Metro Board votes to raise fares on rail and bus June 27
Metro fares will be raised on June 27 in an effort to ease the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's budget crisis.
WMATA's Board of Directors approved a budget plan June 17 that will raise Metrorail regular fares 15 cents to $1.35, and Metrobus fares five cents to $1.25.
This is the second fare increase in two years. Fares may continue to rise as the system will need more costly improvements as it ages and expands, according to a Metro statement.
WMATA faces a projected budget deficit of $23.4 million. The deficit is partly due to the D.C. public transportation system's lack of "dedicated funding," according to a June 2004 report released by the Brookings Institution, an independent research firm. Most other cities' transportation systems get support from portions of a gas or sales tax, according to the report.
The approved plan includes other changes besides fare increases. The Metro will now open at 5 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m. and people riding the Metro between 2 a.m. and 3.a.m. on weekends will be charged peak fare. These changes also go into effect June 27.
