Posts by Michael Perkins — Contributor
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If you want to take photos inside Metro, just do it
When I went to a Metro station to take photos for a post, I suspected in advance that I might encounter difficulty from the Metro employees working there. After all, photographers have run into trouble in Miami and many other transit systems, USDOT headquarters, and Union Station. I thought it would be fair to let the station manager know what I was doing. I approached the booth,… Keep reading…
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CaBi goes corporate, should consider Eco Pass model
DDOT recently announced a corporate-sponsored bikeshare program that allows area employers to purchase bikeshare memberships to give to employees. As a next step, it should consider offering a blanket membership that applies to all employees, like the transit Eco Passes in a number of western cities. The current program has four membership levels, from Bronze to Platinum,… Keep reading…
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Chris Zimmerman for Arlington County Board
It is without reservation that we endorse Chris Zimmerman for re-election to the Arlington County Board. Mr. Zimmerman is one of region’s strongest leaders on sustainable transportation and smart growth issues. His list of positive accomplishments, and consequently this article, goes on and on. Mr. Zimmerman serves actively on the WMATA board, the VRE board, the Northern… Keep reading…
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Metrobus farebox audit reveals payment and data problems
Many bus operators are not correctly counting bus passengers or unlimited passes, a recent audit by WMATA’s Inspector General found. The audit examined the quality, accuracy and timeliness of data collected by Metro’s bus fareboxes and found problems with bus ridership and financial data in some key areas. Bus operators are not consistently recording the… Keep reading…
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Maryland launches Smartrip-compatible smartcard
Some crazy rumors about a Baltimore-Washington compatible smartcard are finally true. Maryland will launch the CharmCard, which is fully compatible with transit systems in Baltimore and the Washington area. The cards go on sale Tuesday. The card is available at CVS and Giant locations in the Baltimore region, and cost $10 with $7.50 of credit pre-loaded. … Keep reading…
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Bring back bus-rail transfers for pass users
Metro’s recently announced pass pilot brought to light a detail in implementation that affects a lot of riders and potential pass customers. In a Facebook exchange, Metro reported that riders using passes will not be allowed the normal $0.50 discount when transferring between rail and bus or vice versa. This decision is inconsistent with the Metro… Keep reading…
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Underpriced Metro parking doesn’t justify more parking
According to an article in the Sun Gazette, VDOT is pushing back on Arlington’s and Falls Church’s plans to evolve the East Falls Church Metro station from primarily a park-and-ride to one surrounded by apartments and stores. VDOT planner Thomas VanPoole told reporter Scott Mcaffrey that Arlington needs to retain all the existing parking spaces at the station. Keep reading…
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Metro’s lost passes
Thanks to the Internet Archive, we can travel back in time to see the passes Metro used to offer to the public (we can also take a look at hideous late 1990s webpage design). Let’s look at some pass ideas that for one reason or another have been cancelled. Keep reading…
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Seattle’s ORCA passes show what Metro passes could be
WMATA should replace its existing three-pass system for weekly Metrobus and Metrorail riders with a flexible pass system modeled off of Puget Pass. Puget Pass is a system in the Seattle area where riders pay a fixed monthly price based on the value of the trip they want to have included. For rides that exceeed their price, they have to pay extra out of stored value. I obtained… Keep reading…
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Parking innovation bypassing performance parking zones
During last Friday’s online chat, DDOT Director Gabe Klein announced his intention to select a “parking czar” to manage the many pilot programs and other improvements to on-street parking in the District. We think this is an excellent idea to apply dedicated management staff to the issue of on-street parking. The many technology pilots, recent changes… Keep reading…