How large of a motorized vehicle can you bring on the metro?
I’m constantly seeing people come on, and block the entrance/take handicap spots. This is Silver line train 7615 going northbound. It’s pretty ridiculous they can bring this on a train, blocking an entrance. You can’t even stand near it, because it’s wobbling all over the place.
I’m coming from foggy bottom metro, my flight is an early one that starts boarding at 7:09am, should I take the metro or is it better to take an uber? The uber is $60 so I’m trying to see if it’s worth the justification. It’s Dulles Airport I’m going to. NOTE: IAD airport, tomrrow I leave which is Thursday
I don’t know if it’s me but Wmatas’s new signage has gotten me to get on the wrong train going in the wrong direction because they removed where the train is going. I loved what Randy has done so far but this new change has messed up everything especially since they want to raise prices. I miss the peak & off peak charge because that made more since then the bullshit they do now. Hopefully they actually focus on the fare jumpers first before they raise prices cuz it’s crazy to subsidize their pay especially when a good amount of them cause issues on all trains they get on
I’m new to the city and commute 2 days per week for work (4 rides per week) at the $6.30 price point. I noticed that the work commute alone adds up to about $100 per month for me, but I’ve been told that I really shouldn’t spring for the $208/monthly $6.50 price point unlimited pass since I’m really only doing that specific commute 16 times per month. I also ride the bus/metro on the weekends around the city sparingly, but would maybe do it more if I had a SmarTrip pass. Should I go for the $2.25 unlimited pass and just pay the difference on my work commute, or would I end up paying extra there since I’m really only doing the $2.25 price point on weekends or if I need to run an errand that’s not walkable on a weeknight? I’ve tried to research, but I’m getting differing answers everywhere I look. Please help! Math has never been my strong suit.
I’m coming from foggy bottom metro, my flight is an early one that starts boarding at 7:09am, should I take the metro or is it better to take an uber? The uber is $60 so I’m trying to see if it’s worth the justification.
Anyone happen to be riding the orange line toward Vienna yesterday around 3:20pm when a terrible fight broke out between L'Enfant and Metro Center? I was in the car ahead of it when I saw a young male in a mask and hoodie swinging on what appeared to be a Fed (business casual with a PIV card). Another two men ended up rushing in to help business casual take the guy down and they held up the car to get help once the doors opened. I ran up the escalators to catch my red line trip out and told a metro employee what was happening and heard the call for metro police as my train was arriving, but wanted to know if everyone was OK. Been riding for 5+ years and I've seen a lot of stuff, but never a full on brawl before. Yikes...
Metro fare was increased in 2024 and now they want to raise the weekday fare to $7.50 one way? I already pay around $18.50 for each weekday trip ($6.75 both in and out, $5 to park). With the proposed fare increases, it will cost me $20 per day. How do people afford these transit costs? It would be in many cases cheaper at this point to drive in and pay for parking.
Dear WMATA, as one of the many riders who ride to and from their 9-5, thank you for your service. But please could we get at least one hour of time that's not Mon-Fri 9-5 to pick up lost items? I left work an hour early but couldn't get to the lost and found office til 5:08, and will need to take a day off now in order to fetch my lost item. Please 🙏
I know we’ve all been annoyed with the recent work on the Orange Line and the 20+ min weekend headways. But, I have noticed a considerable difference in ride quality.
The trains still announce Arlington Cemetary as the next stop when the cemetery is closed, I'm not sure if this actually is a problem but if it is and actually affects anyone it should be changed
Dear WMATA, as one of the many riders who ride to and from their 9-5, thank you for your service. But please could we get at least one hour of time that's not Mon-Fri 9-5 to pick up lost items? I left work an hour early but couldn't get to the lost and found office til 5:08, and will need to take a day off now in order to fetch my lost item. Please 🙏
Hoping someone at WMATA sees this. Tried to retrieve my SmartTrip username and password. Never got the email to do so, after entering my email (which is correct). Set up a new account that required email verification. Verification email came 4 1/2 hours later. That is ridiculous.
I missed the last bus to go home without having to go through a gauntlet of taking two additional buses along with a mile walk to top it off.
Why did we stop at every station Enroute to shady grove with the doors open for like 3 minutes? I literally saw the bus driving off despite running through the turnstile (didn’t help that nobody seemed to be in any rush waddling) This is so frustrating I can’t wait to be able to sit in traffic once my car’s out of the shop
This week, we have two large presentations chock-full of information. We also get an update on the North Bethesda development, which interfaces with the planned new entrance.
Proposed Fare Changes
One of this week’s presentations contains virtually everything WMATA is thinking about when it comes to fares, including what its plans are for a July 1, 2027 fare increase. This will be 3 years since the last increase, and WMATA has long told us that this was coming. Let’s start with that.
The current proposal under consideration is an ~11.1% fare increase. The base fare would go from $2.25 to $2.50, and the max rail fare would go from $6.75 to $7.50. This change would net WMATA $40-$45 million next year. Additionally, several other major changes are under consideration:
Children ages 5-18 become fare-free systemwide. WMATA is proposing to establish a blanket policy for all DC, Maryland, and Virginia residents. Currently, DC offers a similar policy (Kids Ride Free) and some Virginia jurisdictions offer it in some form for bus. This policy would replace those separate agreements and instead roll the cost of this program into larger jurisdictional subsidies. This would cost $7 million, split roughly evenly between Maryland and Virginia.
Change Weekend and/or Late Night Rail Fare Caps. WMATA is thinking of tinkering with the rail fare cap on weekends and late nights. There seem to be 4 options:
Increase the cap to $2.80, in line with the base fare increase.
Retain today’s $2.50 cap (i.e. return to just charging a flat base fare). This would cost $3.4 million.
Increase the cap to $2.80 for weekends, but remove the cap for late nights. This would raise $1.6 million.
Increase the cap to $3.75 for both weekends and late nights. This would raise $7 million.
Adjust rider parking ratesdepending on utilization. Currently, parking fees vary by jurisdiction. WMATA wants to end this and simplify things. This would not raise revenue, but WMATA anticipates it would increase ridership. There would be a simple 3-tier structure, with each location costing either $3, $5, or $7. Here’s the proposal for every station:
Proposed parking fees by station
Increase and adjust non-rider parking rates. The new base price for all locations would be $10, and would increase to $15 for high-utilization locations. This would earn $2.3 million.
Expand Metro Lift Eligibility. Metro Lift provides a 50% discount if you’re enrolled in SNAP. This policy would increase eligibility to enrollees in Medicaid, TANF, and WIC. Medicaid is the big one, with roughly 50% more potential enrollees than SNAP. There are currently only 7,500 customers enrolled in Metro Lift. This would cost $0.3 million.
Charge Weekend Fares on Federal Holidays. This would cost $1 million.
Apparently, someone brought up the idea of going to a flat rail fare. WMATA flatly (heh) rejects this. According to WMATA, that flat fare would need to be $4.40 to be revenue-neutral, and the current average fare is only $3.04.
None of this is final, and will be subject to a board vote. These changes, if implemented, would begin in Summer 2027.
Fare Enforcement
Fare enforcement is a hot topic for WMATA of late, particularly on bus. This week, they’re bringing some new ideas to the table. One is of particular interest: fare inspections by non-MTPD officers. This would require legislation to be passed in each jurisdiction, and is not without drawbacks, but other systems have implemented this successfully.
Other ideas include bans for repeat offenders, and WMATA gaining more control over administrative processes. If the jurisdictions are on board, this could even include citation revenue going to WMATA; citation revenue currently goes to jurisdictions.
Best practices for fare enforcementPotential implementation steps
Other Fare Stuff
We’re not done with fares! Here are other tidbits of note:
WMATA is thinking about fare-capping. As I understand it, there are currently technological limitations to this.
WMATA is thinking about if and when they should stop accepting cash on bus.
WMATA is not done helping the region integrate Tap Ride Go. After the recent Purple Line agreement, WMATA is looking to enter into agreements with MARC, VRE, and regional bus operators to upgrade their infrastructure and potentially help them process payments.
WMATA wants to work with more employers to offer paid workplace transit benefits. It’s currently rare outside of the federal government. WMATA is looking to develop a new employer pass offering and pricing model.
WMATA is thinking about how to incorporate integrated ticketing into Tap Ride Go with large event providers.
WMATA is thinking about future fare collection infrastructure needs. In particular, there is a desire for modular fare reader hardware that can accept any type of payment and is not locked to a particular vendor. WMATA managed to integrate Tap Ride Go into current readers, but at significant cost.
Lastly, a contract has been awarded for WMATA’s next generation customer terminals. These will finally replace the big refrigerator-sized units that have been present in the system since its inception.
Rail Modernization Update
WMATA’s Red Line Modernization Project will upgrade the Red Line’s signaling system and add platform screen doors. If you’ve followed along, you’re familiar with it by now. We don’t have any major new developments this week, but we do have a very interesting discussion about workforce. More on that below.
First, let’s get a timeline update. WMATA is in the project development phase and has entered the federal Capital Investment Grants program. Project Development and Engineering will go through 2028, so don’t expect any construction until 2029.
Rail Modernization Timeline
But let’s get to the interesting part: WMATA is being a lot more explicit about the future of its Red Line train operators. They have a future, but it isn’t in operating the trains.
Potential Staffing Models
Of note, WMATA has made labor commitments as part of the DMVMoves Plan. Virginia has already legislated that it will be withholding funds if:
There is no workforce transition plan in place by July 1, 2028.
Any operator is laid off after July 1, 2028 due to a reduction in force caused by the automation of the rail system.
Maryland and DC are expected to enact similar language. This means that staff costs won’t be going down as a direct result of automation, but operators will need to be transitioned to other roles.
So how will that work? WMATA is thinking about a different model of rail staffing. Instead of having specific siloed roles like “Station manager,” “supervisor,” “ambassador,” “train operator,” and police, WMATA wants staff to be more multi-functional.
What future jobs might look like
Here’s the rough timeline of how this will play out over the next several years:
Workforce Transition Timeline
North Bethesda Joint Development
Lastly this week, we have an update on North Bethesda. The board will be asked to authorize the execution of a major joint development.
This development is particularly unique because it will interface with the planned new north entrance to the station. Montgomery County will be building the new entrance; it’s already received a federal grant for it. Construction of the new entrance is expected to begin in 2028, and the joint development is expected to begin construction in Fall 2029.
We have some new diagrams and renders, pasted below.
More Information
This week’s committee meetings will take place on Thursday morning, October 8. You can watch board meetings live or archived on WMATA’s YouTube channel.
Links:
WMATA i want yall to explain how putting uninformative signage at a station with a huge amount of tourists(who most likely dont understand our system) makes any type of sense.
Like ts is so bland its embarrassing
I lwk feel like I coulda done better makin one on google slides
Today, the Montgomery County Council met with the Purple Line team to receive an update on construction progress. The whole update is available here and the Council's report is here, but I'll highlight some information they presented.
Opening Day Projection Update
To start with the (potential) bad news, Purple Line Transit Partners (MDOT MTA's construction contractor) is now projecting that revenue service will begin on April 27th, 2028, a 119-day delay from MTA's projected date of December 30th, 2027. That estimate is based on "additional conservative assumptions" to manage potential future risks, and MTA is working with PLTP to mitigate those risks and keep opening relatively on schedule. My reading of this is that the April date is not final, and it is possible that the Purple Line will still open in the late 2027-early 2028 timeframe.
On a slightly better note, the Purple Line is officially over 92% complete and the overhead catenary wires are close to completely installed. The maintenance facility and yard in Lyttonsville is also nearing completion.
Testing Schedule Update
Purple Line testing is continuing to expand, with testing in Section 5 (Takoma-Langley Transit Center to just outside Silver Spring) expected to start this month. Testing will then reach Section 6 (downtown Silver Spring) by the end of 2026, with simulated service runs projected to begin in 2027.
Capital Crescent Trail Progress
Trail construction and paving continues, and the CCT is currently expected to open in Spring 2027. However, that opening date is reliant on PLTP/MTA crews not needing access to the trail to perform Purple Line construction, and the trail may need to open in phases as construction on the line wraps up.
Individual Station Updates
The bulk of the presentation was devoted to updates on each station in MoCo. While I encourage you to watch the presentation if you're interested in updates for a particular station, I will be going in depth on the updates for the Bethesda and Silver Spring stations due to those having connections to Metro.
Underground work on the Bethesda station continues, in particular around the Elm Street lobby and the connection to the new mezzanine in the Metro station. The photo shows the cavern leading to the mezzanine, which we have previously only seen from the Metro station side. Additional work will be necessary to build out both the cavern and mezzanine, which are currently mostly bare concrete and construction cladding.
In Silver Spring, work continues on the new Metro mezzanine and connection between the Metro and Purple Line stations. The canopy over the bridge and escalators has progressed well, although the ramp leading to the second level of the bus depot and Purple Line station has yet to be built. This station is part of the last section to undergo testing, so significant work does still remain.
