Ya, you get excited to see the headline – the Metro has postponed the fare hike.
But this is only for two days – Until Tuesday, Aug 3rd.
And the reason isn’t that the Metro wants to give the riders a reprieve in this series of recent multiple fare hikes, but the reason is rather internal – “after signs in stations caused confusion” – as Metro acknowledged Sunday night.
Here is what the Metro’s website says:
Metrorail’s second phase of fare changes, which was implemented earlier today (Sunday, August 1), will be postponed until Tuesday, August 3, to allow time to post signs on the fare machines to inform customers that the posted fare charts in the stations refer to SmarTrip® fares. Customers who purchase fares with paper cards will need to pay 25 cents more than the cost posted on the signs. Rail fares on Monday, August 2, will remain at the July 31 prices.
One increase would have charged 25 cents more for paper farecard use than for use of plastic SmartTrip cards. That was to begin Sunday.
The other would have imposed a 20-cent charge, starting Monday, for afternoon peak-of-the peak rides.
The list of fares posted in stations did not show the added charge for paper card use, a Metro spokeswoman said Sunday night. Spokeswoman Angela Gates said some station managers heard complaints. “We want customers to know what they are paying,” she said.
[Source WMATA, Washington Post]