Archive for December, 2015

When Work Evolves – Metrorail in the Era of the Flexible Workplace

December 21st, 2015 10 comments

Between 2007 and 2012, off-peak work trips were the fastest-growing segment of Metrorail ridership.

The traditional “rush hour” remains important, but Metrorail ridership seems to reflect a broader trend regionally – people are making more and more trips during “off peak” hours. According to the 2012 Metrorail survey, rail ridership growth was stronger in its off-peak (8 percent since 2007) than the peak (5 percent over the same time period). In certain jurisdictions – including those that have fostered re-investment in dense, walkable areas – off peak growth was into the double digits while peak growth grew more modestly. In one jurisdiction, off-peak trips grew by 50% during this period while peak trips grew at less than half that clip. 

Compact Jurisdictions Peak Off-Peak
% Change % Change
District of Columbia 8.3% 12.9%
Arlington County 18.4% 9.0%
City of Alexandria 9.5% 12.7%
Montgomery County 0.1% 5.9%
Prince George’s County -7.4% -1.4%
Fairfax County -1.4% 3.0%
City of Falls Church 21.3% 46.9%
Fairfax City 32.8% 19.4%
Compact Total 3.0% 8.0%

Data sources, Metrorail ridership surveys, 2007 and 2012.  2012 is the most recent dataset we have on trip purpose. 

In the past these trips would be for theaters, late night entertainment, or shift work, but the bulk of these off-peak trips were during the midday – almost twice the number of late night trips – and the bulk of these trips were for work. Read more…

Help Envision New Transit Options for Route 7

December 17th, 2015 2 comments

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is looking for ideas for Route 7.

rt 7 28XThe Leesburg Pike (Route 7) corridor in Northern Virginia is second only to Columbia Pike in its daily volumes of bus riders.  This busy, mixed use corridor connects  Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, and the City of Falls Church.  The corridor connects many vital regional activity centers including Old Town Alexandria, Seven Corners, downtown Falls Church (Broad Street) and Tysons Corner.

In 2009, in recognition of the importance of this corridor, Metro completed an evaluation of the 28A and 28B lines, and concluded that there was a demand for a robust, limited stop service on Leesburg Pike.   The study acknowledged that by 2040, population in the corridor is anticipated to increase by 36% and the number of jobs is anticipated to increase by 34% .  These changes will mean that without more high quality transit, vehicle congestion will only increase.   The study also identified heavy congestion as a major impediment to consistent, on-time performance and recommended traffic signal improvements and queue jumps at targeted intersections.  As a result of the study, frequencies were increased on 28A and a limited stop service (28X) was introduced to serve the heaviest traveled portions of the route. Read more…

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Partnering to Go the Extra Mile (and every mile in between!)

December 16th, 2015 Comments off

WMATA is excited to be part of “Friends with Transit”, Lyft‘s initiative to provide first and last mile connections to transit systems across the nation, and a coupon code.

Metro covers a lot of ground – 1,500 square miles or so!  But not everyone is within convenient walking or biking distance to transit, and that makes us less convenient than we would like to be for our customers!  We’ve profiled here how we would like to close that first-mile/last-mile gap for our customers through enhanced pedestrian and bicycle connections, and now we have yet another option to get you where you need to go. Read more…

Paratransit and the Coming Age Wave

December 15th, 2015 2 comments

Christian T. Kent, the Assistant General Manager for Access Services, offers his thoughts on accessibility and Metro’s future.

ChristianKentMr. Kent provides oversight for the accessibility of Metrobus and Metrorail and is directly responsible for the operation of MetroAccess paratransit service. Metro operates the largest fully accessible transit system and the fifth largest paratransit system in North America. 

Accessibility is very important at Metro. Because Metro is accessible, hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities in our region can depend on Metro to get where they are going. Our low-floor talking buses and rail stations with elevators mean that someone who is blind or uses a wheelchair can use Metrobus or Metrorail. Metro can be the family car for someone who can’t drive. And for those who can’t use bus or rail, there is our paratransit service, MetroAccess. Our 675 lift-equipped MetroAccess vans deliver over 2 million rides every year to 40,000 customers. So Metro really is very important to people with disabilities, and Metro will be even more important to them in the future. Why is that?

America is getting older. More and more people are turning 65 each year, and seniors have a much higher rate of disability and drive less often than younger people. The average MetroAccess rider is 62 years old. In the District, the average age is 67. This “age wave” means more Metro customers with disabilities in the coming years. We need to make sure that the accessibility features in our bus and rail service work consistently well so that customers with disabilities choose and use bus and rail. Providing the most accessible bus and rail service means less reliance on MetroAccess. This is important to Metro because a trip on paratransit is much more expensive than one on bus or rail, and it is important to customers who want to take advantage of the most independent means of travel available. Read more…

First Things First

December 14th, 2015 2 comments

Secretary Foxx has issued his direction that Metro cannot consider any new rail expansion right now, and WMATA agrees!  So much so that we wrote it into our strategic plan back in 2013.  Earlier this fall, the Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors heard from WMATA about the importance of fixing Metro’s core before considering any expansion.

The Silver Line’s Phase 2 extension from Wiehle-Reston East to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County could be the last for decades to come. (photo credit: Ryan Stavely, Flickr)

As the region grows, so does the pressure for extensions of Metrorail.  The requests are frequent and common: “Extend Metro to BWI! to Centreville! to Waldorf! to Fort Belvoir!” We’ve heard and even modeled most of these requests. For a system that’s shaped and contributed tremendous economic value to the region, it only makes sense that communities outside of its immediate reach want improved access to it. WMATA Director of Planning Shyam Kannan recently took the opportunity to discuss the potential for the extension of Metrorail into Prince William County. With 80% of today’s Metrorail trips going to or through the system’s core (PDF), he noted that major core capacity improvements must be made prior to considering any additional rail extensions. While addressing core capacity has been a major part of Momentum, including initiatives like the 8-car train program, core stations, and New Blue Line Connections, the plan remains largely unfunded. With safety and state of good repair needs as Metro’s top priorities and core capacity relief put off indefinitely, any potential extensions (if they happen) are likely decades away from being built.

Read more…

Metrobus Service Change Takes Effect December 13

December 10th, 2015 Comments off

Bus schedules are being updated for 25 routes across DC, Virginia, and Maryland, starting Sunday, December 13.

F4 bus at Prince George’s Plaza. Photo by WMATA staff.

Here’s what to expect:

  • Timetable adjustments: 22A, 30N, 30S, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 62, D32, F14, J2, J3, J7, P12, REX, TAGS
  • More trips: 26A
  • Reroute or bus stop change: 3A, 3Y, 17B, 17L, 18H, F4, S9

Most of the service changes are minor adjustments to trip times. Check out the service advisory for more detail and the upcoming schedules to plan accordingly.

The biggest changes affect riders of the 3A, 3Y, and 26A. This group of changes is a product of the 2015 Bus State of Good Operations process to improve service in the Lee Highway corridor around East Falls Church.

The 3A Lee Highway-Falls Church line will no longer operate between East Falls Church Metrorail and Rosslyn Metrorail stations along Lee Highway. Route 3A will be shortened and only operate between Annandale and East Falls Church Metrorail station. On weekends and holidays, the 3A will be extended to serve the Seven Corners Transit Center.

Service along Lee Highway between East Falls Church and Rosslyn will be provided by new Arlington Transit (ART) Route 55. The ART 55 will serve all current Arlington County 3A stops and operate seven days a week, with increased midday and weekend service. Check out the new 3A schedule and the new ART 55 schedule. Questions about the ART 55 service should be directed to Arlington County.

We are extending the 3Y westward along Lee Highway to East Falls Church. The 3Y will now connect downtown DC, Rosslyn, and East Falls Church. The route will no longer operate along George Mason Drive, Patrick Henry Drive, or Harrison Street. The stops on at N Harrison St @ Patrick Henry Dr and N George Mason Dr @ Patrick Henry Dr will be discontinued.

We are adding more trips to the 26A during peak periods. The 26A will run every 30 minutes from approximately 5:30-9:00am and 3:30-7:00pm. Current ridership is satisfactory at the 60-minute frequency, but the increased peak period service should make the 26A more attractive to both current and potential riders.

See if there will be updates to your routes below, then prepare yourself for December 13 by viewing the updated schedules.

DC: 30N, 30S, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 62, D32, S9

MD: F4, F14, J2, J3, J7, P12

VA: 3A, 3Y, 17B, 17L, 18H, 22A, 26A, REX, S80 (TAGS)

Four Key Questions about Metro’s Future with the Federal Worker (5 of 5)

December 9th, 2015 Comments off

The answers to these four questions will shape the future of Metro’s federal customers, and the region’s transportation future. (Fifth and last in a series of posts on Metro’s Federal customers – see posts 1, 2, 3, and 4)

The ATF headquarters adjacent to NoMa Metrorail station has helped grow ridership there significantly.

1. Will the transit benefit be restored to parity with parking? When Congress cut the transit benefit in half, it hurt Metro riders hard. 42% of Metro’s ridership – around 500,000 rail and bus trips per day – comes from riders who use the Federal Transit Benefit, including private-sector workers. At Metro, 22% of all ridership comes from commuters who spend over $130 per month on transit. Following the changes to the SmartBenefits program, Metro saw ridership losses concentrated on these riders hit the hardest, and federal employees overwhelmingly pay with SmartBenefits.

If Congress restores the maximum transit benefit to parity with parking, it would be a huge boon to Metro’s federal customers and Metro’s bottom line. Read more…

News Flash – Driving is Still More Expensive than Transit!

December 7th, 2015 9 comments

Now that gas is at historic lows, isn’t it cheaper to drive and park than take transit?  Probably not!

The Office of Planning staff often helps get new Board Members acquainted, and we recently had the pleasure to participate in a portion of Board Member Malcolm Augustine‘s orientation.  During our lengthy conversation, the familiar refrain of gas prices and parking costs vs. Metrorail fares and parking fees came up.  Are low gas prices and cheap parking taking trips off the rails?

We’ve looked at this issue in the past and reported out that declining gas prices have not historically nor do they do now seem to have a meaningful negative impact on Metorail ridership.  We’re continuing to track these datapoints as we keep our finger on the pulse of Metrorail ridership.  But we also hear that trips are very personal, and even though the big picture data doesn’t show it – and even the American Automobile Association has denied it –  might driving be getting cheaper than taking transit?

Survey says – not likely.

Read more…

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Why We Care About GSA’s Location Decisions: Lessons from the History of Metro’s Federal Customers (4 of 5)

December 2nd, 2015 4 comments

Data show that where GSA chooses to locate federal office buildings has a huge impact on Metrorail ridership from federal commuters.  But in the meantime, non-Federal riders in the inner jurisdictions are driving up ridership outside of the usual commute market. (Fourth in a series of posts on Metro’s Federal Customers – see posts 1, 2, and 3)

Growth in Metrorail Ridership from Feds by Time of DayBetween 2002 and 2012, rail ridership from federal employees has grown 15%, the same as from non-federal riders.  (N.B. this post focuses on rail only; no comparable survey data for bus is available.)  Federal employees have remained about a third of total ridership, as overall ridership ebbed and flowed. Most of these new federal riders live in the inner jurisdictions of D.C., Arlington, and Alexandria – ridership from federal employees has been much slower in the outer jurisdictions, particularly Fairfax County (growing at 5-15%, vs. 25-40% over ten years).  The growth from federal riders has mimicked existing riders – they are focused on the peak commute too, with a moderate amount of off-peak travel as well.

But over the same timeframe, non-federal customers drove up ridership much faster in the PM Peak and Off-Peak times.  These riders similarly come from the inner jurisdictions. Read more…

Where Are Metro’s Federal Customers Going? (2 of 5)

December 1st, 2015 Comments off

Employees of the federal government comprise 27% of Metro’s weekday ridership, but what rail stations and bus routes are they using?

(Second in a series of posts on Metro’s Federal Customers – see post 1)

On Metrobus, federal workers are about 10-20% of most bus routes’ ridership, with a few logical exceptions. Federal ridership is higher on bus routes that are more “peaked” and commute-oriented, and/or on routes that directly serve federal facilities.

Top Metrobus Lines for Feds, by Pct of Riders

Read more…