6 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 11/30:

 

Initial Metro budget keeps fares flat

 

WASHINGTON — Amid shrinking ridership and plummeting rider satisfaction, Metro’s initial budget plan for next year would keep current fares and service levels in place.

 

Metro staff is expected to lay out the proposed 2017 spending plan for the board of directors Thursday. The budget plan would seek no increase in the $845 million in funding from local governments that subsidize the transit agency.

 

Also Thursday, the board is expected to tackle how to improve service and rider satisfaction, which has tumbled from 82 percent to 67 percent since smoke filled a tunnel near L’Enfant Plaza Station in January killing a rider and injuring scores more.

 

SNIP

 

One proposed change being considered would reduce revenue further by no longer charging riders when they enter and quickly exit a station.

 

Under current policy, riders who enter a station then exit are charged the base rail fare. The tab for entering and exiting stations without riding adds up to about $2 million a year.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release:

 

Metro invites public to comment on proposed budget, new proposed fare passes

 

Metro is inviting the public to provide feedback on the proposed FY2017 Operating Budget as well as the Capital Improvement Plan and Federal Grant Applications. Metro values the input of its customers and the Metro Board will take all comments into consideration prior to adopting the budget.

 

The budget proposal includes no fare increases and no service reductions. 

 

The public is encouraged to comment by 9 a.m., Monday, February 29, 2016:

• Take an online survey at wmata.com/budget.
• Provide feedback to staff the following locations/dates*:

- Rosslyn Station, Tuesday, February 16 from 4-7 p.m.
- Fort Totten Station, Wednesday, February 17 from 4-7 p.m.
- Anacostia Station, Thursday, February 18 from 4-7 p.m.

• Email comments to writtentestimony@wmata.com
• Attend the formal public hearing on Monday, February 22* at 6:30 p.m., with an information session at 6:00 p.m.

Metro Headquarters Building
600 Fifth St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
(via Metrorail: Gallery Place or Judiciary Square)

*Note that dates may change due to weather and check wmata.com/budget for any schedule changes.

To view the full docket and for more information about the operating and capital budget, visit wmata.com/budget.

Several key initiatives are also being considered as follows:

• Elimination of SmarTrip® Loading on Metrobus
• University Pass (U-Pass)
• Bus/Rail Combo Pass
• Same Station Entry/Exit Grace Period

In addition to paying bus fares with a SmarTrip® card or with cash, Metrobus passengers may currently ‘load’ funds onto their SmarTrip® cards at the bus farebox. While convenient for riders, this also slows the boarding process. Metro is considering the elimination of SmarTrip® loading on Metrobus to increase bus speeds, improve the customer experience and reduce costs. The primary disadvantage of removing the loading ability is that it would eliminate a customer benefit for those riders – notably lower-income, bus-only riders – who may have difficulty accessing the other methods of adding funds to their SmarTrip® cards. Making such a change without providing any mitigation (such as additional retail availability, off-board loading kiosks, or other means) could present Title VI equity concerns.

Metro is also evaluating the addition of new Bus/Rail pass products to increase ridership. The University Pass (U-Pass) would offer unlimited riding privileges on both Metrobus and Metrorail at substantially discounted rates to full-time students at accredited colleges and would require 100 percent student participation. In addition, Metro is considering new bus/rail combo passes, in particular adding free bus service to the existing 7-day short trip rail pass.

In concurrence with the recommendation of the Riders’ Advisory Council, Metro is proposing a 15-minute entry/exit grace period at Metrorail stations. Customers who enter and exit at the same station are currently charged the base rail fare of $2.15 in the peak and $1.75 in the off-peak. Under the proposal, customers who enter and exit the same station within the grace period would not be charged. (The customer would receive a credit for the base rail fare to offset the amount charged.)

Metro’s fiscal year 2017 budget and any approved changes would take effect in July.

 

Additional Information

The survey results, along with written statements and public hearing comments will be part of the official public hearing record and submitted to the Board for consideration and approval.

 

The location for public hearing and outreach locations are wheelchair accessible. Any individual who requires special assistance such as a sign language interpreter or additional accommodation to participate in the public hearing, or who requires these materials in an alternate format, should call 202-962-2511 or TTY: 202-962-2033 as soon as possible in order for Metro to make necessary arrangements. For language assistance, such as an interpreter or information in another language, please call 202-962-2582 at least 48 hours prior to the public hearing date.

 

How to register to speak

All organizations or individuals desiring to be heard with respect to 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 this public hearing are requested to furnish in writing their name and organizational affiliation, if any, via email to speak@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, or can be made by calling 202-962-2511.

 

Please submit only one speaker's name per letter. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Please note that all comments received are releasable to the public upon request, and may be posted on WMATA’s website, without change, including any personal information provided. 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 more dockets. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be permitted.

 

How to submit written statements

Written statements and exhibits may be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 or emailed to writtentestimony@wmata.com. Please reference BUDGET in the subject line of your submission. All written comments must be received by 9 a.m. on Monday, February 29. Please note that all comments received are releasable to the public upon request, and may be posted on WMATA’s website, without change, including any personal information you provide.

 

News release issued at 3:13 pm, February 12, 2016.

 

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WMATA FY2017 Proposed Budget .pdf (326 pages)

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release, 3/10

 

Metro's FY17 budget includes customer-requested grace period to exit stations at no charge

 

Metro GM/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld's FY17 budget, which was approved today by the WMATA Board's Finance Committee, will give customers something they have long requested: the ability to exit the same station they entered without being charged.

 

If approved by the full Board of Directors at a subsequent meeting, the new policy would take effect July 1 and permit riders who enter a station, particularly during a service disruption, to exit the same station within 15 minutes without being charged the base rail fare of $2.15 in the peak and $1.75 in the off-peak.

 

“This is all about refocusing on our customers and recognizing that everything we do should be focused on safety and service reliability,” said Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. “I am pleased that the Board supported this policy, which is directly responsive to customer feedback."

 

The proposed FY17 operating budget was approved by Metro’s Finance and Administration Committee meeting today without raising fares for customers, reducing service or increasing subsidies from local jurisdictions. The operating budget now moves to the Board of Directors for their consideration.

 

The implementation of the new grace period policy is also outlined in GM/CEO Wiedefeld's Customer Accountability Report (CARe) as it relates to improving Metro’s service reliability and the overall customer experience. For more information about CARe, please visit wmata.com/gmplan.

[CNJRoss]

Greater Greater Washington:

WMATA is up against a budget deficit. Today, it floated ideas for some very big, very difficult changes.

October 11, 2016

 

WMATA is again estimating that its operating costs will far outpace revenues. To close the gap, the agency is considering closing several stations during off-peak hours, decreasing how often trains run, and cutting some bus routes.

Under WMATA's new proposal, stations with red dots could only get service during rush hour. Image from WMATA.

 

The official budget proposal for FY2018 won't come out until November, but a draft of a presentation that WMATA staff will give to the Board of Directors on Thursday gives some insight into big changes the agency is considering in order to close an estimated $275 million budget gap.

 

One option would eliminate service to 20 low-ridership stations during off-peak hours (midday, evening, and weekends). Many of these stations are located east of the Anacostia River, but White Flint and Tysons are also on the list.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 10/11:
 

Metro hints at fare hikes and service cuts to balance $275 million budget shortfall

 

Things could get a lot more painful for beleaguered Metro riders as the agency looks to close an anticipated $275 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year by possibly raising fares, cutting bus routes and shutting low-use stations during nonpeak hours.

 

Those are among the options that staff laid out in a report released Tuesday to prep Metro board members for the upcoming budget negotiations. 

 

SNIP 

 

Metro board chairman Jack Evans, a member of the D.C. Council, vowed Tuesday to veto any fare hikes.

 

“I don’t support fare increases, I don’t support taking money out of the capital budget, I don’t support selling assets,” Evans said. “These are all just proven bad ideas.”

 

His answer for Metro’s money woes: more funding from the jurisdictions. Period. And if they don’t want to come up with the money, he said, they’ll have to face painful service cuts.

 

“This is the time,” Evans said. “They really have to decide what they want to do. Do you want Metro, or do you not want Metro?”

More here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 10/12:
 

Quote

These stations and bus routes face service cuts if Metro can’t balance its budget

 

Thought Metro service couldn’t get any worse? Think again.

 

Faced with a $275 million budget shortfall, Metro is floating a range of unpleasant options they’ll have to employ if they can’t find a way to balance their finances for the 2018 fiscal year.

 

For one, there will likely be fare increases:  .  .  .

 

But there’s another side to Metro’s nuclear option: major service cuts. From our story:

 

As for service reductions, there are several strategies on the table, such as eliminating bus routes with poor ridership and the highest subsidy-per-rider. Increasing headways between trains is another option. Among the more drastic options being proposed is choosing the 20 Metro stations with the lowest ridership and closing them during off-peak periods.  .  .  .

 

For Metro, the decision to close 22 percent of stations outside of peak hours would represent a further backslide into the agency’s long-criticized ethos of the past: That it’s a transit system designed to exclusively serve 9-to-5 office workers commuting in from the suburbs, rather than a transportation network meant to serve all riders and their disparate needs at almost any hour of the day.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release, 10/30:

 

Metro GM proposes "reality check" budget plan

 

Calling it a Reality Check Budget Plan for FY18, Metro officials will present an austere recommendation to the Board’s Finance Committee at its meeting Thursday. The budget downsizes the workforce by an unprecedented 1,000 positions, cuts certain employee health care expenses, and rightsizes rail and bus services to support current ridership.

 

In preparing the $1.8 billion operating budget, General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld directed his executive team to fully fund key safety improvements, improve track and train reliability, sharply cut management and labor costs, outsource functions where possible, improve maintenance personnel productivity, and scale train and bus services to match existing ridership demand. The budget also funds stricter fare enforcement, a plan Wiedefeld calls Fair Fare Collection.

“Metro has to face reality when it comes to what the region says it can afford and direct those resources to best serve the riders we have today,” said Wiedefeld. “This plan has Metro doing everything in our power to get major expense categories under control while improving safety and making the trains run on time.”

After accounting for $50 million in projected savings through management and labor actions, Metro balances the budget through shared contributions distributed among all Metro stakeholders. While reducing its reliance on federal grant funds by $35 million, the operating budget assumes $60 million of grant funding of eligible maintenance expenses. Forecasting ridership that is down more than 20 percent from 2009 levels, rail service would be reduced, making trains less frequent during peak and off-peak travel times, but more reliable through aggressive rail car and track maintenance. In addition, about a dozen low-ridership bus routes are proposed for elimination.

 

As proposed, rail service beginning July 1, 2017, would operate as follows:

• During peak periods, trains would operate every 2-4 minutes at stations served by multiple lines in the system’s core.
• Trains would run every 8 minutes in peak periods instead of every 6 minutes today.
• Service would become more frequent for Blue Line riders, where trains are now scheduled every 12 minutes.
• Rush+ trains would be eliminated.
• During most off-peak periods (e.g. midday, early evening, and weekends) trains would run every 15 minutes on each line.

The plan assumes growth in commercial (non-passenger) revenue, including advertising and joint development agreements. Consistent with Board policy for periodic fare adjustments and recognizing that passenger fares have been held constant since 2014, an increase is proposed to generate $21 million, less than 10 percent of the budget gap. The combination of fare increases and service cuts would generate about $50 million from riders to help balance the budget. Contributions from the jurisdictions are projected to increase by $47 million from the District of Columbia, $44 million from Maryland, and $39 million from Virginia.

“The most difficult part of this plan is the impact for Metro customers and employees,” said Wiedefeld. “Tough choices are required to balance the operating budget.”

The proposal equalizes the local bus fare with the off-peak rail boarding charge at $2 per trip. Off-peak rail riders would pay the $2 boarding charge in addition to current distance-based fares. During peak hours, the boarding charge would increase a dime to $2.25 with a new maximum fare of $6 (vs. $5.90 today). For bus riders, one-way local bus fares would increase from $1.75 -- among the lowest nationally -- to $2.00. Express bus fares would increase from $4 today to $4.25, and daily parking fees would tick up by a dime.

Metro’s Board of Directors will be asked at its December meeting to approve a public hearing among other online and community based outreach for consideration of the budget. Community outreach and public hearings would begin in late January. The final budget, including any service and fare changes, requires approval by the full Board in March in order to take effect July 1, 2017.