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Metro Considers Increasing Rail Fares
Trimming weekend Metro service to reduce overhead is one idea that will be weighed by the Metro board, faced with a $116 million budget gap.
(By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)
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The proposal also includes $16 million in cuts, including bus and rail service reductions, streamlined operating expenses and the elimination of 34 vacant positions.
Metro officials are seeking a pay increase to keep pace with raises given in the past three years to other area public officials, some of whom have received 5 percent increases, compared with the 2 percent raises Metro managers got, they said.
Riders' groups said Metro should look at internal savings first and allow for earlier input from the public.
"Riders must not be unnecessarily hit with higher fares . . . because [Metro] can't control its own administrative costs," said Jack Corbett, who heads MetroRiders.org.
It is also critical that the Metro board allow public comment during its committee meetings, when debate takes place and policies are shaped, said Dennis Jaffe, chairman of the Metro Riders' Advisory Council. The public is allowed to comment during monthly meetings of the full board.
Metro raised fares in fiscal 2004 and 2005. For fiscal 2005, the minimum subway fare increased by 15 cents to $1.35 and the local bus fare by a nickel to $1.25. The maximum peak rail fare rose 30 cents to $3.90.
T. Dana Kauffman, who represents Virginia on the Metro board, said members need to push for a "true debate on fare policy to see where we could increase fares and where we could decrease them." Kauffman said a goal should be to coax more riders to travel during the off-peak hours by offering fare discounts. He also wants to see incentives for riders to use SmarTrip instead of paper fares. Budget officials have said the agency could save time and money by moving away from cash.
At the same time, Kauffman said local governments will have a tough time giving more to Metro because they have their own shortfalls.
"Because of declining real estate values, we have holes to fill of our own, and now we're being presented with holes in Metro," said Kauffman, a member of Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors. "It's not like we have a stockpile of green putty to fill the gaps."
Jim Graham, who represents the District and chairs Metro's Budget Committee, said he wants the agency to exhaust all cost-cutting possibilities before turning to taxpayers and riders.
"We have got to see what we can do in terms of efficiency before we talk to anyone about fare policy."
