[Nationalharbor] FW: Reminder - WMATA Budget Public Hearings
Michelle Clark
mcikeyc at aol.com
Fri Jan 31 22:55:30 UTC 2014
Each public hearing will be preceded by an informal information session at 6
p.m., where you can talk with Metro officials about any topic. The formal
hearings begin at 6:30 p.m. This is the chance to offer testimony on the
proposal budget and fare increases.
Those who don't want to attend one of he hearing have the option of filling
out an online survey at
wmata.com/budgetsurvey. The survey will open by 5 p.m. on January 2, 2014
and will close on February 11 at 5 p.m.
The locations of all public hearings are wheelchair accessible. Any
individual who requires special assistance such as a sign language
interpreter or additional accommodation to participate in the public
hearings, or who requires these materials in an alternate format, should
contact Danise Peña at 202-962-2511 or TTY: 202-962-2033 as soon as possible
in order for Metro to make necessary arrangements.
NOTE: Each hearings has NO set end time. However, If you are using
MetroAccess and you wish to stay to the end of the hearing, you may be able
to adjust your "Return Trip. When you schedule your trip, please inform
the representative that you are attending the WMATA Public hearing.
_____
WMATA Public Hearings:
Hearing No. 591
Mon, February 3, 2014
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church
Fellowship Hall
2616 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, SE
Washington, DC
Hearing No. 592
Tues, February 4, 2014
Montgomery County Executive
Office Building Cafeteria
101 Monroe St
Rockville, MD
(Entrance on Jefferson St)
Hearing No. 593
Wed, February 5, 2014
Arlington Central Library
1015 N Quincy St
Arlington, VA
Hearing No. 594
Thurs, February 6, 2014
Metro Headquarters Building
600 5th St, NW
Washington, DC
HOW TO REGISTER TO SPEAK – All organizations or individuals desiring to be
heard
with respect to either of these two dockets will be afforded the opportunity
to present
their views and make supporting statements and to offer alternative
proposals. In order
to establish a witness list, individuals and representatives of
organizations who wish to
be heard at these public hearings are requested to furnish in writing their
name and
organizational affiliation, if any, via email to speak at wmata.com. The
request may also
be mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority,
600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, you may fax
this
information to 202-962-1133. Please submit only one speaker's name per
letter. Lists of
individual speakers will not be accepted. Please note that this information
may be
releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy
(PARP). The
PARP can be viewed on WMATA’s website at wmata.com/about_metro/public_rr.cfm
under the link marked “Legal Affairs”. Public officials will be heard first
and will be
allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All others will be
allowed three
minutes each. These limits apply regardless of whether the speaker is
addressing one or
both dockets. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be
permitted.
HOW TO SUBMIT WRITTEN STATEMENTS – Written statements and exhibits must
bereceived by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, by the Office of the
Secretary and
may be emailed to writtentestimony at wmata.com. They may also be mailed to the
Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600
Fifth Street, NW,Washington, DC 20001. Alternatively, statements may be
faxed to 202-962-1133. Please reference the appropriate docket number
(B14-01 and/or B14-02) in your submission.
Please note that any personal information such as name, e-mail address,
address, or
telephone number you provide in the statement may be releasable to the
public under
the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy, available at the website link
noted above.
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III. Fare Proposal – MetroAccess
A. MetroAccess Fare Calculation
There is no proposed change to the pricing calculation for MetroAccess.
MetroAccess fares are equal to twice the equivalent fixed-route SmarTrip®
fare, based on the fastest trip. Fares will be adjusted according to the
adopted fare changes for bus and rail.
B. MetroAccess Maximum Fare
There is no proposed change to the maximum fare for MetroAccess, which will
remain at $7.00.
Regular Fares:
The public hearings will seek comment on the proposed fare changes to
Metrobus,Metrorail, MetroAccess, parking, and other fees. The projected
start date for any adopted fare changes is on or about July 1, 2014. Full
details on the proposed FY2015operating and capital budget may be found at:
wmata.com/budget
I. Fare Proposal – Metrorail
A. Fare Changes for Travel Using SmarTrip®
1. Increase peak period rail fares by up to 4.0 percent
It is proposed that the boarding charge (also referred to as the base fare),
the composite mileage increments, and the maximum fares will be increased
by up to 4.0 percent. If themaximum advertised increase of 4.0 percent is
adopted, the peak period fare willincrease as follows:
a) Base fare will round to the nearest nickel, increasing from $2.10 to
$2.20
b) Mileage composite between 3 and 6 miles increases from $0.316 to $0.329
c) Mileage composite over 6 miles increases from $0.280 to $0.291
d) Maximum peak fare will increase from $5.75 to $6.00
2. Increase off-peak rail fares by up to 4.0 percent
It is proposed that the boarding charge (also referred to as the base fare),
the composite mileage increments, and the maximum fare are increased by up
to 4.0 percent. If the maximum advertised increase of 4.0 percent is
adopted, the peak period fare will increase as follows:
a) Base fare will round to the nearest nickel, increasing from $1.70 to
$1.75
b) Mileage composite between 3 and 6 miles increases from $0.237 to $0.247
c) Mileage composite over 6 miles increases from $0.210 to $0.218
d) Maximum off-peak fare will increase from $3.50 to $3.65
The off-peak fare structure was changed in FY2013 to be aligned with the
peak structure, but at an approximate 25 percent discount from peak. If
implemented uniformly, this change would have caused off-peak trips between
some station pairs to experience fare increases of up to 60 percent.
Therefore, in order to avoid such large increases, a “cap” was implemented
as part of the FY2013 fare changes that prevented any off-peak fare from
going up more than 27 percent.
If the proposed FY2015 fare changes are implemented uniformly, these same
station pairs will again face potential off-peak fare increases of up to 30
percent. Therefore, to avoid such potentially large increases, Metro
proposes to, again, implement a “cap” so that no off-peak fare increases
more than 15 percent.
Example fares, using SmarTrip®
Assuming maximum advertised increase of 4.0 percent
Current Fare Potential New Fare
Type Example Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak
Long Franconia-Springfield to Metro Center $5.35 $3.50 $5.55 $3.65
Medium Bethesda to Rosslyn $3.65 $2.75 $3.80 $2.95
Short Southern Ave to Navy Yard $2.20 $1.75 $2.30 $1.80
B. Fare Changes for Passengers Using Paper Farecard
Depending on the month, paper farecards account for 10 percent or less of
Metrorailtrips, as the vast majority of riders are now utilizing SmarTrip®.
Paper farecard usage is expected to decline further following Metro’s
October 2013 reduction in the price of a SmarTrip® card from $5.00 to $2.00.
The current surcharge for passengers using a paper farecard instead of
SmarTrip® is$1.00 per trip. There is no proposed change to this surcharge in
FY2015.
C. Fare Changes for Rail Passes and Other Rail Fares
1. Increase price of existing rail passes by up to 4.0 percent
Existing Metrorail pass products would increase by the same percentage
(subject torounding) as individual peak and off-peak trips. If the maximum
advertised increase of4.0 percent were adopted, the pass price increases
would be as follows:
a) One-day unlimited pass would increase from $14.00 to $14.50
b) 7-day short-trip pass would increase from $35.00 to $36.50
c) 7-day fast pass would increase from $57.50 to $59.75
d) 28-day fast pass would increase from $230.00 to $239.00
e) TransitLink Card (TLC) pass on MARC or VRE would increase from $108.00to
$112; TLC pass on MTA would increase from $166.00 to $173.00
2. Create new discounted “convention” pass
It is proposed that the current one-day unlimited pass will also be made
available to convention attendees at a discounted price of $10.00. This
proposed convention pass will not be available for purchase by the general
public and will be available only through Metro bulk sales, initially as a
one- year pilot. In response to guidance provided by the District of
Columbia, Metro met with Destination DC (the District’s Convention and
Visitors Bureau) to understand the transportation needs of convention
visitors. To make travel in and around the Washington region more
competitive with New York and Atlanta, for example – two competing East
Coast cities
that offer discounted transit fares for convention participants – Metro has
proposed a multi-day Convention Pass that offers all-day unlimited travel on
Metrorail. Each day of travel would cost $10.00, so that a three-day pass
would be priced at $30.00. This pass would be marketed exclusively by
Destination DC, which would offer the product to clients and fulfill them on
Metro’s behalf. A pilot timetable of one year is recommended to
work out the logistics of marketing and distribution before the program is
expanded. The pass would be offered as a specially designed SmarTrip® card,
which Destination DC would market through sales packages to prospective
clients and meeting planners.The revenue potential on the high end is $6
million, based on 100% utilization by the 200,000 participants expected to
attend 16 large conventions that are scheduled for the
coming year. In the first year, a much lower penetration rate would be
expected, with a target of $1.5 million in the first year.
3. Bus-to-rail transfers
The current bus-to-rail transfer discount is $0.50 (i.e., the rail fare is
reduced by $0.50 when a passenger transfers from Metrobus or another local
bus provider using the SmarTrip® card within the transfer time window).
There is no proposed change in the transfer discount.
II. Fare Proposal – Metrobus
A. Fare Changes for Bus Boarding Using SmarTrip®
It is proposed that the regular fare bus boarding charge (for local and
limited-stop services) be increased by up to $0.25, from $1.60 to $1.85. It
is also proposed that the regular fare bus boarding charge for express
services be increased by up to $0.35, from $3.65 to $4.00, and that the
regular fare bus boarding charge for airport services be increased by up to
$1.00, from $6.00 to $7.00. All senior/disabled fares would be one half the
regular fare, down to the nearest nickel.
B. Fare Changes for Bus Boarding Using Cash
PROPOSAL #1
The GM/CEO’s Proposed FY2015 Budget includes a proposal to eliminate the
current cash surcharge on Metrobus. This proposal would result in cash fares
being equal to SmarTrip® fares on all regular, express, and airport routes.
If this proposal is adopted, the expected impact on SmarTrip® usage on
Metrobus is projected to be low, since the availability of bus-bus and
bus-rail transfers and the availability of the 7-day bus pass (a popular
product) are key drivers of SmarTrip® utilization on bus. Metro is also
initiating a
separate pilot project to install off-board SmarTrip® reloading machines at
locations along key bus routes to encourage SmarTrip® use and speed bus
loading.
PROPOSAL #2
An alternative proposal would retain a cash surcharge on Metrobus. Depending
on the level of the SmarTrip® boarding charge, the cash boarding charge for
local and limitedstop services would increase from $1.80 to as much as
$2.00, and the cash boarding charge for express services would increase from
$4.00 to as much as $4.50. The cash boarding charge for airport services
would increase to $7.00. All senior/disabled cash
fares would be one-half the regular cash fare, rounded down to the nearest
nickel.
C. Bus Transfers
No changes are proposed to the current bus-to-bus and rail-to-bus transfer
discounts, including free transfers to bus for riders with weekly or monthly
MARC, VRE, and MTA passes.
D. Bus Passes and Other Media
The seven-day bus pass is currently priced at 10 times the base SmarTrip®
fare, and this pricing is proposed to continue, so that a seven-day bus pass
would increase from $16.00 to as high as $18.50. Similarly, non-student
tokens will continue to be priced at the cash boarding charge, so that a
package of 10 tokens could increase from $18.00 to as high as $20.00.
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