Unsuck DC Metro: Nickel-and-Diming Riders? Part 3

Monday, February 25, 2013

Nickel-and-Diming Riders? Part 3

From Anonymous:

I'm enrolled in Metro's "Threshold Autoload" where it automatically adds value to my SmarTrip card.

I finally looked at my usage report and discovered that if it reloads when I exit New Carrolton, but before I leave the parking lot, I get charged $8.25 for parking instead of $4.50!

Part 1
Part 2

Comments (26)

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+4 Vote up Vote down

@perkinsms · 634 weeks ago

Sounds like a bug. The New Carrollton lot has a lower charge if the last transaction was a transit fare. Have you tried calling the Smartrip folks?

7 replies · active 634 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

Vienna Bound · 634 weeks ago

Why does New Carrolton have a lower parking fee? Shouldn't all lots have the same condition? I am charged full fare at Vienna when my last transaction was a transit fare.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Stevey Jones · 634 weeks ago

NC is $4.50 just like most other places (though some are $4.75 now right)?
http://wmata.com/rail/parking/parking_detail.cfm?...

I think you get charged more ($8.50) if you don't ride metro - I'm assuming this is because you can also get on amtrak at NC.

+3 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

glenmont's five.... -hmph-

+3 Vote up Vote down

Jin · 634 weeks ago

So is Shady Grove. What gives?

+4 Vote up Vote down

Stevey Jones · 634 weeks ago

As far as I know, metro charges more at the stations with the highest demand for parking. I.E. where they know they can get away with any price, because you don't have many other options other than driving and parking.

It's still not really clear to me though. The orange line suburban stations are $4.75 in VA, but $4.50 in MD. Maybe it's by county? The montco ones seem to be $5, pgc $4.50, and Fairfax $4.75. Theories? FYI all the data can be found here. http://wmata.com/rail/parking/

+8 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

shhh, don't tell anybody, but there's a private garage next to twinbrook that's only $4.

+5 Vote up Vote down

bet · 634 weeks ago

"You just got robbed". You might want to check the fees charged every time you use the system.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Stevey Jones · 634 weeks ago

To SmarTrip's credit, I've always had an ok time dealing with them, to register a new card, cancel a lost card, set up smartbenefits, etc. They aren't Metro, so they usually work. However, getting money BACK from metro.... good luck.

+6 Vote up Vote down

matt · 634 weeks ago

Agree with Stevey Jones - always have had success when calling SmartTrip folks.

+6 Vote up Vote down

ron · 634 weeks ago

Agree that smartrip is pretty good about customer service, but what i'm wondering is how many people just don't pay attention to this kind of thing. i watch my balances like a hawk because i don't trust metro.

2 replies · active 634 weeks ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

this. i've had to wait 15 mins on hold to get through, but once i do, they fix the problem. and like you, i check the usage every couple weeks because i've had gates double charge me.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 634 weeks ago

Especially if you have some kind of employer transit subsidy (even if said subsidy is just a pre-tax take from your paycheck), as long as you don't have to go refill your Smartrip before the end of the month (or at least not noticeably beyond what you normally have to top up for at the end of the month), you're probably not going to think about it.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Robert Smith · 634 weeks ago

My experience with the ST customer service was a good one--they were very friendly and ended up giving me the benefit of the doubt when WMATA screwed up. Apparently, WMATA decided to use an express bus for the purposes of the local bus and charged me the full express fare for a local route. They refunded the difference, although they were skeptical at first, but was a painless experience.

I seem to remember there was an issue at Twinbrook where people would park there, recharge their ST and be able to pay the reduced 'i rode the metro' parking fare. This story sounds like a WMATA 'bug' alright! *shakes head*

+3 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 634 weeks ago

Ha! Another to way for riders to pay for the bonuses managers paid themselves!

-2 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

fairly sure metro does not control price and it's set by jurisdiction. Don't worry, employees don't get a "free ride" with parking. They pay the same as you.
Also, i always thought nickle and diming was all about charging for every last bit of service. Not mistakenly overcharging, taking off credit because of a CC decline, and who knows what else. Good rework of the phrase.

5 replies · active 631 weeks ago

+4 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 634 weeks ago

It's nickle and diming if you're doing things like systematically "mistakenly" overcharging and hoping that nobody notices.

-2 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

I would agree with you if I saw evidence of systematic overcharging. Given one person's account I do not. Therefore its a non story from the get go. Slow news day.

+8 Vote up Vote down

sbc · 634 weeks ago

publicizing one person's story can help us figure out if there is a system-wide glitch. I think it's very possible that reloading the card "wipes out" the parking lot's ability to tell that someone has just gotten off of a train, thus charging them the non-rider rate instead of the rider rate. That could affect a lot of people.

-5 Vote up Vote down

guest · 634 weeks ago

I think your making stuff up. It would be extremely easy to test this out that its still a non story. If your going to make claims like one person's story is tantamount to a system wide glitch then back it up with testing. Might as well claim its very possible stessel is an alien from uranus.

0 Vote up Vote down

Fact: · 631 weeks ago

Stessel is an alien from Uranus.

+1 Vote up Vote down

Meg · 634 weeks ago

Shady grove lots don't fill up like they used to but we pay five bucks.

2 replies · active 634 weeks ago

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Jin · 634 weeks ago

They do fill up...but they have a TON of reserved parking that almost no one uses. It's what...20 spaces, but maybe 5 people use them? I used to park late, around 9:30am (to beat rush hour prices), and there would be hardly anyone in the reserved spaces. They are reserved up until 10am, and granted some people may have parked there after I did. But that still seems like a lot of empty space.

I've always wondered, what if I parked there at 10:10? How can Metro know that I parked there after 10, when it was ok to park there? Or am I missing something?

+1 Vote up Vote down

dddddda · 634 weeks ago

They ticket people for parking in them before 10, and those meter-maids are SNEAKY. I've gotten a ticket at 9:58 or 9:59. They must have been lurking behind ˙a parked car and jumped out as soon as I turned my back, since I certainly didn't park there before, like, 9:57. One was enough, I learned to block a spot until 10 on the nose (because I wasn't the only one looking to snag one at 10), and make sure not to get out of my car until 10:01. Of course the other option, if you have to drive (I only parked a few times when there was a weather delay, it was NASTY, and I lived further from the Metro than now), is to find a station with nearby private parking that's reasonable. RIA, for example, has boatloads of parking both in the plaza across the street and, now, in the new development, that's $50-65/month and guaranteed to be there for you.

+3 Vote up Vote down

karah 81p · 634 weeks ago

No free ride on parking unless they have a safety vest or something metro-related that is.

+3 Vote up Vote down

RGG · 634 weeks ago

I have to wonder if the OP used the SmarTrip card that he/she exited with prior to exiting the parking lot. If so, then the regular, lower fare should have been charged. If not, then the system "thinks" you weren't a Metro rider and charges a higher "surcharge" fare. There are a handful of stations that work this way so as to discourage non-riders from parking at Metro lots. New Carrollton has Amtrak, as well as a Federal Building just off the property--those folks are discouraged from parking at the Metro lot. And if you want a REAL surprise, try parking at Largo or Morgan Boulevard during a Redskins game and don't ride the train....25 big ones to park!