Rate Hikes Coming For Metro Riders
Board votes to eliminate 'peak of the peak' surcharge at Thursday meeting, but moves forward on other increases
Photos
Metro riders will pay at least 10 cents more per off-peak ride — and up to 75 cents more during peak hours — in a fare adjustment passed Thursday by the transit authority's board of directors as part of a $1.58 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2013.
The increases, which also include a 25-cent hike in parking lot and garage fees and a 20-cent charge for paying bus fares with cash instead of a SmarTrip card, would take effect July 1, The Washington Post reports.
The fare hikes are part of a plan to close a projected $103 million deficit. Initially, the board had predicted it would face a $116 million shortfall.
Metro would eliminate the "peak of the peak" surcharge passed on to riders during rush hour, which was introduced with the system's last significant fare hike in 2010.
It would also discontinue $9 day passes, valid weekdays after 9:30 a.m., and replace them with $14 tickets good at any time, any day of the week, the Post reports.
| Current | New (Effective July 1) | |
| Base peak rail fare | $1.95 |
$2.10 |
| Maximum peak rail fare | $5 | $5.75 |
| Base off-peak rail fare | $1.60 | $1.70 |
| Maximum off-peak fare |
$2.75 | $3.50 |
| Bus fare | $1.50 | $1.60 |
| Cash surcharge, bus | n/a | $0.20 |
| Paper surcharge (not SmarTrip), rail | n/a | $1 |
In a system that determines fares based on distance traveled, those commuting into Washington, D.C. from Virginia and Maryland suburbs will be the hardest hit. Maximum peak fares of $5.75, up from $5, means riders will pay $1.50 more for a round trip — an increase of $7.50 for a five-day work week and more than $380 over the course of one year.
The system will finalize its budget in May.
Metro held a series of public meetings about the increases in February and March.
At a meeting in April, the board said its ridership forecast for the next year had improved: It predicted 11 million more passenger trips than originally projected in November and $9 million in additional revenue prior to any fare change, according to a Metro release.
For the full story from The Washington Post, click here.
Sean R. Sedam
6:16 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Del. Sam Arora (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring issued the following news release on Thursday:
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- In response to the announcement by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) that fares will increase beginning in July, Maryland State Delegate Sam Arora (D-Montgomery Co.) released the following statement:
“It feels like the WMATA board keeps nickle-and-diming riders, some of whom are paying over $15 a day to commute to work. Metro may need to re-evaluate at their pricing model over the long term. WMATA may have something to learn from other cites that keep commuter fares in check through premium charges for tourists. The farecard surcharge is a step in that direction.”
Under the new plan adopted by WMATA’s board of directors Thursday afternoon, Metro rail trips would increase an average of approximately 5% and paper Metro card-users would incur a $1 surcharge per use; bus fares would increase a dime and cash users would incur a $0.20 surcharge; and parking fees would increase by a quarter.
Some transit systems have fare plans which shift much of the farebox recovery burden to tourists riders. The London Underground, for example, charges more than twice as much for fares by paper ticket than it does for fares paid using an Oyster Card (similar to Metro’s SmarTrip). A one-zone single fare on the Underground would be approximately $7 using a paper ticket and $3.24 using an Oyster Card.
###