Fare hikes for rail and bus could be necessary for Metro to balance its budget in the face of record energy prices and to purchase new trains torelieve an increasingly congested system, said Metro Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini.
It has been two years since Metro last raised rates — 15 cents for rail and 5 cents for bus. Meanwhile, ridership on the system has skyrocketed. During fiscal 2006, Metrorail surpassed 200 million riders for the first time in its history. Seven of the top 10 ridership days ever occurred in the past four months, officials said.
Metrobus also surpassed 100 million riders last fiscal year.
“We’re taking a good hard look at our fare structure,” Tangherlini said. “I don’t want to jump too far ahead, but we’re going to be having some talks and get some sense of what the board would like to see happen.”
Metro Board member Dana Kaufmann said riders would more easily accept fare hikes if they could see tangible results from the increased costs.
Right now, Tangherlini said, all options are on the table including raising fares to purchase new trains.
“If a portion of the fare can be used to pay off long-term bonds over a long period of time I don’t think that would be totally unreasonable,” Tangherlini said. “I think that is something we would consider.”
Rather than simply instituting a blanket increase, Tangherlini said he is taking a more comprehensive look including charging different rates for peak and off-peak hours. Tangherlini said he is considering options like discounts for customers who use the cashless SmarTrip system or purchase fares in bulk.
The average Metro fare hovers around $2, officials said, with more inexpensive rides in the inner-core balancing more expensive rides to the outer suburbs.
Tangherlini said the prices are slightly more expensive than other systems — including New York City and Boston — which average $1.75 per trip.
The Metro Board is expected to begin discussion in late summer and early fall. Any proposal would have to go to public hearing early next year before changes were made, officials said.
mrupert@dcexaminer.com
