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| WMATA considers eliminating late night weekend service (476208) | |||
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WMATA considers eliminating late night weekend service |
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Posted by Easy on Mon Aug 13 23:01:58 2007 This is old, but if this was posted I didn't see it. Looks like late night weekend service may be replaced with buses. That kinda sucks.Night Owls May Need A New Way Home Metro Could Replace Wee-Hour Weekend Trains With Buses By Lena H. Sun and Jonathan Mummolo Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, August 5, 2007; Page C01 On Fridays at midnight, the platform at Metro Center Station looks a lot like it does at rush hour. Tired workers, sweat dripping from their foreheads, wait for their trains home. The chatter of a group of 20-somethings echoes through the station. And it's crowded -- riders line the platform and fill the benches. Leaning on a trash can among the masses is Charles LaDuca, a 42-year-old government consultant who again pulled a long day at the office and is counting on Metro to get him to his Silver Spring home. Buy This Photo Area college students Emma O'Grady, left, and Alyssia Shmokler plot the best way to get home on Metro after a night out in Washington. (Photos By Pouya Dianat -- The Washington Post) More on Metro Transit Metrorail Decision-Making? Not So Good At Last, Metro Has a Message for 'Escalumps' METRO MEMORIAL FUND: Workers' Daughters Get Money For School Three Red Line Stations Reopen After Security Scare Metro to Consider Other Ways to Get Rid of Birds More Metrorail News Metrorail Extension Performers Appear Today at Metro Stations METRORAIL EXTENSION:Airports Authority Signs Deal to Initiate Transit Project FAIRFAX COUNTY:Supporters of Metro Tunnel Face Uphill Climb With Board :Fairfax Closed Doors for Sessions on Metro Extension Rail Project For Dulles Raises Concerns More Stories Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. MetroRiderLA What's Up Arlington Get There Full List of Blogs (14 links) » Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web Save & Share Article What's This? DiggGoogle del.icio.usYahoo! RedditFacebook "We're here occasionally really late, and we're really dependent on it being open," LaDuca said on a recent Friday night. "With traffic, driving isn't an option for me on a regular basis." It might have to become one, because Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. is considering replacing the night-owl weekend trains with buses as a way to cut costs and provide more time for the agency to work in stations and on tracks. Catoe has asked Metro staff members to research the feasibility of his plan, and he expects a response by next month. "I have to look at every option I can to reduce costs," Catoe said. "I don't know the numbers, but if we can't save anything, I'm not even going to take it to the board." The reevaluation of late-night service -- which runs from midnight to 3 a.m. Saturday and Sunday on all train lines -- is part of an overall review of Metro's finances as the transit agency looks to next year, when officials expect to raise fares because of an expected budget gap. Catoe scrapped a plan to raise rail and bus fares this year but has frequently said he plans to propose an across-the-board increase this fall. Metro trains first began running after midnight in 1999, when the system's hours were extended to 1 a.m. At the time, Metro had the earliest closing time among the nation's major transit systems, and the move was celebrated as a sign that button-down Washington was getting a shade hipper. Spurred by support from riders and late-night businesses, Metro has gradually pushed its weekend closing time to 3 a.m., despite objections from agency officials over its approximate $5 million cost and its impact on the system. Late-night service was an immediate hit when it began, but ridership started to drop in 2004, when Metro began charging premium instead of off-peak fares between 2 and 3 a.m. In May 2006, the average after-midnight ridership on weekends was 22,376 trips, down 27 percent from 30,649 in May 2005. The number of late-night riders rose slightly this May, averaging 23,184 trips per weekend. Nearly half of those riders boarded trains between midnight and 1 a.m. On an average weekday, passengers account for about 700,000 trips. In addition to trying to cut costs, Catoe is giving late-night service a look so workers have more time to repair the system. Over the years, as ridership has swelled, Metro has opened earlier and closed later, shortening the "maintenance window" -- the hours when trains are idle and repairs are made. Late-night users aren't happy about the prospect of losing their rides. more here |
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