D.C. Metro considers menu of fare increases
The board of the Washington Metro system is considering a broad range of fare increases, higher fees and service cutbacks to deal with its budget woes, Greater Greater Washington reports.
All of the proposed increases are unpleasant, though there is little doubt that revenue will have to go up. But some of the proposals are especially onerous for Baltimore-area resident who make use of the Washington Metro system.
Commuters who drive to the nearest Metro station -- notably Greenbelt, New Carrollton, Glenmont or Shady Grove -- and hop a train could face a parking fee increase of 50 cents a day or $5 a month. Some board members are resisting the proposal because of its disproportionate effect on long-distance commuters.
One particularly obnoxious proposal for Marylanders is to raise the fare on the B30 bus from BWI to Greenbelt from $3.10 to $6. It is perhaps the nature of transit agencies to put off fare increases far too long and then to jack them up dramatically, but this is ridiculous. A near-doubling of the fares is a prescription for losing ridership on a bus route that is a key link between Washington and Baltimore (via light rail) -- especially on weekends when there are no MARC trains. It could be seen as a covert attempt to kill off the route entirely. An increase of roughly 33 percent -- to $4 -- is plenty for now.
Comments
I wish MTA would take over the B30 and increase frequency to 20 minutes. Right now its not a viable option for people to use. Why use the B30 during the week when you can take the MARC that is faster and even runs more often. Why use it on weekends when the metro is always delayed due to track work so you can't time it to the B30's schedule, making you have a 40 minute or longer wait on top of the delayed metro ride.
MTA would, I hope, see this as a much more valuable service to the state and increase frequency of service, and maybe make it more Baltimore friendly with a North Linthicum (rather than BWI Business District) light rail stop to decrease light rail to Baltimore wait time by half.
You could also make a pit stop at NSA on weekdays both ways to ferry people from Baltimore & DC to NSA & Ft. Meade, while the increased frequency would make up for the five minutes added to the trip.
Posted by: Richard | May 1, 2010 7:37 PM
MTA doesn't run the service, but WMATA runs it. I am not surprised at the fair increase, but I think it is too much.
You forget that Amtrak runs 14 day specials all the time that can make a DC-Baltimore run on the weekend the same as a Marc run during the week. It is how I get to DC for meetings on weekend. I use my monthly from Aberdeen to Baltimore and buy connecting fare to DC. It also saves a ton of time over the B30 and light rail way.
Posted by: Tom S | May 3, 2010 5:16 PM