Forbes commentary on Metro fare hike

[Scrabbleship]

Written from the prespective of a writer/Metro rider who thinks that the fare increase will backfire.

[Antozilla]

It will

Why wait in the cold for  metro and sit next to some dude who spent last night in a dumpster or some ditzy broad with half the bottle of cheap perfume on when you can ride in your own nice warm car and listen to the radio?

Well one good reason is it is cheaper but that is becoming less and less.

Metro unlike say NYC does not have a captive audience.  These folks have money and alternatives and they will go elsewhere. 

[Scrabbleship]

I have said this before and I will say this again: There will be a fare cut for FY2012. Enough people will be driven away from Metrorail (and possibly even the 5A/B30) that they'll have to cut/simplify fares to regain lost audience. I don't know if it'll lead to a rap or go-go variation of "Charlie on the MTA" for DC in 2010, but it'll lead to a backlash of riders.

As much as some people will disagree, I think this begins the migration of Metro to a pass-based system, especially since they'll have to redo the fare structure once the Silver Line comes online to make it fare for those riders.

[SchuminWeb]

As much as some people will disagree, I think this begins the migration of Metro to a pass-based system, especially since they'll have to redo the fare structure once the Silver Line comes online to make it fare for those riders.

Right on.  Pass-based is good.

[Scrabbleship]

I know how so many of you love GGW and specifically Michael "WMATA must submit to Google" Perkins, but he makes a good point about why the pass system should be simplified and expanded.

I'm amazed they didn't allow the Fast Passes to be used as bus passes once paper transfers were phased out. Between that and Smartrip only parking, it's like WMATA doesn't want people to use passes.

[Tritransit Area]

WOW.  After reading that article, it just shows how bad WMATA's fare structure is, mileage-based or otherwise.  It makes me appreciate SEPTA's convenient yet overpriced fare system even more.

I have my Zone 2 monthly Trailpass, that covers up to two zones on any SEPTA bus route.  It will cover my fare up to two zones coming to/from Center City Philadelphia on the Regional Rail system; anything past that, I pay for the extra zones I travel.  It covers my fare for any trip in New Castle County, DE, on DART First State.  It also covers my ride on the TMA Bucks rushbus system.

On weekends and major hoildays, I can ride any SEPTA service I want, wherever SEPTA goes, for no charge (with my pass, of course).  Also, I can get discounts at certain restaurants, museums, stores, etc with the Pass Perks program by just flashing my pass.

WMATA seems to be going the wrong way.  They took a great lead with the Smartrip card program.  The regional transfers and daypasses were fantastic, although sadly they fell back from that.  The major problem is that the fare system apparently caters to occasional/somewhat infrequent riders, rather than the daily commuters, especially those that rely on more than one mode or transit service, which I'm sure is the case with many commuters in the area. 

Hopefully once this budget goes through and improvements to enhance the safety of the system are well underway, they will take a close examination of the fare structure and simplify it. I've noticed that weekly/monthly passes aren't as common down there as they are in the SEPTA system.

It's apparent that they need an intermodal pass system that's not just the Smartrip.  As someone on that page said, it's like Metrorail and Metrobus are two different systems!

[Scrabbleship]

WOW.  After reading that article, it just shows how bad WMATA's fare structure is, mileage-based or otherwise.  It makes me appreciate SEPTA's convenient yet overpriced fare system even more.

I have my Zone 2 monthly Trailpass, that covers up to two zones on any SEPTA bus route.  It will cover my fare up to two zones coming to/from Center City Philadelphia on the Regional Rail system; anything past that, I pay for the extra zones I travel.  It covers my fare for any trip in New Castle County, DE, on DART First State.  It also covers my ride on the TMA Bucks rushbus system.

On weekends and major hoildays, I can ride any SEPTA service I want, wherever SEPTA goes, for no charge (with my pass, of course).  Also, I can get discounts at certain restaurants, museums, stores, etc with the Pass Perks program by just flashing my pass.

WMATA seems to be going the wrong way.  They took a great lead with the Smartrip card program.  The regional transfers and daypasses were fantastic, although sadly they fell back from that.  The major problem is that the fare system apparently caters to occasional/somewhat infrequent riders, rather than the daily commuters, especially those that rely on more than one mode or transit service, which I'm sure is the case with many commuters in the area. 

Hopefully once this budget goes through and improvements to enhance the safety of the system are well underway, they will take a close examination of the fare structure and simplify it. I've noticed that weekly/monthly passes aren't as common down there as they are in the SEPTA system.

It's apparent that they need an intermodal pass system that's not just the Smartrip.  As someone on that page said, it's like Metrorail and Metrobus are two different systems!

Between this and how SEPTA management pretty much tore into WMATA for letting the February snow screw up the system for a week, I'm not shocked that many people down here (again, not the types on this board) would kick and scream for SEPTA management to take over WMATA. It's like WMATA doesn't know what it wants to be:  commuter rail? subway? bus?

I even will beg to say that in terms of smart cards SmarTrip keeps falling further and further behind. Newer systems like CharlieCard, Breeze, and even complex multi-agency-and-mode systems like TAP (LA), Presto (Greater Toronto), and OPUS (province-wide in Quebec) are a lot more flexible than SmarTrip is. Even the closest legacy system, Chicago Card, allows for loading of passes and online adding of balances. If Metro gets the long-delayed upgrades up and running by the end of this year, they'd only be nearly six years late!

Metro is its own worst enemy.

[Sand Box John]

Mr. Gleckman is without clue. WMATA is not hiding what ones fares will be for a given trip at a given time of day. All one has to do is use the Trip Planner at wmata.com. The key is one must enter a date and time after the fare increase come into affect.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Mr. Gleckman is without clue. WMATA is not hiding what ones fares will be for a given trip at a given time of day. All one has to do is use the Trip Planner at wmata.com. The key is one must enter a date and time after the fare increase come into affect.

John: I think Mr. Gleckman is right to point out that there are going to be many possible fares for a trip between point A and point B, depending on time of day and method used to pay.  However, nowhere in his article does he declare the WMATA fare increases that haven't even taken effect yet to be a total failure, and even encourages to a certain degree the peak of the peak pricing.  I, for one, think that how WMATA informs the public of the different rates is going to be crucial to the success of implementing this fare increase, and that if things aren't well communicated to the public, frequent and occasional riders alike, the PR aspect of this increase could be a disaster, but I'll wait and hold judgement until it actually is an appropriate time to pass it.

Brandon:  Doesn't SEPTA still have separate fares for people who pay with tokens and people who pay with cash?  That isn't so different than what WMATA is going to do in terms of Smartrip versus paper cards.  Admittedly, WMATA's pass "offerings" are paltry compared to SEPTA.  I think I'll write a long, well thought out post on my thoughts on the topic and with some suggestions as to what could work here in DC when I get a chance, and hopefully it will lead to constructive conversation unlike my peak of the peak thread.

I think people on this message board either need to post their public comments to the board about the fare increase or say they didn't write any, and that people should attempt to wait until the new fares are charged before declaring the entire thing to be a failure.  The grand predictions of what will happen a year from now are getting to be a bit over the top IMHO and frankly don't create very good conversation here.

[Tritransit Area]

Mr. Gleckman is without clue. WMATA is not hiding what ones fares will be for a given trip at a given time of day. All one has to do is use the Trip Planner at wmata.com. The key is one must enter a date and time after the fare increase come into affect.

John: I think Mr. Gleckman is right to point out that there are going to be many possible fares for a trip between point A and point B, depending on time of day and method used to pay.  However, nowhere in his article does he declare the WMATA fare increases that haven't even taken effect yet to be a total failure, and even encourages to a certain degree the peak of the peak pricing.  I, for one, think that how WMATA informs the public of the different rates is going to be crucial to the success of implementing this fare increase, and that if things aren't well communicated to the public, frequent and occasional riders alike, the PR aspect of this increase could be a disaster, but I'll wait and hold judgement until it actually is an appropriate time to pass it.

Brandon:  Doesn't SEPTA still have separate fares for people who pay with tokens and people who pay with cash?  That isn't so different than what WMATA is going to do in terms of Smartrip versus paper cards.  Admittedly, WMATA's pass "offerings" are paltry compared to SEPTA.  I think I'll write a long, well thought out post on my thoughts on the topic and with some suggestions as to what could work here in DC when I get a chance, and hopefully it will lead to constructive conversation unlike my peak of the peak thread.

I think people on this message board either need to post their public comments to the board about the fare increase or say they didn't write any, and that people should attempt to wait until the new fares are charged before declaring the entire thing to be a failure.  The grand predictions of what will happen a year from now are getting to be a bit over the top IMHO and frankly don't create very good conversation here.

I'm not sure Mr. Gleckman was stating that WMATA was intentionally hiding the different fare structures.  That would be quite illegal if I'm not mistaken.  However, he mentions that people who use the Smartrip on a regular basis, which are typically regular commuters, aren't going to "feel the shock" as much as those who pay the regular cash fare.  It happens all of the time with credit and debit cards.  As long as there's "money in the bank", they don't pay as much attention to the actual cost of the purchase and don't feel as much "shock" as a person who pays cash.

Oren:  SEPTA certainly does offer a steep discount for tokens over the base fare.  When the base fare first went up to $2 in 2001, the tokens were only $1.30 each (purchased in packs of at least 2).  Next month the tokens will be $1.60 each, but users still get the discount.   You're quite right that the Smartrip program is quite similar to the SEPTA token program, but the Smartrip gives free transfers, whereas the SEPTA program does not.  Additionally you have to pay for the Smartrip card itself before you put value on the card.  Fortunately, both the tokens and the Smartrip last indefinitely.

I must say that lately there have been many more people using the Smartrip, but the cash alternative of paying full fare for each and every ride (because paper transfers are eliminated) is ridiculous.  It really makes taking transit (well, bus transit at least) almost impractical for someone who is visiting and would likely not return anytime soon.  SEPTA actually tried to do something like this (although way before the Smartcard implementation was underway) but they actually had a lawsuit filed against them by the city, lost the case, and now we will have $1 transfers next month.

Anyway, as convenient as the Smartrip and tokens are, I wouldn't say that they should be the primary tool for those that use transit on a daily basis, particularly if they take more than one mode for their commutes and rely on transit over the weekend.  Having more unlimited passes that would encourage people to use transit without having to worry about the cost of every trip would do wonders for the system.  If there was a regional unlimited pass that could be used on both bus and train, as well on the smaller bus systems like Fairfax Connector and Ride On, that would be ASTOUNDING and would make commuting (and living) in the region so much easier.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts about pass offerings, Oren.  Needless to say, there are higher, more immediate priorities right now, but it would certainly help the agency's growth in the future.

Oh yeah, final note:  WMATA's not going to shut down, lost all of its ridership, etc because of the fare increase.  People always say that, regardless of what system they ride.  I mean, think about it:  There was a major accident, the quality of the ride is less stellar than it was not too long ago, there are threats of increases, trains are stopping at the end of platforms (really annoying in my experience), and there's tons of negative media out there about the operators.  Despite all of this, the TRAINS ARE STILL CROWDED, despite the fact that service wasn't significantly reduced.  If everyone can just get in their cars and drive, yet still have a comparably convenient experience, why are they still on the train?

I mean, with fare increases, drops in ridership is a given, but WMATA's not going to spiral out of control and operate trains with only a few people on board.