Virginia residents voice concerns during public hearing

By JIHANE ABOU CHABKE
Observer Staff
Nov. 15, 2007

Grace Breidy takes the metro to work every day. Each morning, she parks her car at the Vienna-Fairfax station lot on the Orange Line, rides the metro to Farragut West and then walks for two blocks toward the World Bank in downtown Washington where she works. On a regular day, Breidy’s commute takes her about one hour and 15 minutes.

Ray Rowley is a resident of Lorton, Va. He drives for 12 to 15 minutes each morning to the Franconia-Springfield station where he parks. Then, he rides the metro and transfers three times on the Blue, Yellow and Red Lines before getting to work downtown. Breidy and Rowley are only two out of thousands that use the Washington Metropolitan Metro system on their daily commutes to work.

Tuesday night, Rowley was among a handful of people that voiced their concerns to a proposed raise in Metro fares during the first public hearing held by the transit authority. With the potential new raise in fares that Metro is proposing to implement at the beginning of the new year, the system’s riders will have to adjust their monthly budgets or switch to other means of transportation.

“I’m seriously considering either getting back in my car or switching to VRE,” says Rauley.

Photo by Jihane Abou Chabke Fare charts could be changing soon if Washington Metro decides to increase fares.

The Virginia Railway Express used to be more expensive, he said, but with an increased Metro parking fee, using the VRE will save him money, especially since VRE parking is free.

The price adjustments, if adopted, will be the highest in Metro’s history. The new fares would include an increase on peak boarding charges by 30 cents, an increase of the maximum regular fare by 80 cents and an additional 10 cents for Metrobus fares. Parking fees will jump by $1.15, and this is what seems to be the biggest concern for Metro users. (For a detailed table of the new proposed fares, click here).

“I really find it hard to believe that the burden falls totally on the people that park at the metro station,” said Peg Owens, Oakton, Va. “The bottom line is that the bus transportation in the Vienna area is totally unreliable…and that’s just unacceptable to me. When I live two miles away, I’m not going to spend an hour to get home from the Vienna Metro.”

For a regular Metro rider who lives in the suburbs, a typical round-trip on the metro, including parking, costs about $10.65 per day, or around $234 a month. With the proposed increases, that number will go up to about $272 per month.
“But will I keep riding the Metro?” Breidy asked. “Yes, I will. I don’t have much choice, and I would much rather have the Metro drive me than drive myself in the suffocating D.C. traffic every day.”

WMATA’s general manager, John Catoe, said at the hearing on Tuesday that the additional revenue incurred from the fare increase will only be used for operating costs. The proposed adjustments will add up to a $109 million in additional revenue over an 18-month period, which is the amount required to close the deficit in budget that WMATA faces in 2009. If the increases are approved, they will go into effect around January 6, 2008.

Tuesday’s hearing was held in Reston, Va., followed on Wednesday by two more in Washington and Maryland. The last three hearings are expected to be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in Washington, D.C., Landover, Md. and Arlington, Va.