Metrorail Increases Fares [Updated]

Update: News Channel 8 is reporting that Metro must delay the start of the peak surcharge until later in August due to the “memory limitations of fare gate technology”. Read the story here. You would think they would have known …

This Sunday, August 1, 2010, Metrorail will change some fares and pricing. After checking on their handy Trip Planner, I didn’t find any “discounts”.

Peak Travel Surcharge

If you travel during peak commuter times on weekdays, you’ll have to pay a 20-cent surcharge for your trip. Be prepared for the price hike from 7:30 to 9 AM and from 4:30 to 6 PM. Metrorail opens at 5 AM so early risers can avoid this increase. The surcharge is based on the starting time of the trip when a customer enters the fare gate at a Metrorail station.

As an example:
Rockville to Metro Center during Peak Times will go from $5.00 to $5.20

Senior citizens and people with disabilities who pay their fare with a Reduced Fare SmarTrip® card or a Senior SmarTrip® Card will be charged a 10-cent surcharge during the same peak travel periods.

Metro explains:

The surcharge will generate vital funding, and it will encourage customers who have the flexibility to ride during less crowded times, alleviating congestion during the peak periods.

You might be able to save money and get a seat if you avoid the peak commuter times.

Increased Fares For Paper Cards

Although Metro is touting a 25-cent discount for using a SmarTrip® card instead of a paper fare card, when I used the Trip Planner the result indicated the fare will remain the same for Smar Trip® card users. The price will actually be 25-cents higher if you use a paper card starting on August 1st

As an example:
Rockville to Metro Center off peak hours is $2.75 now and will be $3.00 on August 1st unless you use a Smar Trip® card which will keep it at $2.75.

Lower Price for SmarTrip® Cards

What if you want to take advantage of the lower price? Right now you can purchase a SmarTrip® card for $5.00. But if you wait until August 29th, the price will be lowered by 50% to $2.50. Metro says they are doing this to help customers to take advantage of the SmarTrip® discount. If they REALLY wanted to help, they’d start selling them for $2.50 on August 1st when the fares go up. But I guess we should be grateful since this is the first time Metro will reduce the price of the cards since SmarTrip® was introduced in 1999.

Increase in Price for 3 Passes

The cost of three Metrorail passes will increase on August 1st. The Weekly Short Trip Pass will be $32.35, the Weekly Fast Pass will be $47, and the Transit Link Card for MARC and VRE riders will be $102.

If you want to check, Metro has updated the Trip Planner feature on its web site to allow customers to find the cost of their future trips. Enter your trip information with a date after August 1 to find out how much you will be paying. I didn’t find any discounts off current fares, but let me know if you do.

Speaking of the Rockville Metro, does anyone know why the trees lining the sidewalks to the east entrance of the station were removed? A reader has asked and we can’ t find the answer. Now we’re curious!

Big Red Line Delays in Rockville This Weekend

If you are planning on riding Metro this weekend, be prepared for delays of up to 30 minutes. WMATA says it is planning needed repairs to “improve reliability and service” along the Red Line. (Read the >full release here.) The part that affects Rockville folks is:

This weekend (June 18-20) Metro will make upgrades to the track and a bridge on the Red Line to improve reliability and service. As a result of this crucial work aimed at keeping the railroad in a state of good repair, riders can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

Metrorail riders traveling between the Shady Grove and Twinbrook Metrorail stations should add at least 30 minutes to their travel times because Metro will be welding new rail on the tracks in that area. Trains will share one track between these from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20. . . . On Saturday, June 19, and Sunday, June 20, all Red Line trains will depart approximately every 15 minutes from the Shady Grove and Glenmont Metrorail stations.

I am all for improving reliability and service when it comes to Metro.

Red Line Delays This Weekend

If you were planning to be out and about and on Metro this weekend, you need to know that our public transit overlords have scheduled some maintenance on the system for the weekend and our main line, the Red Line, will be impacted.>Says WMATA:

Red Line Track Upgrades

Metrorail customers traveling between the Medical Center and Friendship Heights Metrorail stations should expect lengthy delays this weekend and should add at least 30 minutes to their travel time because Metro will replace aging rail fasteners with new ones to stabilize tracks in that area of the Red Line. Trains will share one track between these locations from 10 p.m. Friday, April 16, to closing (midnight) on Sunday, April 18.

Throughout the weekend, all Red Line trains will depart approximately every 20 minutes from the Shady Grove Metrorail station. To help expedite rail travel into downtown Washington, every other Red Line train traveling toward the Shady Grove Metrorail station will terminate at the Friendship Heights Metrorail station and will return to the Glenmont Metrorail station.

Two Metro Employees Struck, Killed Near Rockville Station; No Red Line Service To Shady Grove Or Rockville [UPDATED: Reopened]

[UPDATE: Metro is reopened. >See here.]

From Metro:

Delays along the Red Line are expected throughout the morning rush hour after two Metro track workers were struck and killed by a piece of track equipment early Tuesday morning, January 26, near the Rockville Metrorail station.

Red Line trains currently are operating between the Glenmont and Twinbrook Metrorail stations while an investigation into the accident continues. There is no Red Line train service between the Shady Grove and Rockville Metrorail stations.

Metro will provide free shuttle bus service to help move customers between the Shady Grove, Rockville and Twinbrook Metrorail stations. However, customers should expect long waits for the shuttle bus service as a bus only can carry about 50 passengers while a six-car train can carry about 800 passengers.

Customers are encouraged to avoid the Shady Grove and Rockville Metrorail stations, if possible, and to use the nearby Twinbrook and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations to catch a train.

The Metro employees, both males, were struck by a high rail truck, a large truck that is equipped with special wheels that allow it to drive on the track when electricity that usually powers trains is taken down.

The employees were Automatic Train Control (ATC) Technicians who were installing new train control equipment in the track bed along an outbound section of track on the Red Line in the direction of Shady Grove when they were struck at about 1:45 a.m. near the Rockville Metrorail station.

One of the employees died at the scene and the other was taken to an area hospital where he later died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The identity of the employees will be released after next of kin have been notified.

Metro’s Safety Office notified the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Tri-State Oversight Committee about the accident Tuesday morning. NTSB officials are on the scene along with Metro Transit Police.

More as we learn more.

UPDATE:

Here are some workaround public transit routes:

• From Hungerford Drive to Veirs Mill Road: Metrobus route Q6. Operates from the Shady Grove station to the Rockville, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring stations every 30 minutes.
• Ride-On route 46 serves the Rockville, Twinbrook, White Flint, Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations every 15 minutes.
• MARC Brunswick Line to Washington Union Station. MARC trains depart from the Rockville station at 8:13 a.m., and 8:34 a.m.