Posts tagged Unlimited Passes
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Governments must commit to Metro
At the March 8 hearing on WMATA’s proposed fiscal 2013 budget, Arlington County Board member and former WMATA Board representative Chris Zimmerman argued that more governments, like the state of Virginia and the federal government, need to contribute to Metro’s operations. He also encouraged the Board not to make the fare increase disproportionately hurt shorter… Keep reading…
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Metro’s proposed monthly pass could serve more riders
An unlimited-use pass could allow Metro to reward their most frequent customers and increase off-peak usage. But the pass needs to be well-designed if it’s going to succeed. A good pass system needs to work on SmarTrip, offer price levels that would work for many commuters, and provide enough of a discount to be worthwhile. System shutdowns for track maintenance and replacement… Keep reading…
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WMATA would cut last commuter discount, has no pass plan
Tomorrow, the WMATA Board will approve a docket for public hearings with potential fare increases, which does not include a monthly pass proposal as the finance committee requested. Only fare increases have to go to the public for comment, and a monthly pass could be considered a fare reduction. That means it’s still possible for the board to work out the details of a pass… Keep reading…
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Metro doesn’t need just any “monthly pass”
At a finance committee meeting on Thursday, WMATA board members approved putting “a monthly pass” on the docket, without providing much detail. Metro now has an opportunity to provide a needed and valuable monthly pass, or they can hinder the process by creating a pass nobody wants. During the meeting, discussion about various passes showed differences of opinion… Keep reading…
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WMATA considers smart passes, fare zones and more
A fare increase is likely next year. When the WMATA Board considers it, staff will give them many options for ways to make fares simpler, more equitable, or both. These options include some we’ve been advocating for years, and some we’ve brought up just to recommend against. Their presentation to the board, scheduled for tomorrow, emphasizes that none of the ideas… Keep reading…
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Metro to offer rail passes on SmarTrip in the spring
One of the next upgrades to the Smartrip card is coming next spring. Metro says that the ability to add the 7-day unlimited rail passes will be available next year. This should increase rider convenience, encourage people to ride Metrorail off-peak with their unlimited passes, and provide Metro with a steady source of revenue. However, since some of the transit passes… Keep reading…
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Alexandria pilots monthly SmarTrip bus pass
Alexandria is looking for riders that want to test loading a monthly bus pass on their SmarTrip cards. Customers would be able to load these $35 passes onto their SmarTrips. Each pass is good for a month of unlimited trips on Alexandria’s DASH, Arlington’s ART, and Fairfax Connector bus services. The fare on each of these services is $1.50 with SmarTrip… Keep reading…
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Smart Passes would reduce revenue loss in shutdown
It is looking like the federal government will shut down next week, and many employees will be staying home without pay. Politics aside, this is bad for Metro. The loss of riders will reduce WMATA’s revenues, but if those workers instead were purchasing transit passes, Metro’s bottom line wouldn’t be hit so hard. WMATA announced yesterday that they plan to… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Missing the point
C100 against public participation in government?; Perkins pushing preferable passes; Don’t panic about buildings; Pondering access for Tysons stations; Google Maps slow to correct errors; National Airport’s historic remnants; More toll increases in Maryland?; Roads too costly to maintain; And…. Keep reading…
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Lunch links: Attitudes in the city
Red light cameras catch unsafe driving; Opinions of fence flip over 20 years; Metro pass advocacy gets a site; Gray taking steps; MD could adopt station overlay districts; A tea party-urban coalition?; Hunger rising in suburbs; Shrinking cities grew in the core. Keep reading…