Archive for August, 2013

Rider Guide for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

August 19th, 2013 Comments off

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August 28th is the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. During the week leading up to the anniversary, thousands are expected to visit Washington and we expect higher ridership than usual.

We have prepared a Rider Guide to help visitors use our system.

The 50th Anniversary March on Washington and the subsequent Freedom Festival will occur on Saturday, August 24. Below is additional guidance for visitors traveling to and from those events:

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Categories: In The News Tags:

Metro’s Grounds Maintenance and Custodial Services (GMAC) Go Green

August 15th, 2013 1 comment

Health and sustainability lead to the greening of Metro’s custodial services.

Estelle Strickland, PLNT, washing the glass partitions at Twinbrook Station

Estelle Strickland, PLNT, washing the glass partitions at Twinbrook station on July 4, 2010

Metro’s Grounds Maintenance and Custodial Services (GMAC) staff are doing much more than keeping the system clean, safe and sanitary for customers and fellow employees.  They are going green and improving WMATA’s bottom line through their Green Cleaning Program—an initiative focused on cleaning for health and sustainability.

“Our efforts have included initiating cleaning practices that have a positive impact on the environment, that are less harmful to our internal and external customers and generate financial savings where possible for the Authority,” said Christopher Moore, Superintendent, Office of Plant Maintenance (PLNT).

 

The primary cleaning solution PLNT uses is a Green Seal-certified chemical that is dispensed through an automatic dilution control device, allowing a custodian to set a dial that dispenses a cleaning solution that mixes with water for cleaning carpets, glass, floors and other surfaces, each at the appropriate water-to-solution ratio.  This allows Metro to save money by stocking less chemical in store rooms and reducing handling costs.  The solution is also cold-water activated, generating substantial energy cost savings for the Authority by not requiring the use of hot water.  Read more…

King St-Old Town to McPherson Sq: Fare is Fair

August 14th, 2013 7 comments

Metrorail charges you the lowest possible fare, even if other trips that seem longer are less expensive.

Recently a Twitter user asked a simple question:  when traveling from King St-Old Town why does it cost more to travel to McPherson Sq than to Metro Center?  As a straight shot on the Blue Line, McPherson Sq is closer than Metro Center, so why is the trip to Metro Center cheaper?

We recently described how Metrorail fares are calculated.  However, the previous post  failed to mention is that when there are two or more routes to travel between any pair of stations Metro uses the least expensive one.

For the example above, there are a few routes to travel between King St-Old Town and McPherson Sq.  The shortest trip when considering the miles on the railway is to take Yellow to L’Enfant Plaza and then transfer to Blue or Orange, which results in 8.12 miles and a peak fare of $3.65.  The fare to Metro Center is only $3.55, because it is only 7.82 miles from King St-Old Town via L’Enfant Plaza.  For a rider taking the Blue Line to McPherson Sq, it might seem unfair that customers traveling one additional stop pay $0.10 less. Read more…

Categories: Fares and Service Tags: , ,

CTA’s Decrowding Measures Having an Impact

August 12th, 2013 1 comment

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) proposed a decrowding plan last fall, and after one quarter, it appears to be working.

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Source: CTA Crowding Reduction Plan: http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/miscellaneous_documents/Public_hearing_presentation_FINAL_090412s.pdf

They proposed the plan to reduce crowding and meet growing ridership needs (In September, they announced that “CTA ridership has risen 16 straight months, adding 22 million riders since June 2011.”)  The original plan essentially:

  • added service to 48 high ridership bus routes
  • added 17 rail trips to the Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Brown, and Orange lines during weekday rush hour
  • added rail trips to the Red, Brown, and Blue lines during weekend service
  • discontinued service on 12 low ridership bus routes (or duplicative)
  • discontinued service on 4 bus route segments (the entire bus route was not axed).

These service changes went into effect mid-December, 2012. The reasoning behind the addition of service and discontinuation of service was justified by the fact that the high ridership bus and rail routes represent more than 75% of the average daily ridership while the discontinued routes only represented less than 2% of its average daily ridership. Additionally, for the discontinued routes, there was another transit option nearby, such as a rail line, or another bus route. These cuts were also closely coordinated with the suburban bus company, Pace.

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Categories: In The News Tags: , , ,

Momentum: Next Steps and What You Can Do to Support the Plan

August 9th, 2013 Comments off

Now that Momentum has been adopted Sidebar-Momentum-Adby Metro’s Board of Directors, what’s next? How can the region ensure that the plan is implemented? What is Metro doing internally to make sure the organization is on track? What can you do to help?

Board members and members of Metro’s Executive Leadership Team have been meeting with local officials, businesses, civic organizations, and other stakeholders throughout the course of the plan’s development. Their support of the plan is critical to its implementation. This outreach will continue in order to ensure that the region’s leaders are aware of the plan, the benefits of its implementation, and the cost of doing nothing. This outreach is intended to garner a wide array of support, similar to what was obtained at other key points during Metro’s history. Many area businesses and organizations, from AAA to Zipcar, and a growing list of private citizens have already endorsed the plan. If you haven’t done so already, please endorse Momentum online now. Read more…

Survey Confirms: Metro Means Business

August 8th, 2013 Comments off

Recent surveys of leaders of the Washington-area business community show the current and growing importance of Metro to the region’s prosperity and competitiveness.

In March of 2013, an invitation to an online survey was sent to approximately 6,000 leaders of the Washington-area business community, including members of the DC Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Washington Board of Trade.   Respondents were asked a variety of questions to gauge their perceptions of the important of Metro in succeeding in many aspects of business, including the general importance of Metro to businesses in the region.

Respondents were in agreement about the importance of Metro DC metropolitan region businesses today and in the future.

Respondents were in agreement about the importance of Metro D.C. metropolitan region businesses today and in the future.

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Categories: Impact Tags: ,

Momentum: The Return on the Investment

August 8th, 2013 1 comment

The seven projects in Metro 2025 will Archives-Penn-Qtr--Aerial-pm-050508-028reduce road congestion, save money throughout the region, add riders to the Metro system, and make Metro rides more comfortable and efficient.

Capacity Increases to Support Additional Ridership

Metro 2025 investments will take 135,000 cars off the region’s roads, adding 300,000 boardings to transit, each day. This will help to reduce congestion while increasing transit ridership. With 100 percent eight-car trains, Metrorail will be able to carry the majority of those trips and have adequate capacity to carry the expected ridership of over one million daily trips by 2040. Implementing the full Priority Corridor bus network will enable increased bus use by over 100,000 daily trips by 2040. Next generation communications have helped draw new riders in Boston and Chicago. These investments save all travelers time and money, regardless of whether they ride.

We Lay the Groundwork for Expansion

Four of the Metro 2025 projects are prerequisites to outward expansion of Metrorail. Eighty percent of Metrorail riders travel to, or transfer at, one of a dozen core stations, but the core is reaching its capacity.  Before  expanding, the trains, tunnels, and stations downtown need to be able to handle the demand. Metro 2025 does this, and lays the groundwork for future rail transit expansion in the region.

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Public Engagement and Support: Elected Officials

August 7th, 2013 Comments off

Momentum’s outreach was unprecedented. Farecard machine tourists 071807 022Metro staff heard from almost 12,000 stakeholders during the process, which helped inform our understanding of the public’s short- and long-term needs. Below is a high-level summary of the most commonly-held viewpoints across region:

  • Make no small plans for Metro;
  • Recognize Metro is critical to the region’s future;
  • Continue rebuilding;
  • Reduce crowding;
  • Provide better customer information; and
  • Ensure predictable funding.

Elected/Public Officials

“Fix the funding problem, and be the region’s transit Authority”

Elected and other public officials were supportive of Momentum and planning for the future, though concerns were voiced that current funding levels were not sufficient to support the regions’ future needs. Major areas of focus included system capacity, regional mobility, enhanced connectivity including suburb to suburb commutes, integrating with other regional transit projects, economic development and Metro serving as the region’s transit planning leader. Specific support emerged for bus rapid transit and expanded bus services to address both core capacity and suburb-to-suburb issues and 100 percent eight-car trains to address core capacity and platform crowding. Officials also seem to agree that Metro should “be responsible for coordinating regional connectivity” by fulfilling its role as the transit planner of the region, as outlined in the Metro Compact.

During a meeting with the Maryland Congressional delegation, all members present expressed their willingness to discuss the reauthorization of PRIIA or finding other means of federal investment when the current authorization expires in 2018; however, the delegation was clear in stating that local and state officials need to take lead on securing a substantial and local capital funding commitment before Congress would act.

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TIGER Builds Momentum for Metro 2025

August 6th, 2013 Comments off

Federal TIGER Grant-funded bus priority projects are moving forward, setting the stage for the Metro 2025 Priority Corridor Network.

In 2010, a local consortium of agencies including WMATA was awarded a $59-million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant for bus priority in the Washington Region. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) is the primary project manager and recipient of the of the grant, and TPB staff provided a briefing of the status of the implementation of the TIGER projects (PDF). This post provides a summary of the projects in which Metro is engaged, as well as a history of the TIGER grant award to the region.

Construction of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, from May 30, 2013.

Construction of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, from May 30, 2013. Source: TPB.

When will you see projects being built?

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Categories: In The News Tags: , , , ,

Delivering the Transit System the Region Needs

August 6th, 2013 Comments off

Delivering the transit system that Columbia-Heights-Sta-041007-018the region needs will require an unequivocal commitment of additional resources from internal and external stakeholders. Simply put, the rehabilitation work being accomplished at the time of the writing of this document will not be nearly enough to keep up with the region’s needs, and without additional resources it will be unlikely that the region can continue to enjoy a transit network that contributes to competitiveness and makes the Washington metropolitan area one of the most desirable places to live and work.

Metro – Doing Business Differently

Metro recognizes that rebuilding the region’s transit system also means rebuilding the region’s transit authority – and will continue to be hard at work on this task in preparation for the implementation of Momentum.  In the near term this means revamping nuts and bolts elements of the authority, including but not limited to: identifying ways that Metro can do its job more efficiently while increasing performance; evaluating its contracting and procurement philosophy to emphasize lifecycle contract and asset management; engineering a budgeting process that allows Departments to strive to achieve the goals of Momentum within the context of tight fiscal and financial discipline; and a human capital strategy that must have the right talent in-place and in-queue.  In the long term, this means completing the journey to a much more business-like operating and execution philosophy for the organization.

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