Metro budget feedback: make federal holidays subject to $2 weekend fare, not normal weekday fare.

Submitted by Macrophage87 t3_116lzdf in washingtondc

WMATA has released it's proposed budget and one of these changes is making weekday fares one single price. Currently, federal holidays are treated as off-peak (max $3.85) fares and not weekend fares (flat $2). With off peak going away, I propose that we move federal holidays to have the same fares as the weekend to encourage visitors to take the metro, rather than drive into the city.

If you agree with this proposal, please submit your comments to the feedback below:
https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/budget/

I have provided my comments for you to copy, or you can adapt it to your own words:

WMATA should make federal holidays subject to the same reduced $2 fare that is used during weekends and after 9:30 PM to encourage families and visitors to park at a distant metro stop and take the Metro rather than drive downtown and park.

The move to simplify Metro fares by eliminating off-peak fares does call into question how this will affect Federal holidays. If they are subjected to the same $6.50 fare that is experienced when travelling max distance, this will be untenable for families. While travelling on the metro during a weekend, a family of 4 would pay a reasonable $16. However, if subjected to a maximum fare, that would be an untenable $52. This would incentivize more visitors and people living on the outskirts to drive near the city center and park. As we are the nation’s capital, federal holidays often draw people from around the country and around the world. However, these people are unfamiliar with the often-chaotic driving experience that can be had within the city center, which can lead to additional frustration and safety concerns. It is to the benefit of both residents and visitors that visitors enjoy our city through our metro rather than trying to secure a parking spot downtown. If the price of a round trip metro fare for a family is much greater than that of a parking spot, which is often as little as $10 in some places, we will have a dangerous driving situation during federal holidays.

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Comments

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iamkatemiddleton t1_j97q3jj wrote

I don’t disagree with this proposal, but I feel like $1.85 isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about using the metro. Most of our complaints are about ease/accessibility to our destination via metro and headways, not the price.

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TopMagician6574 t1_j98knxt wrote

I take my family of 4 to the city, see 1 site, metro to lunch, metro back it’s something like 2x more expensive than just driving in and parking. It’s kind of pricey for what metro offers.

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j97qo02 wrote

Paying an extra $30 for a family to make a roundtrip during a holliday under the new proposal would change people's minds.

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thekingoftherodeo t1_j97x6vt wrote

Not sure there's 8 people in the average family buddy!

How is their "a dangerous driving situation" at present with the current fare structure?

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j97xkwt wrote

The new metro proposal will do away with off-peak fares, making a round trip $13 per person at max, rather than $4 per person. For 4 people, that's $52 vs. $16.

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thekingoftherodeo t1_j97yg0o wrote

How should WMATA pay for that out of interest?

Is it just the 10 federal holidays you want or is there more?

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j97zfqg wrote

Just the 11 federal holidays (juneteenth was added).. We do this for all 104 weekend days and any day after 9:30 pm.

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thekingoftherodeo t1_j983a7d wrote

But again, how is it going to be paid for?

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ocmike34 t1_j98lp8t wrote

WMATA is a service. Not a for profit company. You don’t complain about paying for FireFighters/Postmen/Police/Military or VDOT? Ok… maybe complaints against VDOT are valid.

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j9865dx wrote

The Metro increasing off-peak weekday fares would more than cover it. Also, during holidays, we get weekend service, with longer headways due to lower ridership. Why should we have to pay weekday rush prices for weekend service?

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thekingoftherodeo t1_j98dk27 wrote

So you're proposing to increase fares for regular commuters? To be clear: you want the actual lifeblood of the system to subsidize casual users on the weekends?

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4RunnerPilot t1_j98yj0k wrote

You don’t understand how public transit investment work. It’s okay.

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BourbonCoug t1_j9873l9 wrote

I'm on board with this, however I view it as a service issue and not really a fare issue. If you're going to run weekend service, then charge weekend rates. Full stop.

But you would have to do something about Fourth of July. I point this out because think about the crowds coming and going to the National Mall and how you have to pay for staff, operators and MTPD to handle that demand. I guess they could try splitting it up so the morning was weekend rates and afternoon was full fare, but the simplest/easiest thing to do would be normal fares for that day.

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j9898x4 wrote

Metro isn't really a moneymaker, the same that roads don't make money. Fares pay for some, but taxes pay for the rest. Quality, inexpensive service takes cars off the road. I'm happy for my tax dollars to go to reducing the number of cars I have to deal with, especially those from Maryland.

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ericmm76 t1_j9aj3rt wrote

I wish there were a dedicated, compete tax payment for metro. Metro being free would do so much good for this area.

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walkallover1991 t1_j9anhsg wrote

I'm kinda frustrated with the proposal for two reasons:

  1. I think the vast majority of riders will experience some type of fare increase under the new scheme, but Metro isn't really being upfront about it. For example, an off-peak fare between Petworth and DCA is now $3. The peak fare is $3.55. The new "all day" fare will be $3.65. The current off-peak fare between McPherson Sq and Tysons is $3.85. The peak fare is $4.80. The new "all day" fare is $5.40. I get that inflation has increased operating costs (and fares have to increase as a result), but Metro just isn't being 100% honest when they say they say the new fares will "improve the customer experience."
  2. I'm so sick of them flip-flopping the terminus of the Yellow Line every few years...it's a giant pain in the ass for those of us who live north of Mt Vernon Sq and regularly take the Yellow Line into NoVa or go to DCA...we now lose our one-seat ride. I understand that they want to essentially increase service on the Yellow Line bridge (as it has been historically under-utilized) and I understand that it isn't possible to turn trains at Ft. Totten and still increase service levels, but it's incredibly frustrating as someone who frequently used the Yellow Line.
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kamen4o t1_j9aq5dw wrote

Number 2. Absolutely. It makes no sense that every other northbound train will stop before hitting Ward 1, the densest part of the city. I currently take green/yellow from U St to orange/blue/silver for my job, but if I have to take *three* trains I'm just gonna give up.

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walkallover1991 t1_j9asduj wrote

Why would you have to take three trains?

The Green Line will continue to serve U Street and you can continue to transfer to the OR/BL/SV lines at L'Enfant Plaza as you do today.

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kamen4o t1_j9bp54c wrote

Sorry, you're right. I guess I was thinking of all the times when it was that way before that I'd get on a yellow train without thinking and end up having to get off at Mt V Square and wait for green. Effectively three trains there. :) It just doesn't make sense to me that they're talking about reducing intervals, but for all of us who live north of downtown it would mean just the opposite.

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FrogMan9001 t1_j9ban91 wrote

For number 1 having one fare all the time does simplify use of the system. However, you inspired me to play around with the fare calculator and it looks like the only people who would be having fares reduced are traveling during peak periods and currently pay up to $3.30 per fare. At $3.45 there's a fare increase. For off peak travelers unless you're currently paying the base $2 fare, in which case it will stay the same, you will see an increase (even the $2.05 fare goes up).

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TravelerMSY t1_j98gaz8 wrote

Isn’t your typical family of 4 or more from the distant burbs going to prefer driving anyway?

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FourSlotTo4st3r t1_j98ijm7 wrote

Yah, I can't imagine most families using the metro for leisure travel from the burbs into the city. Everyone I know out here uses the metro for work, airports, and a safe ride home after drinking.

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Loki-Don t1_j9ark8f wrote

The audience this is aimed at…it’s immaterial because they still wouldn’t use it if the service was free.

The family of 3 or 4 coming to DC for the day or the weekend, don’t have time to waste parking at some far off metro station, waiting for off peak trains every 20 minutes to get downtown (and then back).

As I type this (just checked on Google) it would take you 38 minutes to drive from Shady Grove to the Air and Space downtown. It’s 59 minutes on Metro. Add in all the time for folks to fumble with metro cards for their kids, missing trains, not understanding how to use Metro, what lines to take etc, you are losing a minimum of an hour of your day, and that’s if the system works perfectly.

Now add in the cost. Family of 4, $4 bucks per trip. That’s $16 each way, or $32. That’s not going to break anyone’s bank but people would rather just drive downtown, pay the $20 it costs to park for the day and not have to worry about Metro.

It’s just not a great set up for tourists and we should stop pretending it is.

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Macrophage87 OP t1_j9bds50 wrote

Plenty of families take metro on the weekends, and I see them all the time. They also pay $2/person/trip and have for some time, it's only federal holidays where we get weekend service and weekday prices.

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