Full image is here.
If you can't read it:
Rail Fares:
Peak of the Peak Fare: Eliminated (good)
Peak fare: $2.10 – $5.75
Senior/Disabled: $1.05 – $2.85
Off peak fare: $1.70 – $3.50
Senior/Disabled: $1.05 – $2.85
Non-SmarTrip Fare Surcharge: $1.00 (just in time for July 4th!)
Senior/Disabled: 50¢
Metrorail Passes
1-Day Umlimited Trip Pass: $14.00
(SmarTrip & paper)
7-Day Metro Fast Pass: $57.50
(SmarTrip)
28-Day Metrorail Fast Pass: $230.00
(SmarTrip)
7-Day Metrorail Short-Trip Pass: $35.00
(paper)
Metrobus Fares
Regular service with SmarTrip: $1.60
with cash: $1.80
Express service with SmarTrip: $3.65
with cash: $4.00
Airport Service (5A & B30): $6.00
Metrobus Pass
7-day region pass: $16.00
Senior/disabled bus fares/passes are half price
Parking
New fees range from $3.50 to $5 depending on the jurisdiction.
Monthly reserved parking fees range from $45.00 to $65.00
I remember the good ole days at Shady Grove when parking was free 
I guess it's still cheaper to make metro in, but if you factor in the break downs, delays, etc…
i think the fare hike plus (pun-intended) rush plus changes are gonna hurt ridership. but probably only a lil' since we are all slaves to metro and complain to make ourselves feel better somehow.
Metro's in a tough spot since it was neglected for so long. It's really hard to know what their true cost of operations should be – people will always point to the union, the overtime fraud, etc. But they certainly aren't bringing in the money needed for capital improvements, etc. Let's hope that this gets them to the point where they're no longer just breaking even but can start to gain some traction and make the system better for everyone. I like the changes that I've seen lately and it really seems that they're making a big effort to reposition themselves as a modern, forward-thinking organization. Change isn't fast, but I want to think they're headed in the right direction.
Seems like there's a sneaky “tourist tax” in there. $1 surcharge per fare to use a paper fare ticket? That's crazy! Has there always been a fare difference? I've never noticed since I've always had a SmarTrip card.
I kind of like the “tourist tax”. While it could be argued that it doesn't support tourism in DC, I think they did it more along the lines of encouraging regular riders, or even “regular” tourists (locals that don't use the Metro outside of occasional weekends to visit DC), to use SmartTrip. SmarTrip reduces the cost of printing tickets, maintaining the machines, reduces build-up at the toll-booths, etc.
Plus, the tourists are often the ones that are letting their kids run up and down the escalators, standing on the left pissing the commuters off, leaving their trash everywhere, clogging doors, etc. Why not charge them a bit extra? They're going to use the Metro regardless. Metro probably sees little profit from the non-regular riders due to seasonal fluctuation in tourists; this way they get a bit more revenue while still supplying the same needs.
Back in the day, South of the Border charged you to use the bathrooms. If they got away with that, Metro can get away with a “tourist-tax” 
Tourist tax? Fine by me. Ever seen the hotel taxes in some of those small Southern interstate towns where the only source of income is folks staying the night while passing through? They can sometimes approach 20%.
Yep, it's $1 surcharge per trip. Check the trip planner at wmata.com and notice the difference between riding for, say, today vs. the same trip July 1st. Using a paper fare card it goes from $2.15 to $3.15 just for passing through the gate.
I'm fine with it too. Except for the fact that Metro has acknowledged SmarTrip cards are an endangered species as well.
What is next after smartrip? I stopped following metro news and reading GGW some time ago.
CW said:
What is next after smartrip? I stopped following metro news and reading GGW some time ago.
The last I had heard was that the original supplier of SmarTrip cards went out of business. I did some Googling before responding and found this story on how Metro has found another supplier which will provide cheaper SmarTrip cards beginning this fall.
It took the old supplier going out of business before metro looked at alternatives and found one cheaper? Why don't they look for alternatives more often, they could save some money right there.
I recall reading some article a few years back about some subway system (not ours), which basically said that the total income from riders was just about enough to pay for the infrastructure used to print, read, enforce tickets and pay the employees who did such things. In other words, they could just let people ride for free and skip all that and the net change would be zero. I feel like there was some exaggeration in place for effect, but it always makes me wonder how the money breakdown works for WMATA.
chipotle_addict said:
It took the old supplier going out of business before metro looked at alternatives and found one cheaper? Why don’t they look for alternatives more often, they could save some money right there.
I recall reading some article a few years back about some subway system (not ours), which basically said that the total income from riders was just about enough to pay for the infrastructure used to print, read, enforce tickets and pay the employees who did such things. In other words, they could just let people ride for free and skip all that and the net change would be zero. I feel like there was some exaggeration in place for effect, but it always makes me wonder how the money breakdown works for WMATA.
Switching costs probably, both in terms of actual $ (negotiating a contract, migrating the cards, changing the reader machine thingies) and in terms of labor/IT (getting all the data from one structure to another). In a system with hundreds of thousands of cardholders, this is majorly nontrivial.
CW said:
chipotle_addict said:
It took the old supplier going out of business before metro looked at alternatives and found one cheaper? Why don't they look for alternatives more often, they could save some money right there.
I recall reading some article a few years back about some subway system (not ours), which basically said that the total income from riders was just about enough to pay for the infrastructure used to print, read, enforce tickets and pay the employees who did such things. In other words, they could just let people ride for free and skip all that and the net change would be zero. I feel like there was some exaggeration in place for effect, but it always makes me wonder how the money breakdown works for WMATA.
Switching costs probably, both in terms of actual $ (negotiating a contract, migrating the cards, changing the reader machine thingies) and in terms of labor/IT (getting all the data from one structure to another). In a system with hundreds of thousands of cardholders, this is majorly nontrivial.
It was common knowledge a decade ago that the manufacturer of the SmarTrip card was closely associated with a literal nephew of Anthony Williams, but I can't find any reference to that fact on the interwebs now. Shrug.
I'm not only a huge fan of the tourist tax (especially since I think they've finally figured out a way to get more SmarTrip cards into the “underserved” communities, both with dropping the price and vending them at CVS and Giant and whatnot), but I really think they should explore making the tax more time-sensitive to severely discourage non-Smartrip riders from touching the system at rush hour
The next logical step is to impose a $10-15 surcharge for bringing a stroller through a faregate. Maybe as much as $25 for one of those Baby Hummers.
Aaron said:
Aaron said:
I'm not only a huge fan of the tourist tax (especially since I think they've finally figured out a way to get more SmarTrip cards into the “underserved” communities, both with dropping the price and vending them at CVS and Giant and whatnot), but I really think they should explore making the tax more time-sensitive to severely discourage non-Smartrip riders from touching the system at rush hour
The next logical step is to impose a $10-15 surcharge for bringing a stroller through a faregate. Maybe as much as $25 for one of those Baby Hummers.
THIS! Sir, you should run for President.
1) I absolutely LOATHE tourists on the Metro when I'm trying to go home. They block escalators, drag their monster strollers on escalators, block the turnstiles, and then are rude getting on/standing on the train and block the doors. Sure, there are regulars who aren't much fun, but they're far and few and usually only are jerks about blocking the doors. It's ridiculous. And then I hear them complaining that it's overcrowded and “why don't people drive” (true story). Are you kidding me?!?! This is my mode of transportation to my lifeline of a job, why don't you not get on at peak rush hour times?
2) Strollers = anti-christ in physical form.
Can you imagine if we got all the tourists to “walk left, stand right”? Then throw in a broken escalator. The backup would stretch to Iowa.
I think most tourists behave pretty well. It is somewhat refreshing to see someone who thinks Metro is really neat. I remember feeling like that back in the 80s. I think most doormites are locals and I just run them over.
I know it is hard to be kind stuck on a Rush-minus orange crush hot car (Thanks Stassel you wanker) but being nice, or at least indifferent, to a tourist is +3 karma points.
