Does anyone know whether Metro develops longer-term budgets than just the upcoming fiscal year?

It seems like our transit agency's budget problems are at least in part due to long-term trends that would be more obvious if Metro would produce an estimate of what the budget looks like in 2012 and 2013, not just 2011.

by Michael Perkins on Dec 3, 2009 9:37 am • link • report

One simple way WMATA could get more revenue is to ensure the fare boxes are functioning. The fare box on one of the 32 buses this morning wasn't operable, allowing all of the passengers to ride for free. I'd estimate that buses with high ridership such as this one lose $500-$1,000 per day when the fare box isn't functioning. I've had this experience at least a half dozen times this year just on the buses I ride, as I am sure many other readers have.

Another way WMATA can get more money is to charge more for the 5A airport bus. For the FlyAway bus service to LAX, a one-way trip costs $25 from Irvine and $7 from Union Station/downtown. By contrast, the 5A bus is only $3 each way. Passengers flying from Dulles are relatively more affluent than the bus riders on the entire Metro bus system and probably have a much lower price elasticity of demand for the bus fare on this route.

by Ben on Dec 3, 2009 9:42 am • link • report

@Ben: Hike the fare for the 5A and you'll have all the people in Reston (and to some degree Tysons) whining and moaning about how much their one-seat ride has been increased. Also, would Washington Flyer allow it since it would enroach on their territory?

And why the 5A and not the B30? Is the presence of MARC/Amtrak for the downtown crowd a partial reason of why?

by Jason on Dec 3, 2009 9:53 am • link • report

It is beyond naive to think that 10 cents will change the behavior of people. You're just hitting folks with longer commutes. If that's what you want, fine. But don't be a hypocrite about it.

by Jasper on Dec 3, 2009 9:58 am • link • report

If they hike the 5A fare they should improve the service, every time I use it the bus is a minimum of 10 minutes late and ends up packed to the rafters with pissed off travelers. I say raise the fare to $10 each way and double the service.

by Phil on Dec 3, 2009 10:05 am • link • report

Jason-- I would suggest raising the fare on the B30 bus as well. I have never used that bus to BWI and I didn't know the fare offhand.

by Ben on Dec 3, 2009 10:15 am • link • report

@MP

Like all government agencies, it's hard to predict budgets. It's especially burdensome for WMATA, considering how heavily it relies on the "generosity" of local jurisdictions to subsidize the service and on fares. It'd be hard to plan out how much to spend when you don't know how much money you're going to get from the DC/MD/VA to fund the service.

On another note: Is there any talk of reducing MetroAccess service to the ADA mandate?

by Adam L on Dec 3, 2009 10:16 am • link • report

Jason-- I would suggest raising the fare on the B30 bus as well. I have never used that bus to BWI and I didn't know the fare offhand.

Related to the 5A bus, another suggestion is to charge for parking in the Herndon Monroe garage. When I lived in Herndon there wasn't a fee to use that garage but drivers have to pay to use the garages at all of the Metro stations.

by Ben on Dec 3, 2009 10:17 am • link • report

over $100 million for pension contributions? would rather give them opps to make more $ and get a 401k like most private sector workers, we shouldn't have to pay higher fares on a "modern" subway system so these guys can get 1950s-style pay packages

by David on Dec 3, 2009 10:22 am • link • report

With the caveat that I have no understanding of the inner workings of metro, I would swtich the $10 million in staff cuts figure with the $30 million in preventative maintenance cuts figure. If there are two things metro seems to me to have too much of, it's redundant staff and broken crap.

by JTS on Dec 3, 2009 10:26 am • link • report

"Related to the 5A bus, another suggestion is to charge for parking in the Herndon Monroe garage. When I lived in Herndon there wasn't a fee to use that garage but drivers have to pay to use the garages at all of the Metro stations."

I doubt that garage is owned by Metro.

by Phil on Dec 3, 2009 10:29 am • link • report

I see where you're going with "peak of the peak" fares, but I don't think that 10 cents would make a difference in people's commuting patterns. You have to be at work when you have to be there, and it takes X number of minutes to commute. What time you get on the train is a function of that.

An extra dime each way is an extra $1 a week, or $4 a month. Even as an occasionally-broke person I wouldn't get up an hour earlier or stall around for an hour before commuting home every day just to save $1 a week/$4 month.

I probably wouldn't seriously change my habits on that until we were talking about $1 or $2 per DAY.

That said, I think the dime hike is a great idea for raising revenue. It's a small enough amount that individual people won't feel it, but it will add up to substantial money once everyone starts paying it.

by mccxxiii on Dec 3, 2009 10:32 am • link • report

Health care has increased 8% to $142 million, mirroring national trends.

That amounts to an 8% raise--- entirely untaxed--- in employee compensation, further enabling the increase in national healthcare spending.

Why not increase co-pays? We can't bend the national cost-curve downward if we unquestioningly accept every increase in premiums.

by Eric F. on Dec 3, 2009 11:02 am • link • report

Metro, you are killing me. As a long, long term rider and a four-year commuter on my current ride, I've just about had all I can take. Where are my 8-car trains? Where are my 3-minute waits for the train. Meanwhile, you think it's time to raise fares since fewer are riding.

I sense a disconnect. Charge me still more, and I'm going to start driving. I can damn sure get to work faster in the morning driving. Coming home is the only issue (to Rockville). Discussions lately have focused on costs and all of the other ridiculousness.

Since June, Metro has taken a nosedive. I want to support Metro, have loved Metro since I was a kid, but I just can't take any more. You monkey with the SmartBenefits, then stop. You never - after what a decade - get my 7-day pass integrated into SmartTrip so I can't get discounted parking, the trains run late, they run into each other, passengers are constantly inconvenienced.

I can tell you that out Rockville way, where Metro seems to want to suck all the marrow out of the one, everyone is talking about switching to driving and carpooling. Why do we have to put up with this? You want to raise the rate the folks out in the suburbs pay? That's counter-intuitive! We are the ones you should be encouraging to ride with good service and stable fares.

Today, six-car train arrives on a 7 minute delay (rather than 3). It's slammed full so it's standing only as I take a ONE HOUR ride to Farragut North. This is happening far too regularly. And my wife and I are paying nearly $300 a month to Metro. Any other merchant - and that's what Metro is - would treat us equitably.

But not Metro.

One last thing: This idea that we are losing money because ridership is down really pisses me off. That's HOW you make riders leave. Keep giving them bad service and then charging them MORE and you'll see ridership keep on dropping as you keep on sucking those willing to put up with it dry. It's like paying your employees less and less, meanwhile you wonder why you can't get decent work out of them and employee theft is up. Pay your workers a respectable wage and they'll perform respectably and respect your business. Do the same to your riders.

You want to increase ridership? Find real and new ways to monetize your service. Advertising? Where is it - get it up - renegotiate some contracts so it's actually making money. Don't allow EVER AGAIN multinational conglomerates to have exclusive rights to anything you control - like the airwaves (aka Verizon). Get some businesses into your stations paying you rent - like now! Why is there foot dragging - you need more money. Find new avenues to generate revenue. Because at the end of the day, riders are weighing the cost and convenience of Metro to their daily drive and Metro currently is coming up a loser. Increase fares, watch us run

/rant

by Metro Rider on Dec 3, 2009 11:08 am • link • report

@Metro Rider - you don't think Metro hasn't considered other ways to raise revenue? They're sequestering their transit data to see if they can make money off of it, for crying out loud. Also, we're in the middle of a recession, ad rates aren't the greatest right about now.

Metro has no choice. They have to close their budget gap. They cannot just let that slide. That means choosing between cutting service or increasing fares, or some combination within.

I'm glad that you've identified what a conundrum this is, but I don't see how that helps solve the problem.

by Alex B. on Dec 3, 2009 11:15 am • link • report

"It is beyond naive to think that 10 cents will change the behavior of people. You're just hitting folks with longer commutes. If that's what you want, fine. But don't be a hypocrite about it."

I'm scratching my head trying to make sense out of any of these sentences. First of all, I'd be really surprised if you didn't accept that on the margins a seven percent increase in cost will affect some people's behavior. In fact, given the nature of most of your comments, I would suspect that if there were an across the board 7 percent increase in fares you would comment on how that would make more people drive, which is a much more dramatic change in behavior than showing up at most a half hour early or later.

Secondly, as proposed how is a 10 cent increase hitting longer commutes worse? If anything, they have a much lower percent increase than the people who take it one or two stops. The centrally located people are the ones most likely to be on the margin discussed above.

And finally, what the hell is hypocritical about this proposal? Even if it were designed to hit longer commuters harder, how is that hypocritical? Do you even know what the word hypocritical means?

by Reid on Dec 3, 2009 11:18 am • link • report

Alex-- one think WMATA can certainly do a better job to raise revenue is improve the development opportunities at its stations and other properties. I had a discussion the other day with people from Ward 3 Vision about relocating buses at the Western Bus Garage in Friendship Heights. This is valuable property that could be developed into a fine mixed-use project. There is no reason WMATA needs to keep its fleet of buses there, a few hundred feet from the metro station. Opportunities also abound for developing land at stations in Prince Georges Co and elsewhere.

by Ben on Dec 3, 2009 11:20 am • link • report

Alex, let's not trust that the best and brightest are in charge of creating new revenue streams. No doubt times are tough. But you can bet they aren't thinking outside the box about new ways to get advertising dollars into the system. They want to put banners inside, or on the walls. What about other types of advertising - at least investigating. And discussions about bringing merchants into Metro should move into actions. Times are tough, but I know of at least six vendors that would kill to be inside Metro now and off the street as the cold temps approach.

But this is the bottom line: provide poor service on a daily basis, don't respond to riders broader needs and then cut existing service and increase fares - that's a simple equation for failure.

At this time in our country, this is a cornerstone issue that needs someone with the wherewithal to implement changes that allow a service like Metro to continue and be a shining beacon of what public transport could and should be. Instead we have the shuffling of four separate voices barely keeping the system running.

Something needs to change. This more of the same - same poor service, same solution to budget woes - is going to irrevocably blacken Metro's eye.

by Metro Rider on Dec 3, 2009 11:23 am • link • report

Ben, that's certainly true - but selling and developing land is not going to help Metro close a budget gap for the current fiscal year, nor would it be wise for Metro to divest that property right now, given the current real estate market. The public would likely end up with an inferior project and the value to Metro's bottom line would be less than what it should be.

Selling those parcels takes time, and that's not going to help Metro here.

Metro's policies on land development ought to focus on the benefits of developing that land, and financial windfalls should be seen as such, rather than opportunities to close budget gaps.

It would be cool if Metro could operate like Hong Kong's MTR with regard to land development, but that kind of legal framework doesn't exist here - nor would real estate development returns be the way to close a budget gap in this economy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTR_Corporation

by Alex B. on Dec 3, 2009 11:26 am • link • report

@Metro Rider -- why not take the MARC from Rockville to Union Station? It's $125 for a monthly ticket, the ride is about 35 minutes, and you'll always get a seat. Then take Metro just from Union Station to Farragut North. MARC fares aren't going to go up, I've been told, because the governor says no. So, unlike with Metro, if MARC has a budget hole, we won't have the choice of paying higher fares to avoid service cuts; we'll just have service cuts.

by Miriam on Dec 3, 2009 11:38 am • link • report

I'll pay higher fares if there is more service. It sucks to go into Metro, wait 10+ minutes for the first train and then another 10+ minutes for another. The waiting kills me. I would use the Metro much more frequently if it came every 5 minutes like inauguration weekend or like it does in Tokyo or Moscow... I have no problem paying the additional fares for this service.

On the buses. Why not make the local buses $2 for non-SmartCards and $1.50 for SmartCards. As many have noted the 10 cents doesn't make much difference for the commuters on the trains.

Maybe the same thing could be done for the trains where rides cost 25-50 cents more if you are using a paper fare card.

by Rob on Dec 3, 2009 11:43 am • link • report

It could be worse, some transit agencies get their subsidy money from sources that get cut back in recessions, like sales taxes. Imagine if the jurisdictions actually had to cut back support during the recession rather than just hold it steady like they're doing for WMATA?

CTA (Chicago) is proposing a rail fare increase from $2.25 to $3.00 (they don't have distance fares or off-peak), a 30% increase, in addition to service cuts.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/ctas-plan-3-train-rides-25-cent-bus-fare-hike.html

by Michael Perkins on Dec 3, 2009 11:47 am • link • report

@Miriam: Is there any reason why O'Malley is against MARC fare increases? I know he pretty much thumbed his nose at the riders who were BEGGING for fare increases last budget crunch. Not that there isn't much more to cut and that next year's an election year...

@Michael: Amid everyone's WMATA hate comes the fact that their bus fares (even if hiked to $1.50) are still lower than average and the off-peak rail fare isn't also lower. Also, such things as peak-of-the-peak surcharges and such should be a reason to expedite the long-delayed SmarTrip upgrades. If only there was some interfacing between bus and rail as there is in other cities...

by Jason on Dec 3, 2009 11:54 am • link • report

@Jason, what do you mean by interfacing? Coordinating schedules? There's already a transfer discount of 50 cents each way . . .

by Michael Perkins on Dec 3, 2009 12:00 pm • link • report

@ Reid: You are hitting longer commuters because it is harder for them to avoid riding during peak-peak hours.

I agree that there may be good reasons to hit longer commuters with more fares. I disagree, but it is hypocritical to pose that a 10c increase in peak-peak hours will change people's behavior. Show me an example where it has.

What bothers me is that a lot of people have plenty of ideas to increase cost for situations that do not affect themselves.

I don't understand where your 7% margin argument comes from, so I cant react to it.

Finally, the main argument against a peak-peak fair and a difference between smartrip and paper fair cards is that the payment structure for metro is complicated and confusing enough. If you make it any more complex, nobody will understand it anymore.

by Jasper on Dec 3, 2009 12:06 pm • link • report

I can't help but wonder if the declining/steady revenue isn't the recession, it is people starting to turn away from Metro. 10 cents here, 25 cents here, and it cheaper to drive or walk. Raise the price on the 5A and Washington Flyer looks better.

I know the rush hour far turned me from a rail rider to a bus rider -- losing metro about 10-15 cents a trip. Raise the bus fares and I'll just take the Blue Blue home all the time and Metro loses a buck in revenue.

by charlie on Dec 3, 2009 12:23 pm • link • report

Before we suggest raising the fares on the airport buses, let's consider all the people who use them.

In LA, the FlyAway bus can charge more because there's a free connection to the light rail line. People in a hurry to Dulles can pay more to take the WashingtonFlyer. But raising the fares on the only WMATA link to Dulles will hit workers at the airport particularly hard.

by Matt Johnson on Dec 3, 2009 12:24 pm • link • report

Jasper,
Whether you get charged peak is determined by when you enter the station, not when you leave. So in actuality, those long distance riders are actually getting a better deal because they are more likely to enter the station before peak than shorter distance people. So you're exactly wrong on that count.

Again, I really don't think you have a good grasp at what the word hypocritical means. It doesn't mean wrong. It doesn't mean unfair. It means advocating one virtue and in your private life doing the opposite. How does that apply here?

The 7% number comes from the fact that 10 cents is 7% of 1.35. But I realize now that the more correct number is 4% since 10 cents is 4% of the current minimum peak fare of $1.65. No I do not have a handy data to state what the price flexibility is for WMATA riders, but given the angst that normally arises over fare hikes of similar size I suspect that it is not as flexible as you posit. Particularly since the question is one of time shifting not mode shifting.

by Reid on Dec 3, 2009 1:36 pm • link • report

In case any of you are unclear about how Peter Benjamin and many other members of the board feel about service cuts and fare increases, I think that his forceful discussion starting at 1:14:00 is probably the best I've heard.

http://wmata.com/about_metro/board_of_directors/meetings.cfm

go to the link, click on the speaker icon next to the 12/3 Finance committee meeting.

by Michael Perkins on Dec 3, 2009 1:44 pm • link • report

@Reid: That all is going to depend on whether the federal government is going to let everyone write bigger numbers on their transit subsidy forms when they request their transit subsidy. I think very few federal workers will make any travel time changes in order to ask for lower transit subsidies.

by Michael Perkins on Dec 3, 2009 2:06 pm • link • report

@Michael: It should be possible for one who has a rail pass to ride buses and it should be possible for a bus pass to be used for Metrorail rides of equal fare. Just like most other cities.

by Jason on Dec 3, 2009 2:24 pm • link • report

The 5A is not just for rich travelers. I see a fare amount of graveyard shift airport riding on the bus, and others that need transit into the city at an early hour when no other bus service is working. A better solution is to raise cash fares to $5$-10 or something on express routes, but keep the increase for SmartTrip payers the same.

by Joshua Davis on Dec 3, 2009 5:28 pm • link • report

What about ads on the smartrip and farecards allow XX Company to put a ad on a smartrip/farecard, bus pass

by Kk on Dec 3, 2009 7:55 pm • link • report

@ Reid:

Perhaps coming in, long commuters would miss the peak-peak. But going out, they would always hit it. For instance, I can not leave the city after 6h30, because my commuter bus assumes I want to be home by 8.

The hypocrisy I am trying to point out is that many people are proposing cost increases that do not affect them. It is hypocritical to suggests others have to pay for something so you can enjoy no increase.

On the 7%. No wonder I didn't get it. Last time I paid $1.65 was years ago. I pay $4.25 to get in. 10c of $4.25 is 2.3%.

I wonder what the average fare paid by a commuter is. Does anybody know?

by Jasper on Dec 4, 2009 6:37 am • link • report

@Jasper

However to miss the 5-6 rush couldn't you leave at 4pm? Of course you'd have to get to work earlier, which might put you in the peak of peak period. By the way I am one of those people who goes through peak of peak in the morning, and yes I'd be willing to pay more money to ride then, knowing I could just shift my schedule if the money became to much.

Also does anyone know how rush hour fare works? If you enter the Metro before the afternoon rush, but then say exit at 3:30 what rate do they charge you?

by Joshua Davis on Dec 4, 2009 8:09 am • link • report

@ Joshua: If you are traveling far, you get up early and get home late, and end up working a fairly average day. There is way less actual possibility to shift your work time because so much time gets sunk into commuting.

by Jasper on Dec 4, 2009 1:13 pm • link • report

@Jason: I have heard that O'Malley's stated reason for no MARC fare increases is that he doesn't want to make it even harder for the already-suffering people of Maryland. See, for example, here: http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/serviceInformation/minutes_2008_10_29formatted.pdf

by Miriam on Dec 6, 2009 4:48 pm • link • report