Unsuck DC Metro: Silver Line Sticker Shock?

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Silver Line Sticker Shock?

Photo via: wfyurakso

From Timothy:

Residents of Reston anticipating the opening of the Silver Line late this year, may be in for a surprise as the cost of the daily commute will jump significantly.

The first phase of the Silver Line will start at Wiehle Avenue. At present, Reston residents can travel from this area with free parking, a net bus fare of $1.10 (taking in account the 50-cent transfer discount) to West Falls Church and a train fare of $3.95 to Metro center or $4.30 to Union Station. The total daily round-trip communing cost to these stations is $10.10 to $10.80.

Once the Silver Line opens, free parking will vanish. If other Fairfax County park-and-ride lots are any indication, the daily cost of parking will be set at $4.75. According to Metro representatives at recent open houses, the train fare from Wiehle Avenue to downtown DC will be at the maximum rate of $5.75.

The round trip cost of commuting to people parking will increase to $16.25 – a jump of about 50 to 60 percent. For those who take a bus to Wiehle Avenue, it will be $13.70, an increase of 26 to 35 percent. Those who are able avoid parking and buses with a drop and roll at the kiss and ride will see an increase of 33 to 45 percent.

Anyway you cut it, the convenience of the Metro will come at a cost.

Other items:
Metro explains Red Line fire cause (WMATA)
WMATA blocks Twitter user (WUSA)

Comments (49)

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+19 Vote up Vote down

restoner · 618 weeks ago

I live in Reston, and there's no way I'd pay THAT much for my commute. Driving is cheaper and more convenient. Sorry Metro.

10 replies · active 618 weeks ago

-14 Vote up Vote down

Cletus Jenkins · 618 weeks ago

You would not necessarily have to pay that much given that most companies and the federal government would offer some type of transit subsidy to help offset the cost.

+21 Vote up Vote down

@Sasmit5 · 618 weeks ago

Right. And then the rates skyrocket for the rest of us.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 618 weeks ago

Not all companies, Cletus. I work in healthcare, and was a Reston resident, until February. I moved due to the high costs of commuting, not to mention the absolute hassle it had become, to ride the Orange Line. I am moving to Alexandria later this summer, and am grateful to be off the Orange and Silver Lines. No thanks.

+15 Vote up Vote down

Red · 618 weeks ago

Er, if your move to Alexandria means you have to depend on the Blue line, you may very quickly be yearning for your days on the Orange line.

+4 Vote up Vote down

JennLynn · 618 weeks ago

Good luck with the blue line. I live close to Braddock and have to get to Foggy so the blue line is a must. This morning I waited 18 minutes for a blue line train (I got there at 7:40am) while 5...yes 5 yellow line trains went past. And then, b/c Metro doesn't know they're doing, the blue line train that finally showed up was followed by another blue line train that was only 1 minute behind it! How does that make any sense?! I do wish you good luck! Hopefully you can take the yellow line!!

+1 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 618 weeks ago

Actually, I am planning to take the bus! There are buses from my apartment complex that I can take, so I'll be pretty well set. I definitely won't put up with those long headways when the Silver Line comes onboard. No. Way.

+1 Vote up Vote down

JennLynn · 618 weeks ago

That's good! Luckily, next May, my office building is moving right off the yellow line at Convention Center so I'll be able to start taking the yellow then instead of the blue line.

+5 Vote up Vote down

scott_p_dc · 618 weeks ago

In those 18 minutes you spent watching yellow line trains go by, you could have been most of the way to L'Enfant Plaza, and then transferred to get to Foggy Bottom. It's not much slower than taking the blue line around. Certainly not 18 minutes slower.

+1 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 618 weeks ago

That's another workaround I plan to use, if it is too hot or too icy to be outside waiting for buses. I'll just go up to L'Enfant, and come around to Rosslyn. But I refuse to do the long waits.

+11 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 618 weeks ago

And where does the federal government get their money?

+35 Vote up Vote down

Sizzle · 618 weeks ago

Convenience?
Exploding trains, rude employees, packed cars, and 10-15 min. headways during rush hour. Not exactly my definition of convenient.

3 replies · active 618 weeks ago

+22 Vote up Vote down

Socket · 618 weeks ago

Don't forget the "hot cars" during the summer!

+10 Vote up Vote down

SCR · 618 weeks ago

And that, my friends, is my main reason for dropping metro. Makes me faint. I don't want to frick up anyone else's commute with a "medical emergency"!

+7 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 618 weeks ago

Same here, SCR. What I used to do, since I commute from Rosslyn in the evenings, is to look at the lower platform for Vienna/Franconia. If it looked at all jammed, I'd go inbound to Metro Center, then come back around. It took longer, but it meant I could have a seat most likely, and not worry about passing out from heat, and being that "sick customer." I wouldn't want to screw up other people's commutes, and well we all know how "compassionate" WMATA is if you need help right away. Yeah, right....

+34 Vote up Vote down

@VeggieTart · 618 weeks ago

Metro really needs to find a way to get its fare structure under control. Paying $16 a DAY in commuting costs, especially on such an unreliable system, is ludicrous.

1 reply · active 618 weeks ago

+15 Vote up Vote down

Dan Stessel · 618 weeks ago

So ungrateful.

You're welcome.

+11 Vote up Vote down

Sizzle · 618 weeks ago

I'd also like to mention that I've recently located from Silver Spring to Annapolis. When I lived in Silver Spring, I'll admit the Metro was cheaper/more convenient. BUT I lived within walking distance of the station so I was not paying to park.

Now that I live in Annapolis, I've figured out that it costs $12 a day to park and take the Metro from New Carrolton to Navy Yard and back. It is roughly a 2 hour commute.

On the flip side, it's about a 30-60 minute drive from Annapolis to SE DC and $8 to park in a lot by my office. Metro is officially more expensive and less convenient.

If it were less expensive, yes, I would absolutely suck it up and take Metro to work. But it's not - in any way, shape, or form - a better alternative to driving.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 618 weeks ago

Whatever. My commute from EFC to College Park was costing me $10.50 a day, too.

1 reply · active 618 weeks ago

-1 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 618 weeks ago

I think it's now $11.50, 5.75 one way rush hour.

Remember, like 2 years ago...when $5 was the max possible?

+3 Vote up Vote down

guest · 618 weeks ago

holy BUCKETS! ! =O

-10 Vote up Vote down

deedub · 618 weeks ago

so you moved from "walking distance" of a Metro station to a county that does not abut the district, and you are surprised that Metro is not convenient? how long did it take to figure this out?

+7 Vote up Vote down

Nick · 618 weeks ago

I think a lot of the point of the silver line is to enable reverse commuting to Reston and Tysons from Arlington (and Reston and further west to Tysons eventually). So keep that in mind.

+11 Vote up Vote down

BMK · 618 weeks ago

Your ride comes with free whiplash and BBQ.

2 replies · active 618 weeks ago

+5 Vote up Vote down

Want More · 618 weeks ago

I didn't get any BBQ - only chicken bones.

+5 Vote up Vote down

@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

The BBQ jokes aren't going to get old for a while. It'll be a summer of WMATA BBQ jokes.

+8 Vote up Vote down

@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

Gotta pay all those hard-working employees.

+19 Vote up Vote down

@Hell_on_wheelz · 618 weeks ago

As ridership continues to fall, fares will continue to rise to cover the loss in total revenues. Metro will send less trains down the track (there is an average number of pax/car in effect, I believe) in anticipation of the trend which will lead to more crowding, greater headways, less satisfaction... rinse lather repeat.

3 replies · active 617 weeks ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

NoNo · 618 weeks ago

Exactly! It is a vicious circle, and not going the good way.
Don't expect metro to take any initiative to change that.

We can already see the changes on the weekend on the red line.
Metro uses the track maintenance as a tool to test how far they can push the train to each other and still keep an acceptable number of passenger.
2 years ago, normal wait was 6 minutes between each train. Then they introduce the track maintenance, with headways between 12 and 32 minutes.
Now, what metro considers normal service is one train every 9 minutes... They just cut 33% of the service without any notice.
Ultimately, their goal is to simply stop running trains on the weekend, and turn the metro system into a very profitable commute train system.

+10 Vote up Vote down

John · 618 weeks ago

That's the complete opposite business model of any business out there! When demand for a product drops, so should the price.

0 Vote up Vote down

Dave · 617 weeks ago

Not true. Demand for typewriters has bottomed out since the advent of the computer, yet Staples still sells them for over $100 each.
http://www.staples.com/typewriter/directory_typew...

When demand for a product drops AND THERE IS A QUASI-MONOPOLY ON THE SUPPLY, price can stay the same or increase for the remaining customers still willing to buy it.

-2 Vote up Vote down

Rory · 618 weeks ago

All those people comparing their daily driving costs to metro costs are not including:

-car payments
-insurance payments
-car repairs as needed
-car maintenance
-increased chance of death/inury
-higher stress levels
-bad backs and neck problems from driving
-gas money
-others?

I'm not saying that makes Metro's fares reasonable or unreasonable, I'm just suggesting comparing Metro to Driving is not quite so simple.

6 replies · active 617 weeks ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

Dave Alturd · 618 weeks ago

Yeah, you're right. Higher stress always comes from cars. Metro is a serene oasis of public transport that relaxes a person and invigorates them mentally.

I can't believe all these antis cant see how amazingly relaxing Metro is. Must be because they are all pent up with rage over having to drive everywhere whenever they want.

And you hit the nail on the head with the keen insight as to back problems from driving. In Metro you have the freedom to sit however you please.And you have the joy of watching other people sit as they please, right near you. So right there you have increased health with a social benefit that bring us all closer together!

Read my blog!: www.imacluelessdouchethathatesanythingnotpublic.c...

+12 Vote up Vote down

govtminion 62p · 618 weeks ago

[Ron Burgundy] Well THAT escalated quickly...

+7 Vote up Vote down

Another Nick · 618 weeks ago

I factored all of that, when I made my decision.

It costs $0.24 a mile to operate a car. I have a commute of 7.8 miles, which means $3.75 a day roundtrip. It takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

Metro involves a DASH Bus to King St, Metro to L'Enfant, and a ten minute walk for a grand total of $9.60 a day and 50 minutes of travel.

Even if driving was $10 a day, the 50 minutes versus 25 minutes is the dealbreaker.

0 Vote up Vote down

Dave · 617 weeks ago

24 cents per mile? $3.75 per day? You've done the math wrong... even if you own your car outright (meaning you're not considering loan payments at all), that would suggest that you are spending 365x3.75 = $1368.75 on your entire annual transportation expenses. The average American household spends about 9-25% on transportation according to the Feds (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/fact_sheets/transandhousing.cfm). So this would mean your household income is at most $15208.33... which in the Washington Metropolitan Area would suggest you are living under a bridge in a cardboard box.

Check your math AN and get back to us with real personal expense calculations.

+4 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 618 weeks ago

lmfao

+5 Vote up Vote down

@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

I'm usually not a fan of sarcasm, but that was a work of art.

+11 Vote up Vote down

Rory F in DC · 618 weeks ago

-increased chance of death/inury
-higher stress levels
-bad backs and neck problems

Sounds like you are double dipping as those are Metro problems too!

+2 Vote up Vote down

cheefa420 · 618 weeks ago

well on a bender weekend this will be money ... haha

+5 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 618 weeks ago

Not that this has anything to do with the Silver Line & their costs,, but when the rest of the lines & stations collapse from neglect.....

+8 Vote up Vote down

Paul N in Vienna · 618 weeks ago

I'm holding out for the Golden Line . Why settle for Second place?

+5 Vote up Vote down

Dave Alturd · 618 weeks ago

You guys should really stop bitching and complaining.

I and others like me have worked hard to defer the costs (90%) of building this thing and running it to the evil scumbag car drivers on the Toll road.

You should join me as I sit around in Urban outfitters with Kale chips and laugh my ass off as Tolls on those roads go up to 15 dollars each way. So really you should be thanking us smarth growthers for that small price inscrease to not have to take a bus and instead take the metro all the way to DC from Reston! (Buses are public transportation and "smarth growth" but I'm uneasy supporting them as they have a combustion engine. I will usually try to pick them as a last resort because they scare me).

Read my blog!: www.idiotslikemedon'tknowanythingabout urbangrowthbutlobbyanyway.com

+10 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 618 weeks ago

I noticed some blank silver line station names? Is there a way to override the board and have the public name them? I' like to see "Sleepy Station Manager Grove" or
"Paid Administrative Leave Corner" or "Escalators Out" or "You Might Die Here."

1 reply · active 618 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 618 weeks ago

LOL @ King Friday. That reminds me of that movie "Resident Evil"....the computer, "Alice" saying, "You're all going to die, down here....." Eerily prophetic about Metro, isn't it?

-1 Vote up Vote down

Daily Rider · 618 weeks ago

How about truth in advertising for the names:
$$$
$$$$
$$$$$, and
$$$$$$

0 Vote up Vote down

guest · 618 weeks ago

OK that last post made me laugh out loud. Thank you hrh king friday 13

+1 Vote up Vote down

soupisnotafingerfood 2p · 618 weeks ago

That's how much it costs daily from Shady Grove... except parking is $5 there.

0 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 616 weeks ago

It's not even convenient... the bus from Herndon right now goes direct to WFC. Instead I get an extra 10 minutes of dealing with Tyson's stops. My commute is already long enough and I'll get charged more (as I'll pay for the distance I use from Wiehle-EFC whereas on the bus I already paid my fare. Goodie.