Happy Fare Hike!

Starting Sunday, Metro fares are going up yet again.

A fare hike would certainly be more palatable if accompanied by a commensurate rise in Metro performance, but I just haven't seen that with past fare hikes.

Will the new fares change your Metro usage, or will you just grin and bear it?

Oh, and if you were hoping an increased federal transit benefit might take the edge off, you can forget about that.

Previous fare increases:
Feb. 28, 2010
August, 2010

At the current rate, you have to think another hike won't be far off.

Note: I'll be off next week. Happy 4th and keep your stories coming.

Other items:
Will federal oversight make a difference? (Examiner) Here's the legislation. Relevant language starts at page 313.

Who Gives Delay Estimates?

Metro rarely advertises delays of longer than 15-20 minutes, but a lot of the time the delays are, in fact, much longer.

Red Line trains are experiencing delays up to 20 minutes in both directions due to a switch problem at Grosvenor.

— @wmata (@wmata) June 27, 2012

I asked one source, a front line employee, about where those estimates come from.

No one out here gives estimates. I really do not have a clue whose ass those numbers come from. They are coming from people who are not working on the line in any capacity. Not us, not OCC. I am guessing PR.

Another source agreed with this, adding "the gap between what's really going on and what the downtown people think is going on is huge."

What were the actual delays on the Red Line last night? Twitter traffic indicated they were significantly longer than 20 minutes.

In general, are the delays you experience significantly longer than what Metro advertises? I know they are for me.

Other items:
Interesting WMATA debate (CSPAN)
Group plans to protest fare hikes today (Facebook)