Metro warns of huge budget deficits and a death spiral

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro fares for off peak hours now going over $6+ per ride. What a rip off. It often be faster and now almost the same price to Uber at the rate their increasing prices.

The max metrorail fare is $6, not "$6+" and those fares are for the longest rides. Can you let me know how to score an Uber from Reston to downtown and back for $12? For that matter, can you let me know how to score an Uber from Foggy Bottom to Metro Center for $2?

Thanks!

Wrong, max fare is $6.50.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/mission-metro/metro-fares-changing-dc/65-cd358926-1e08-4ba5-aae3-dcb144f905fb

Many people don’t use the metro regularly. When a round trip is costing $13 PER PERSON, a family of 3 or 4 will easily do the math and realize Ubering in a single car will be the same price or cheaper AND potentially save time. Absolute rip off it’d cost a family of 4 $48-52 to go round trip into town on the metro where there’s crime, track delays, and nasty people in general riding. Uber it is!

I hate the fare-jumpers on Metro, lock 'em up! Also, the fares are too high!

For people who don't hate the "public" in public transit, I will note that the weekend now has $2 flat fares. It's really great.

Fares go up because they don’t crack down on millions in theft from fare evaders. They then expect people who obey the laws and who choose to live in a civil society to lay more to subsidize the theft. It’s a death spiral, as noted in the title of this thread. Increasing prices means less law obeying people will ride simultaneously with more fare evasion. The solution next year will be more fare increase, and the cycle continues.

We know, common sense isn’t your strong suit.

Fares would go up because Metro doesn't have a stable funding system - although the actual reality is that fares did NOT go up. The roads don't have to go to multiple jurisdictions every year begging for funding. Neither does trash pick-up.

Do you regularly take Metro? Do you agree that the region needs a fully-functioning system of public transportation that enables people to get where they're going without a car?

Translation: metro doesn't have a stable funding system to pay grossly over compensated union management and employees.

Metro does have stable funding. Cut costs and jobs of useless employees. Automate as much as possible. Use nonunion workers. 80% solved right there.

That's a great plan for when your goal is union-busting. It's a terrible plan for when your goal is operating a system of public transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

Because metro is mostly commuter rail and MD and VA taxpayers are not going to subsidize service for DC bars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

Because metro is mostly commuter rail and MD and VA taxpayers are not going to subsidize service for DC bars

It's not, even if that's what you mostly use it for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the reality of public transit:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/mission-metro/metro-warns-massive-service-cuts-death-spiral-transit-750-million-shortfall/65-9c0dc54f-8f65-46c4-8390-51e8108ac1a5


Where are the anti-car fascists now? Have fun going to work or doing things on the weekend. The anti-car crowd loves to give pie in the sky calculations that never account for human factors like crime, overrun costs, inefficiencies, and huge bloated salaries and benefits for the unionized workers bankrupting the system. So glad we are spending billions more on this black hole with the purple line. Watch, the only solution they’ll come up with is to increase taxes and to increase fares to outrageous prices. It has never dawned on them to start with common sense ideas like increasing safety and severely punishing fare evaders. Why should anyone pay of a huge portion of people ride for free already?

They are cracking down severely on fare evaders. And you do realize that for everyone who rides metro, you're taking a car off the road. That's less congestion on every major road.

NP who rides the metro fairly regularly and has fairly uneventful rides 95% of the time. One thing they are not actually doing is cracking down on fare evaders. I rode the metro twice this weekend and saw at least six different people jump the fare gates or running in after someone else paid. There were security and metro employees who just watched them do it and didn’t say a word. There were also signs right there that said metro is cracking down on fare evasion. I actually think a PP was onto something when they said cut down on metro employees who do nothing to cut costs.

What are metro employees supposed to do? Progressive voters claimed punishing fare evasion is racist so decriminalized it. You want a functional metro then set some standards.

Tell them to pay a fare? Fine them? Lots of things are decriminalized, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a penalty for it.

Police aren't supposed to stop people for non-criminal offenses anymore. Regular metro employees have no authority to detain anyone.

So why do we employ so many metro employees to effectively stand around and do nothing? What’s the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the reality of public transit:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/mission-metro/metro-warns-massive-service-cuts-death-spiral-transit-750-million-shortfall/65-9c0dc54f-8f65-46c4-8390-51e8108ac1a5


Where are the anti-car fascists now? Have fun going to work or doing things on the weekend. The anti-car crowd loves to give pie in the sky calculations that never account for human factors like crime, overrun costs, inefficiencies, and huge bloated salaries and benefits for the unionized workers bankrupting the system. So glad we are spending billions more on this black hole with the purple line. Watch, the only solution they’ll come up with is to increase taxes and to increase fares to outrageous prices. It has never dawned on them to start with common sense ideas like increasing safety and severely punishing fare evaders. Why should anyone pay of a huge portion of people ride for free already?

They are cracking down severely on fare evaders. And you do realize that for everyone who rides metro, you're taking a car off the road. That's less congestion on every major road.

NP who rides the metro fairly regularly and has fairly uneventful rides 95% of the time. One thing they are not actually doing is cracking down on fare evaders. I rode the metro twice this weekend and saw at least six different people jump the fare gates or running in after someone else paid. There were security and metro employees who just watched them do it and didn’t say a word. There were also signs right there that said metro is cracking down on fare evasion. I actually think a PP was onto something when they said cut down on metro employees who do nothing to cut costs.

What are metro employees supposed to do? Progressive voters claimed punishing fare evasion is racist so decriminalized it. You want a functional metro then set some standards.

Tell them to pay a fare? Fine them? Lots of things are decriminalized, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a penalty for it.

Police aren't supposed to stop people for non-criminal offenses anymore. Regular metro employees have no authority to detain anyone.

So why do we employ so many metro employees to effectively stand around and do nothing? What’s the point?

Exactly.

Automate them all out.

They get pissed off too when you ask for help....like OMG, they have to do 25 seconds of actual work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the reality of public transit:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/mission-metro/metro-warns-massive-service-cuts-death-spiral-transit-750-million-shortfall/65-9c0dc54f-8f65-46c4-8390-51e8108ac1a5


Where are the anti-car fascists now? Have fun going to work or doing things on the weekend. The anti-car crowd loves to give pie in the sky calculations that never account for human factors like crime, overrun costs, inefficiencies, and huge bloated salaries and benefits for the unionized workers bankrupting the system. So glad we are spending billions more on this black hole with the purple line. Watch, the only solution they’ll come up with is to increase taxes and to increase fares to outrageous prices. It has never dawned on them to start with common sense ideas like increasing safety and severely punishing fare evaders. Why should anyone pay of a huge portion of people ride for free already?

They are cracking down severely on fare evaders. And you do realize that for everyone who rides metro, you're taking a car off the road. That's less congestion on every major road.

NP who rides the metro fairly regularly and has fairly uneventful rides 95% of the time. One thing they are not actually doing is cracking down on fare evaders. I rode the metro twice this weekend and saw at least six different people jump the fare gates or running in after someone else paid. There were security and metro employees who just watched them do it and didn’t say a word. There were also signs right there that said metro is cracking down on fare evasion. I actually think a PP was onto something when they said cut down on metro employees who do nothing to cut costs.

What are metro employees supposed to do? Progressive voters claimed punishing fare evasion is racist so decriminalized it. You want a functional metro then set some standards.

Tell them to pay a fare? Fine them? Lots of things are decriminalized, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a penalty for it.

Police aren't supposed to stop people for non-criminal offenses anymore. Regular metro employees have no authority to detain anyone.

So why do we employ so many metro employees to effectively stand around and do nothing? What’s the point?

Because metro is a jobs program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people complaining about metro are living in an alternate reality. I have taken metro almost daily for 20 years. I’ve never seen a real crime. Never seen anyone masturbating. Stinkiness is rare (more common in the summer afternoon/evening—I do wish male workers would wear more reasonable clothes for DC summers). Loud music only once or twice in twenty minutes years. Have seen mentally ill people doing something troublesome a few times in twenty years.
I don’t know what Mad Max scenario these metro critics are envisioning but it does not match my experience. And it is still cheaper than downtown parking.
Fwiw, I’m a middle aged white lady from the suburbs and probably more crime averse than average. I wouldn’t ride around the city by msyself at midnight but commuting is totally fine.

Agree, NP. Been riding metro regularly since the mid-90s. Mostly red, green line EOTP. I will say there are not infrequently obnoxious teenagers and spaced out/sleeping (what look to be) homeless folks; panhandlers, music, loud cellphones, yes. But I'm not sure I've ever seen a physical altercation, or really any altercation, much less a crime, unless hopping turnstiles counts. And zero masturbation, sorry Fox news poster.

Two murders this year alone.

I ride twice a day, either red or green line through NE, and twice this year there has been someone acting potentially violent enough for everyone else to clear the car. A third time a man threatened to stab anyone who stood near him but said anyone who didn’t come close was fine.

This has seriously never happened to me... What, are you riding at 11 pm every night?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

There's not enough demand for 24/7 service here (even before COVID), and people really need to stop comparing NYC to DC.

New York City is over 10 times larger than Washington. The NYC metro area is well over three times the size of the DC metro area. Just because something happens up there doesn't mean and it could or should happen here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people complaining about metro are living in an alternate reality. I have taken metro almost daily for 20 years. I’ve never seen a real crime. Never seen anyone masturbating. Stinkiness is rare (more common in the summer afternoon/evening—I do wish male workers would wear more reasonable clothes for DC summers). Loud music only once or twice in twenty minutes years. Have seen mentally ill people doing something troublesome a few times in twenty years.
I don’t know what Mad Max scenario these metro critics are envisioning but it does not match my experience. And it is still cheaper than downtown parking.
Fwiw, I’m a middle aged white lady from the suburbs and probably more crime averse than average. I wouldn’t ride around the city by msyself at midnight but commuting is totally fine.

Agree, NP. Been riding metro regularly since the mid-90s. Mostly red, green line EOTP. I will say there are not infrequently obnoxious teenagers and spaced out/sleeping (what look to be) homeless folks; panhandlers, music, loud cellphones, yes. But I'm not sure I've ever seen a physical altercation, or really any altercation, much less a crime, unless hopping turnstiles counts. And zero masturbation, sorry Fox news poster.

Two murders this year alone.

I ride twice a day, either red or green line through NE, and twice this year there has been someone acting potentially violent enough for everyone else to clear the car. A third time a man threatened to stab anyone who stood near him but said anyone who didn’t come close was fine.

This has seriously never happened to me... What, are you riding at 11 pm every night?

Normal commute times for a 9-6 job in penn quarter. Happened again this week around 8:30 AM on the green line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I fell asleep on the metro once. Woke up to a woman - a complete stranger - massaging my head.

I've fallen asleep on the Metro lots of times. One time I missed my station and had to get out and go back the other way.

Fell asleep driving a car once. Died.

Same thing happened to my brother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

Because metro is mostly commuter rail and MD and VA taxpayers are not going to subsidize service for DC bars

It's not, even if that's what you mostly use it for.

2/3rds of the jurisdictions funding it view it that way

[Anonymous]

Where’s that poster now claiming everything is fine and dandy on the metro?

https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/14kgidp/assault_at_gallery_place_station/

https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/14ktr19/flashed_on_the_red_line_dupont_to_woodley_park/


Lotta nasty criminals and perverts on the metro. And now you gotta pay more for the privilege!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
2/3rds of the jurisdictions funding it view it that way

Only if your idea of commuter rail is schlepping white skinned white collar employees in and out of downtown to the west side of the metro area and not brown immigrants getting from PG County to Fairfax or NOVA job centers. Good luck getting that strategy approved by MD and PG County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

There's not enough demand for 24/7 service here (even before COVID), and people really need to stop comparing NYC to DC.

New York City is over 10 times larger than Washington. The NYC metro area is well over three times the size of the DC metro area. Just because something happens up there doesn't mean and it could or should happen here.

And NYC has like 7 times the density per unit of area.

If metro thought that they could run more hours and gets fares I think that they would…but they don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Metro came up with a feasible plan to operate 24/7 they would not have budget deficits. I cannot fathom how DC is the nation's capital and the train system does not operate 24/7 like the one in NYC.

There's not enough demand for 24/7 service here (even before COVID), and people really need to stop comparing NYC to DC.

New York City is over 10 times larger than Washington. The NYC metro area is well over three times the size of the DC metro area. Just because something happens up there doesn't mean and it could or should happen here.

Agree. The demand just isn't there.

The metro is good if you have to go outside DC or come into DC from far. But inside DC and Arlington, I would rather see something more innovative and faster. Maybe even those autonomous buses that just do certain loop routes. Something that is smaller than buses and faster to access and actually makes things more convenient.