PlanItMetro

That’s a very cool graphic, and nice results from the initiatives. It would be cool to know what cost savings to the agency had resulted from these, too, and/or operational improvements. Reduced dwell time for bus boarding? Or are people still using bus on-board smart trip to load value?

I don’t think it will ever be possible to get SmarTrip usage up to 100%. Well, unless you make that the only option (like Atlanta did), but then you’ll still have people without cards paying cash to board buses.

At this point, I’d rather see initiatives focus on speeding boarding.

I think one way to achieve that could be to have a minimum load for using the bus farebox (like you have to load at least $5 on a SmarTrip). There are a few people on my bus line who load exactly one fare each morning. It’s painfully slow.

Another alternative would be to have a SmarTrip reader located on the passenger side of the aisle across from the driver so that when the first person in line is loading his or her SmarTrip, the other passengers in line who just need to tap on can go around.

And on the rail side, many stations need more faregates.

I’d also suggest for the benefit of tourists that when you get new faregates, the “green arrow” and “do not enter” signs on the faregates be raised higher so that they are more visible, and the screens that display balance/messages be tilted so that they are more easily visible (rather than pointing straight up).

I agree with the first comment and encourage WMATA to implement a minimum value to add to a SmarTrip card on board buses. At least make it cash only for adding fare value.

Adding fare value on buses should be banned but I understand we have to accomodate all (but its those few who are making things miserable for the majority). My suggestion would be to accomodate adding fare value in some other way, such as through better advertisement of adding fare value online and making add fare more widely available at local libraries, high schools/colleges/universities, transit hubs, government offices, CVS, Giant, Safeway, etc… (WMATA staff should go to these types of places and offer training and equipment along high use bus routes).

1) Convert atleast one faregate in each station into a smartrip express lane.
2) Create credit/debit only (thus much smaller) add fare machines that can be placed in some high volume spots around the region like universities, libraries, bus stops on major routes, etc. (Like post # 3)
3) Put smartrip machines in some really high volume spots like Nationals Park, somewhere touristy on the mall, etc.

I too agree with the need to implement a minimum threshold requirement for adding value to Smartrip cards on buses. I too would prefer to see adding value on buses banned, but I don’t think that idea would fly politically, so how about setting a minimum add of $5 and seeing what that does to average boarding times.

Strange this report talks “incentives ” & “encouragement” vice the more accurate “coercion” ……

Also, nary a mention of the downsides to the rider. When your “smart card” dies, you are SOL and lose any stored value…..UNLESS you bow to Big Brother and register it, and thus all your travels, with NSA^H^H WMATA. (Last time I looked, Metro now wants your DoB as well as address, phone, etc. Is a DNA sample next???)

A bad farecard can be traded in at a Sales Office, but not a dead smart card.
Buy a new one, mail in the old, and wait a few weeks.

Did WMATA ever explain how they log ALL your travel, forever? And they are not Google; they don’t require a warrant to surrender your data to the cops….all the cops need to do is ask WMATA for it. Hail the Fourth Amendment!

I, for one, will never use smart trip so long as a TLC is cheaper to use than a SmarTrip, even if I almost never use mine for MARC. The unlimited feature of the TLC saves me at least $60/month versus using a SmarTrip card, since I commute via bus and Metro from past SG daily into the District (unfortunately not near Union Station). On the few occasions I use MARC, I don’t have to pay for parking, and switch to the Red Line at Rockville.