Photo by philliefan99.

On occasion, reports produced by local bureaucracies can be insightful. This is not one of those times. A new WMATA report shows that not only are people unhappy about paying higher “peak-of-the-peak” fares — they also aren’t quitting their jobs to show their disgust with the added charges. Amazing!

Riders that take the Metro on weekdays between 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., of course, are paying an extra 20 cents as part of a fare hike instituted last year to help remedy a nine-figure budget gap. However, as Kytja Weir reports, most riders are just grinning and bearing it, despite their frustrations with the added cost, the confusing fare structure and the “difficult-to-read” fare charts:

One key part [of the 2010 fare increase] was to add a surcharge to the busiest periods of the morning and evening commutes to encourage rail riders to spread out their trips. The agency started to charge 20 cents extra when riders enter the rail system between 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in what it called the “peak of the peak.”

But Metro says only about 3 percent of trips have moved from that busiest part of the morning and evening rush periods to less packed times, less than expected.

Last I checked, a large majority of Washington’s workers still have to clock in around these times in the morning. Similarly, a large majority prefer to head home around those times in the evening. The question has to be asked, then: was Metro really expecting their new fare structure to change the nine-to-five standard?

The report also noted that overall ridership on Metro is down 3 percent so far during the fiscal year, though SmarTrip use is up slightly.