<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.ecxmsonormal, li.ecxmsonormal, div.ecxmsonormal
{mso-style-name:ecxmsonormal;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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. </span><br>
<br>
<span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Those who don't
want to attend one of he hearing have the option of filling out an
online survey at</span><br>
<span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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. <br>
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>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.<span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center id=stopSpelling>
</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=ecxmsonormal><strong><u><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:
"Calibri","sans-serif"'>WMATA Public Hearings:</span></u></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=ecxmsonormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=ecxmsonormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Hearing
No. 591 <br>
Mon, February 3, 2014 <br>
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church <br>
Fellowship Hall <br>
2616 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, SE <br>
Washington, DC <br>
<br>
Hearing No. 592 <br>
Tues, February 4, 2014 <br>
Montgomery County Executive <br>
Office Building Cafeteria <br>
101 Monroe St <br>
Rockville, MD <br>
(Entrance on Jefferson St) <br>
<br>
Hearing No. 593 <br>
Wed, February 5, 2014 <br>
Arlington Central Library <br>
1015 N Quincy St <br>
Arlington, VA <br>
<br>
Hearing No. 594 <br>
Thurs, February 6, 2014 <br>
Metro Headquarters Building <br>
600 5th St, NW <br>
Washington, DC <br>
<br>
HOW TO REGISTER TO SPEAK – All organizations or individuals desiring to be
heard <br>
with respect to either of these two dockets will be afforded the opportunity to
present <br>
their views and make supporting statements and to offer alternative proposals.
In order <br>
to establish a witness list, individuals and representatives of organizations
who wish to <br>
be heard at these public hearings are requested to furnish in writing their
name and <br>
organizational affiliation, if any, via email to speak@wmata.com. The request
may also <br>
be mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority, <br>
600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, you may fax this <br>
information to 202-962-1133. Please submit only one speaker's name per letter.
Lists of <br>
individual speakers will not be accepted. Please note that this information may
be <br>
releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy
(PARP). The <br>
PARP can be viewed on WMATA’s website at wmata.com/about_metro/public_rr.cfm <br>
under the link marked “Legal Affairs”. Public officials will be heard first and
will be <br>
allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All others will be
allowed three <br>
minutes each. These limits apply regardless of whether the speaker is
addressing one or <br>
both dockets. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be
permitted. <br>
<br>
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 <br>
may be emailed to writtentestimony@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. <br>
Please note that any personal information such as name, e-mail address,
address, or <br>
telephone number you provide in the statement may be releasable to the public
under <br>
the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy, available at the website link noted
above. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=ecxmsonormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=ecxmsonormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=ecxmsonormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>III. Fare Proposal – MetroAccess <br>
<br>
A. MetroAccess Fare Calculation <br>
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. <br>
<br>
B. MetroAccess Maximum Fare <br>
There is no proposed change to the maximum fare for MetroAccess, which will
remain at $7.00. <br>
<br>
Regular Fares: <br>
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 <br>
<br>
I. Fare Proposal – Metrorail <br>
<br>
A. Fare Changes for Travel Using SmarTrip® <br>
1. Increase peak period rail fares by up to 4.0 percent <br>
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 <br>
by up to 4.0 percent. If themaximum advertised increase of 4.0 percent is
adopted, the peak period fare willincrease as follows: <br>
a) Base fare will round to the nearest nickel, increasing from $2.10 to $2.20 <br>
b) Mileage composite between 3 and 6 miles increases from $0.316 to $0.329 <br>
c) Mileage composite over 6 miles increases from $0.280 to $0.291 <br>
d) Maximum peak fare will increase from $5.75 to $6.00 <br>
2. Increase off-peak rail fares by up to 4.0 percent <br>
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: <br>
a) Base fare will round to the nearest nickel, increasing from $1.70 to $1.75 <br>
b) Mileage composite between 3 and 6 miles increases from $0.237 to $0.247 <br>
c) Mileage composite over 6 miles increases from $0.210 to $0.218 <br>
d) Maximum off-peak fare will increase from $3.50 to $3.65 <br>
<br>
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. <br>
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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
Example fares, using SmarTrip® <br>
Assuming maximum advertised increase of 4.0 percent <br>
<br>
Current Fare Potential New Fare <br>
Type Example Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak <br>
Long Franconia-Springfield to Metro Center $5.35 $3.50 $5.55 $3.65 <br>
Medium Bethesda to Rosslyn $3.65 $2.75 $3.80 $2.95 <br>
Short Southern Ave to Navy Yard $2.20 $1.75 $2.30 $1.80 <br>
<br>
B. Fare Changes for Passengers Using Paper Farecard <br>
Depending on the month, paper farecards account for 10 percent or less of
Metrorailtrips, as the vast majority of riders are now utilizing SmarTrip®. <br>
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. <br>
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. <br>
<br>
C. Fare Changes for Rail Passes and Other Rail Fares <br>
1. Increase price of existing rail passes by up to 4.0 percent <br>
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: <br>
a) One-day unlimited pass would increase from $14.00 to $14.50 <br>
b) 7-day short-trip pass would increase from $35.00 to $36.50 <br>
c) 7-day fast pass would increase from $57.50 to $59.75 <br>
d) 28-day fast pass would increase from $230.00 to $239.00 <br>
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 <br>
2. Create new discounted “convention” pass <br>
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 <br>
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 <br>
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 <br>
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. <br>
<br>
3. Bus-to-rail transfers <br>
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. <br>
<br>
II. Fare Proposal – Metrobus <br>
A. Fare Changes for Bus Boarding Using SmarTrip® <br>
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. <br>
<br>
B. Fare Changes for Bus Boarding Using Cash <br>
PROPOSAL #1 <br>
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 <br>
separate pilot project to install off-board SmarTrip® reloading machines at
locations along key bus routes to encourage SmarTrip® use and speed bus
loading. <br>
<br>
PROPOSAL #2 <br>
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 <br>
fares would be one-half the regular cash fare, rounded down to the nearest
nickel. <br>
<br>
C. Bus Transfers <br>
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. <br>
<br>
D. Bus Passes and Other Media <br>
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. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>