Photo by elswifterino on Flickr.

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 policy in place before SmarTrip was introduced. It hampers the use of Metrobus and Metrorail as a cohesive transit system. It also limits the usefulness of passes for customers that normally use both bus and rail as part of their normal commute.

Metro’s transfer reduction acknowledges that a trip including a bus and a rail component is a combined trip which costs more than either trip alone, but somewhat less than the full price of two trips. This discount is intended to encourage transit riders to ride both bus and rail when it makes sense. By eliminating this discount for pass riders, Metro removes almost all benefit of having a pass for riders that use both bus and rail.

Before Smartrip, Metro provided a one-way discount for passengers transferring from rail to bus. Rail pass holders could get a transfer slip just like non-pass holders, and enjoyed the same discounts. Once Metro eliminated the paper transfers and implemented balanced transfers, that option went away. It was a infrastructure change that eliminated transfer discounts for pass holders, not an explicit policy change.

Without the transfer discounts, the usual “ten rides per week” price for passes breaks down, and passes become less of a good deal. We want Metro to offer a pricing model of paying for your peak service in advance in order to encourage off-peak use by giving free additional rides. Metro should allow pass holders to transfer from bus to rail, or rail to bus enjoying the same transfer discount.

Michael Perkins blogs about Metro operations and fares, performance parking, and any other government and economics information he finds on the Web. He lives with his wife and two children in Arlington, Virginia.