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Rail News: Passenger Rail
1/29/2010
Rail News: Passenger Rail
WMATA to implement four-month fare hike in March
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Yesterday, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board approved a short-term 10-cent fare increase on Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess to help close a $40 million budget gap. Effective between March 1 and June 30, the fare hike is expected to generate about $9.6 million in revenue.
The Metrorail base boarding fare will increase from $1.65 to $1.75 and maximum fare will rise from $4.50 to $4.60.
“We heard from our customers that they would rather [we] increase fares than reduce service,” said Peter Benjamin — who recently was elected chairman for a one-year term to succeed Jim Graham — in a prepared statement.
The agency expects to cover the remaining budget gap by making $2.2 million in departmental reductions; using $6 million in insurance recovery from a June Red Line accident; taking as much as $10 million in stimulus funds from project budget balances; and tapping a $5.6 million reserve fund.
WMATA’s board directed staff to identify an additional $6.4 million in spending cuts. Additional fare increases and other actions related to the fiscal-year 2011 budget are likely later this spring as the agency “grapples with a projected $189 million budget deficit,” WMATA officials said.
Meanwhile, the agency also announced it elected Catherine Hudgins first vice chairman and Neil Albert second vice chairman to join Benjamin as board leaders. Former mayor of Garrett Park, Md., and a WMATA board member since 2007, Benjamin previously served the agency in various capacities from 1986 to 2006, including chief financial officer, director of planning and senior financial advisor.
The Metrorail base boarding fare will increase from $1.65 to $1.75 and maximum fare will rise from $4.50 to $4.60.
“We heard from our customers that they would rather [we] increase fares than reduce service,” said Peter Benjamin — who recently was elected chairman for a one-year term to succeed Jim Graham — in a prepared statement.
The agency expects to cover the remaining budget gap by making $2.2 million in departmental reductions; using $6 million in insurance recovery from a June Red Line accident; taking as much as $10 million in stimulus funds from project budget balances; and tapping a $5.6 million reserve fund.
WMATA’s board directed staff to identify an additional $6.4 million in spending cuts. Additional fare increases and other actions related to the fiscal-year 2011 budget are likely later this spring as the agency “grapples with a projected $189 million budget deficit,” WMATA officials said.
Meanwhile, the agency also announced it elected Catherine Hudgins first vice chairman and Neil Albert second vice chairman to join Benjamin as board leaders. Former mayor of Garrett Park, Md., and a WMATA board member since 2007, Benjamin previously served the agency in various capacities from 1986 to 2006, including chief financial officer, director of planning and senior financial advisor.
