Metro News Release
For immediate release: March 4, 2010
Metro sets six public hearings on options to close FY2011 budget gap
Variety of proposals include fare increases, service reductions, use of capital funds
Metro will hold a series of six public hearings in March and April and is running an online survey to get public input on a variety of options for how the transit agency should close a $189 million budget gap in fiscal year 2011. The projected deficit is largely due to increased expenses and losses in revenue from lower than expected ridership.
The public is invited to provide input on a number of proposals to balance the budget, which include a combination of fare increases, Metrorail and Metrobus service reductions, changes to the MetroAccess fare structure and service area allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, departmental and staff reductions, additional contributions from the jurisdictions that fund Metro, and the use of capital funds to pay for preventive maintenance.
In addition to the General Manager’s proposed budget, Metro is including suggestions from the Riders’Advisory Council, other rider groups and ATU Local 689 for the public’s consideration during the hearings. More detailed information about the proposals will be posted on Metro’s Web site, www.wmata.com, with the public hearing docket in mid-March.
All hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with an open house conducted prior to each hearing at 6:30 p.m. The hearings will take place as follows:
Monday, March 22
Hearing No. 548
Oakton High School Lecture Hall
2900 Sutton Road
Vienna, VA
Wednesday, March 24
Hearing No. 549
St. Francis Xavier Church, Bailey Room
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC
Monday, March 29
Hearing No. 550
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
5120 Whitfield Chapel Road
Lanham, MD
Wednesday, March 31
Hearing No. 551
Arlington County Board Room, 3rd Floor
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA
Thursday, April 1
Hearing No. 552
All Souls Unitarian Church, Pierce Hall
1500 Harvard Street, NW
Washington, DC
Thursday, April 1
Hearing No. 553
Montgomery County Executive Office Building, Cafeteria
101 Monroe Street (entrance on Jefferson Street)
Rockville, MD
Detailed directions to each hearing location can be found at http://www.wmata.com/community_outreach/B10-2_landing/hearing_site.cfm.
Proposals to balance the budget include the widest array of options possible to help the Board of Directors get the public input they need before they make a final decision on the budget in June. Not all of the options presented are necessary to balance the budget. Any proposed fare increases, service reductions and changes to MetroAccess service would start June 27, 2010.
Possible fare increases being considered for FY2011 include:
• Increasing the Metrorail peak period boarding charge from $1.65 to up to $2;
• Increasing the Metrorail maximum peak period fare from $4.50 to up to $5:45;
• Implementing a surcharge of up to 50 cents for “peak-of-the-peak” trips from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. weekdays;
• Increasing the Metrorail off-peak boarding charge from $1.35 to up to $1.65;
• Increasing Metrorail and Metrobus passes so the price is consistent with boarding charges;
• Increasing the Metrobus boarding charge from $1.25 to up to $1.60 with SmarTrip® and from $1.35 to up to $1.70 with cash;
• Increasing the MetroAccess fare to up to twice the comparable fixed route fare;
• Increasing all daily parking rates by up to $1.15; and
• Increasing the bicycle locker yearly rental fee from $70 to up to $200.
Service reductions being considered for FY2011 include:
• Making seasonal adjustments to service to meet demand;
• Increasing intervals between trains and buses;
• Closing some station mezzanines and rail stations during periods of low ridership (such as weekends or late at night);
• Beginning rail service later in the mornings;
• Modifying late-night rail and bus service; and
• Eliminating some low-ridership bus routes or portions of routes.
Changes to MetroAccess service being considered for FY2011 include:
• Reducing the MetroAccess service area (within Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines) to reflect actual fixed-route bus and rail service areas reflecting the actual time, day and location;
• Charging a premium for service provided to locations beyond the ¾-mile corridor around fixed-route services. The premium for zones would be up to $5 for zone 1, up to $10 for zone 2, up to $15 for zone 3 and up to $20 for zone 4;
• Aligning the MetroAccess fare structure to the maximum allowed under the ADA definition, which is twice the equivalent of fixed-route fare; and
• Restricting the use of the Free Ride Program to only those MetroAccess certified persons with conditional eligibility.
To establish a witness list for the public hearings, individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to be heard at the hearings are asked to provide in writing their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, requests to speak may be faxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Please submit only one speaker’s name per letter and reference the hearing number. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Others present at the hearing may be heard after people who have registered have spoken. Public officials will be heard first and will be allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All other speakers will be allowed two minutes each. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be permitted.
Written statements and exhibits may be sent to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Please reference the hearing number. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 6.
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: 202-638-3780 as soon as possible in order for Metro to make necessary arrangements.
###
Media contact for this news release: Angela Gates or Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
For all other inquiries, please call customer service at 202-637-7000.
News release issued at 5:08 pm, March 4, 2010.