Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted to increase fares for the first time in five years at a meeting Friday morning. The changes go into effect July 1 and include a new systemwide program, cutting fares in half for low-income riders, those who qualify for federal food assistance.
The fare increase proposal would amount to 5% higher fares for an average ride and will be part of the agency’s $4.8 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year, utilizing $2.3 billion for the operating budget.
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The proposal moves to standardize the base cost of trips by removing the 25 cents added to $2 base fares during rush hours. However, long-distance riders would face the brunt of higher fees. A charge increase would be seen after a third mile of travel to a flat fee of 40 cents per mile on weekdays before 9:30 p.m. The current rate fluctuates between 21 and 33 cents per mile.
Leaders discussed the fare increases in January earlier this year and before, and members representing Virginia and Maryland have expressed concerns for their riders who commute to and from the city.
“Fare increases in two respects: The max fare would go up from $6 to $6.50, and by eliminating off-peak fares, the max fare for riders who traveled up to this point in off-peak hours would go up from $3.85 to $6.50?” questioned Metro board member Michael Goldman, representing Maryland.
The funds would be allocated to pay for an increase in train frequencies, which have been stalled as a result of the pandemic and failed inspections of new cars.
Dating back to October 2021, 7000-series Metro train cars have been pulled and reinstated a handful of times due to an issue with the size of the wheels, which WMATA knew about since 2017. However, WMATA didn’t pull any of the trains offline until a series of failures occurred on Oct. 12, 2021.
The National Transportation Safety Board gradually brought back the cars in December 2021 before finding more issues later that month. The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission ordered the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to revise its plan to return the 7000-series rail cars safely.
In October 2022, WMSC finally gave the go-ahead to bring back more 7000-series trains slowly. Earlier this year, in February, Metro said it allocated $55 million to repress all 5,984 wheels on its 7000-series trains over three years.
“The process of changing all 5,984 wheels on 2,992 axles for 748 railcars may take a couple of years to complete,” said Chief Operations Officer Brian Dwyer in a statement. “We thank our customers for their patience and want them to know that the good news is we will be able to fix about 20 cars a month to safely build up more trains and restore the safe, frequent and reliable service the region needs.”
The transit agency dealt with more financial trouble as it entered the new fiscal year with a $185 million deficit, from July 2023 to June 2024, because fewer commuters use the metro, reducing revenues for the Metro drastically.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has consistently pushed the Biden administration to limit remote work for federal employees because the lack of in-person workplaces is affecting Metro’s business model.
At her third inaugural address earlier this year, Bowser said, “We need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings for use by the local government, by nonprofits, by businesses, and by any user willing to revitalize it.”
In a 19-page memo released Thursday, the Office of Management and Budget outlined steps to push federal workers back into the office by requiring federal agencies to submit a report detailing plans to strengthen “organizational health and performance.” The goal is to “increase meaningful in-person work” while still leaving the option for remote work open, the document states.
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The new budget delivers more service on the Green, Yellow, and Orange lines, which return to full service on May 7.
“The service plan that is attached to this is the smartest service plan that I’ve ever seen WMATA to put together,” said board member Tracy Hadden Loh as the vote closed. “What impresses me most on the service plan is how forward-looking it is and how responsive it is to future transit realities.”
