More people are riding Metro, with the transit agency running 356 million trips on its trains, buses and disability service last year.
But even with a 3 percent ridership increase since 2007, all the new passengers didn’t bring in as much fare revenue as Metro officials anticipated.
The agency’s rail revenue fell short of projections in December by $1.1 million, according to Metro, with a total revenue of $37.2 million for the month.
Agency officials said the shortfall for the system’s most popular service resulted from the “changing nature” of rail trips: Metrorail riders are riding more during non-rush hour times and traveling shorter distances.
The trend has been going on for months, according to Metro. A January 2008 fare increase helped give riders more reasons to ride off-peak when fares are lower. Metro officials also said in September that an increase in activities in downtown Washington, including the opening of the Washington Nationals ballpark in April, was luring riders to take more trips.
But the timing of the trips, plus the short distances traveled, meant that many riders paid the minimum fares, according to a Metro report. During rush hours, train riders pay $1.65 to $4.50 per trip, but they pay only $1.35 to $2.35 during non-rush hour times.
The idea behind such rush-hour fares is to give riders an incentive to spread out trips during the day to increase the system’s capacity. But the incentive may be working too well.
Fred Stremmel, who lives in Alexandria, has noticed the change since he retired 18 months ago. “I am always amazed when I ride Metro during non-rush how many customers are on board the trains,” he said. “In many cases all the seats are taken and people are forced to stand.”
Now Metro is facing tight times with a $154 million budget gap in a proposed $1.38 billion operating budget for next year. The agency is proposing to cut service in addition to staff. But it is predicting even higher ridership next year: 372 million trips on its three services.
“Metro is really shooting themselves in the foot,” Stremmel said.
The crowding on trains feels like rush hour, he said, so he suggests the transit agency charge rush-hour fares all day to help close the budget gap. “Metro would still be cheaper than a parking lot fee,” he said.
