The fare hikes that I blogged earlier seem now almost certain to happen – in a slightly different way.
Metro has been eyeing this fare increase to close its$189 million budge gap.
According to this WTOP news post, the options include a 10-or 20-cent surcharge during that “peak of the peak” time, or a 50-cent surcharge for riders who use the busiest Metro stations during those hours. Some of Metro’s busiest stations include Union Station, Metro Center, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, L’Enfant Plaza, Gallery Place-Chinatown and Pentagon City.
The full board is expected to vote on the fare increases May 13. The fare hike, the largest fare increase in its history is expected to go into effect June 27, 2010, per this report. But federal employees, who make up an estimated 40 percent of rush-hour commuters, likely wouldn’t feel the pain of such a fee as more than 100,000 of them locally currently receive up to $230 a month directly for transit.