it's annoying that the program was rolled out and never completely worked. This announcement also reminds us to ask, hey Mr. Catoe, what ever happened to getting the Metro train arrival notification board's bugs worked out? Those still seem to be wrong most of the time, too.

What has your experience with NextBus been like? Will you miss it, or did its problems cause you to give up on it before this announcement?

Photo by Flickr user hey-helen

This week on Transit on Thursday, good news from DDOT for people who don't like getting hit by cars, and Metro plans on fixin' some things that really need fixin'.

Score One For Pedestrians:
We will soon get to say farewell to annoying sidewalk closures caused by those greedy development projects. No more braving the fury of cars as we find a way around. And no more crossing to the other side.

Builders will instead be required to work around pedestrians by constructing covered walkways much like they do in (where else?) New York City, DDOT spokesperson Erik Linden tells DCist.

"New York is actually the national role model for this issue because there's so much development in and they build covered walkways to keep sidewalks open," he said.

Photo by billadler

As if we needed another study to tell us D.C. area traffic is awful and getting worse -- a report released yesterday has pushed us into a solid three-way tie for second place in the contest for the Worst Traffic in the Nation award.

So congrats, D.C. You are tied with drivers in Atlanta and the Bay Area as you burn time inching along I-395 in your car. Only Los Angeles can boast more congestion than this. And that's bad.

Do we get a trophy out the deal? Nope. Just 91 million gallons of fuel - or $1,094 per gridlocked driver – wasted while sitting in traffic, reports The Post. And of course, Ryan Avent has the explanation for why this is happening to us in the first place.

It's not just fuel and dollars going down the tubes as we listen to our radios while watching the bumper of the guy in front of us – we sit in traffic for an average of 60 hours a year, a solid two and a half weeks week and a half of time that could be used for other things, like vacations. Or preparing delicious and nutritious meals. Or knocking boots with a significant other.

The report contains very little good news on our traffic future. Many of the authors' suggestions for bettering the situation center around measures officials have already been put in motion, like pushing mass transit, building new roads and installing HOV and HOT lanes. Traffic, they predict, is likely to just keep getting worse.

Photo by picture prefect

Do you have the option of taking public transportation or riding a bike to work, but still choose to drive for personal reasons? The D.C. Council is asking people like you to pledge to give up your car for just one day tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 18, for its first annual Car Free D.C. Day. If you'd like to take the Car Free Pledge, head over to Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells' site to sign up to participate in Car Free D.C. Day. You can also pledge to participate in World Car Free Day (Sept. 22) and Car Free Week (Sept. 16-22) with the same form.

Since you're the kind of person who chooses to drive even though you don't have to, we're sure you're asking yourself, what's in it for me besides the smug self-satisfaction of being a once-a-year do gooder? Why, all kinds of free stuff, that's what! First there's the Flickr contest (tag your photos from the day's events with "DC Car Free Day"), which makes you eligible for a Car Free Day t-shirt autographed by Mayor Fenty and all the Council members. Plus there's a host of free walking tours and a '90s throwback in the form of a free inline skating lesson from the Washington Area Roadskaters. To top it all off, Bike the Sites is offering a deal on Tuesday only of $15 all-day rentals in honor of Car Free D.C. Day.

The Council is also hosting a World Car Free Day event on Sept. 22 on 17th Street NW between P and Q Streets, where information booths will be set up to help people learn about options for making a car free commitment more long term. Do you think you'll participate? Let us know how in the comments.

UPDATE: The Metro Board has put the proposed fare hikes on hold, saying they would like more details about the proposals before they would approve public hearings. They voted to hold a special informational committee meeting on Sept. 27.

More than a year ago, then interim Metro Chief Dan Tangherlini began uttering those two little words no transit rider likes to hear: fare increase. At the time though, our favorite transit official was reassuring us that we wouldn't be likely to see an increase until 2008. Turns out Dan was right on the money. Current General Manager John Catoe went before the Metro Board of Directors today to recommend a moderate system-wide fare increase, going into effect in January 2008.

According to Catoe's proposal, the base fare would go up $0.45 on Metrorail, raising the minimum to fare to $1.80 (five cents more than was originally reported in the Washington Post this morning) and the maximum to $4.50. At $1.50, Metrobus riders would pay $0.25 more per ride, and parking rates would increase by a buck a day. The Metro Board, consisting of appointed members from each jurisdiction Metro serves, will hold public hearings on the proposal, and make a final decision on any increase. There is no schedule for either the hearings or a final decision, but Catoe warned that the later a fare increase goes into effect, the higher it will have to be.

Now, no one enjoys paying more for something tomorrow than they do today. Especially when it comes to a daily necessity, even a moderate increase adds up fast, especially for lower income folks. However, no one can accuse Metro of springing this out of the blue. The increase would be the first in four years for Metro, and like we said, official have been warning that the time for a price hike was growing near. Back in December, Metro officials unveiled a set of fare increases that was much larger and more extensive, complete with complicated rules and incentives for who would be charged what fare when. When that proposal was eventually (and rightfully) rejected, Catoe warned that a fare increase was still imminent.

Photo by Samer Farha

Mayor Fenty has until October 31 to issue an executive order about whether the city will make a switch away from the much-maligned yet beloved-by-many zone system in our taxis, but tomorrow, the D.C. Taxicab Commission will meet to vote on their recommendation to the Mayor. Everyone knows that the zone system is unpopular, especially with visitors to the city who often end up angry and confused about how much they should be charged for their trip. But the zone fares have plenty of defenders who argue that since the winners of the system are those who take longer journeys (a recent report on zone fares showed that shorter trips are more expensive while longer ones are cheaper), poorer District residents living out in Anacostia may no longer be able to afford to ride.

The Washington Post ran a story over the weekend detailing a third option that's gaining some traction with the Commission: "zone meters." Basically, GPS-enabled devices that can accurately measure the correct zone fare. The zone meters, which have already been installed in some Yellow Cabs, would help eliminate some of the confusion associated with D.C.'s odd system, the only one like it in the country. But confusion isn't necessarily the main complaint about the zone system -- zone meters would do nothing to address the disparities inherent in the system, which can charge wildly different fares for trips of the same distance.

The Taxicab Commission's vote on Tuesday has been eagerly anticipated in the local media, but in reality, Mayor Fenty will make his decision on his own, and he'll likely take most of this month and the next to make it. In the meantime, what do you think of the zone meter compromise?

Photo by MatthewBradley

Start making last minute happy hour plans immediately if your ride home includes the Red line. WMATA is reporting that there is no train service at either Bethesda or Medical Center due to a police situation. Shuttle bus service is up and running, but really, it's Thursday. Just go get a drink after work and wait for this crap to blow over. Super fun Red line delays should be expected in both directions.

NBC4 is reporting the police situation involved a foot chase on the tracks. Montgomery County police chased a wanted person on foot into the Bethesda station, and the person ran into the track bed, resulting in the closures and forcing authorities to turn off the third rail. We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: The two stations were reopened just after 5 p.m. and service has been restored, but riders should still expect delays. No word yet on whether the suspect was captured.

WTOP says that Metro General Manager John Catoe will announce the details of his plan for a proposed fare hike at a meeting next week. We've been expecting this announcement for some time now, though specific details of the increase, which is expected to be put into effect in January 2008, possibly tied to inflation or the consumer price index and increased accordingly every January thereafter, have been scant. How much will the first hike be? Does Metro's Board of Directors support tying increases to an index? Will the fare hike be big enough to help prevent the loss of popular late-night weekend service, or is it just intended to stop the immediate bleeding of cash?

No answers have so far been forthcoming, but that doesn't mean we can't speculate wildly about what the new fare for Metro might be come January. We'll all find out what Catoe has in mind next week, but in the meantime, what are your expectations right now?

Photo by Liliang