Looking for Motivation to Use Metro
26 Jan
On Sunday, January 6, Metro raised fares on Metrorail and Metrobus service. In addition, rates at the Metro parking lots and garages throughout the system were raised.
Suburbanites, like me seem to be bearing the brunt of the fare increases. While the fares were increased by only a few cents for folks living and working in the District, my total fare is now more than $15 per day to park at the Vienna Metro Station and make a roundtrip to McPherson Square. Incidentally, it cost exactly $15 to get valet parking at my office building in downtown DC.
Here’s the breakdown:
| Rush hour fare (Vienna to McPherson Square) | $4.20 |
| Rush hour fare (McPherson Square to Vienna) | $4.20 |
| Parking at Vienna Metro Parking Garage | $4.50 |
| Reserved parking pass (a must at Vienna) $55 month/20 working days per month |
$2.75 |
| Total | $15.65 |
There is a shuttle bus that runs pass where I live that goes to the Vienna Metro station. I could catch this bus but my work schedule is not predictable enough for that bus to work for me. If I leave work too late I will have missed this shuttle all together and have to take a taxi home from the Metro station. I did this twice last week while my car was out of commission.
If I have to get to work at a certain time, I can see why I would want to catch Metro as there is no other way to get downtown from the suburbs by 8 or 9 a.m. on a weekday. But if I don’t, I’m having a hard time justifying it. If I wait a little while, I can drive to work with a lot less traffic for relatively the same price. And I don’t have to endure the overcrowed Metro cars with weird people standing too close or trains that break down on the very instance that I absolutely have to be somewhere.
Of course, the price of gas is a factor that I have not addressed. It undoubtly came into play in Metro’s decision to raise prices. Even with that, however, it would seem that commuters would still look to ways to get to work other than using Metro. (Car pooling seems like a viable option. Maybe I-66 will get SLUG lines like I-95/395.)
At any rate, I’m looking for motivation to use Metro any more than I have to.
Tags: wmata metro raise fares public transportation
