WFCN – The maximum rail fare will increase from $6 to $6.75, while bus and basic rail fares will increase by 12.5% from $2 to $2.25. The weekend and late-night rates will also rise, going from a fixed $2 to a variable charge that varies from $2.25 to $2.50 depending on the distance traveled.
MetroAccess fares will no longer be capped at $4, but rather at $4.50. Additionally, Metro is adding an hourly rental option to bicycle lockers, which will cost 5 cents per hour and up to $1.00 per day.
The cost of parking won’t alter.
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In order to condense eight months of weekend closures and delays into the summer, five Metro stations—Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring, and Takoma—will temporarily close for Purple Line construction and Red Line maintenance and repair. This will coincide with the implementation of the fare hikes.
One day before the new fares go into effect, on June 30, the Takoma station is scheduled to reopen.
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After a severe $750 million budget shortfall brought on by record inflation, an increase in remote work, and the depletion of federal COVID relief monies for transit, Metro’s new $4.8 billion budget was passed in April with the goal of maintaining the levels of bus and rail service.
MCM claims that Metro cut expenses by $50 million and that lawmakers in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in additional cash to assist close the budget deficit.
Furthermore, in an effort to prevent future large service cuts, Metro and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments established DMV Moves, a new task force consisting of 20 members, among them Vice President Kate Stewart of the Montgomery County Council.
According to MCM, the task force will start meeting this month.