Members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors Wednesday evening faced infuriated citizens at a public hearing to discuss a proposed raising of fares.
The base fare for Metrorail may increase 30 cents from $1.35 to $1.65, while the base fare for Metrobus will jump 10 cents from $1.25 to $1.35, according to a publication distributed by the WMATA at the hearing.
The fare adjustments will not apply to Metrobus passengers who use the SmarTrip card, according to another WMATA publication distributed at the hearing. The hearing was one of six to be held by WMATA in the D.C. metropolitan area.
The fare increase encourage s passengers to drive instead, compounding the city's high level of pollution, according to David Schwartzman, a Howard University environmental science professor who testified at the hearing. Furthermore, it would also financially inconvenience low-income citizens and public school students, he added.
"We don't need another dose of austerity for those who can least afford it," Schwartzman said.
The voice of Caneisha Mills, a Howard University student, rose in anger as she complained that the transit authority set up the hearings as a cover-up for its refusal to address public interests.
"They don't think about it because the Metro directors don't take the Metro every day," she said to loud applause from the audience.
To draw an example of this, Mills pointed out that the board members at this hearing and other hearings did not take notes as citizens testified. As a full-time student and part-time employee, Mills could not afford to take public transportation with such a sharp increase in fare charge, she said.
Previous public hearings on the fare increase had been inaccessible through public transportation, and low-income citizens would have a hard time commuting to these hearings in the evening, several citizens also argued. Wednesday's meeting was held at the Metro headquarters' location one block from the Judiciary Square station on the red line.
The members of the board of directors at the meeting attempted to offer explanations for the adjustments before the citizen testimonies. The directors who attended the meeting were: John B. Catoe Jr., WMATA general manager; Jim Graham, second vice chairman of the board; and Emeka C. Moneme, the board's principal director representing the District.
Due to the WMATA's $109 million deficit in its operating budget for the 2009 fiscal year, the increased fare would prevent numerous hardships for passengers, including reductions in service and further increases for off-peak rail fare, Catoe said. There will be no change in the cost of day passes, he assured.
The deficit is a result of rising operational costs, including higher fuel expenses, a low number of passengers and additional costs to expand service and enforce security, according to a publication handed out at the hearing. Metro customers do not pay the full cost of its service, and the fares are unable to compete with inflation that has risen 37 percent since 1995.
The adjustments will instead hurt business for WMATA if passengers are put off by the increased fare costs and choose not to use the Metro system anymore, said Hanane Babikir, a freshman in the School of International Service.
"It might seem better for business, but if nobody uses [the Metro system] for the price increase, it will end up hurting business," she said.
The fare costs are already high enough, according to Megan Gibson, a first-year graduate student in SIS. Gibson compared D.C.'s Metro system to Boston, where for $1.25, passengers can ride all day. This rate benefits local passengers and businesses, she said.
Despite comparisons with other major cities and public controversy, D.C.'s fare increase is expected to go into effect in early 2008, according to Graham.
