Metro to Mull Over Fare Increases, Service Cuts in 2017

Steve Burns
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON – (WMAL) It’s a day many Metro riders have been dreading. A discussion about fare increases and service cuts is set to take place at Thursday’s Metro Board of Directors meeting. Documents released Tuesday indicate some drastic options for filling in a $275 million budget deficit, including a 35% fare jump and service reductions on outer lines.

Metro cites its own poor service as a reason riders have been ditching the system, and uses that as justification to reduce service next year. One possibility makes maximum headways – the time in between trains – eight minutes instead of six on outer lines. Downtown stations where lines overlap would see more frequent service.

There are multiple proposals for fare changes, the most extreme of which would increase fares by 35%. The base fare would remain at $2.00, but the maximum peak fare would rise from $5.90 to $6.00. Metro estimates approximately 24,000 riders would be turned away by the fare increase, representing about 1% of total ridership.

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and Board Chairman Jack Evans have repeatedly asserted an expectation that ridership will rebound once the Safe Track program is completed in April 2017, but fare increases and service cuts could undermine that idea. The Board would have to vote on each measure before it goes into effect.

Also on Tuesday, Wiedefeld told the D.C. Council the door isn’t completely shut on the possibility of keeping Metro open late should the Washington Nationals get into the World Series, where games routinely run past Metro’s midnight closure. He sounded less hopeful for such an exception during a possible National League Championship Series.

Further down the line, Metro is also releasing preliminary plans for Inauguration Day. They plan to open at 4am, one hour earlier than normal, and to run peak trains with peak fares from 4am to 9pm. Commemorative SmartTrip cards will be sold for $10, good for unlimited rides on January 20 only. Safe Track maintenance work would be suspended all week.