Progress Has Passed Metrobus By

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   OK, slugs, here is an estimate of the value of a slug. METRO is willing to pay anywhere between $0.38 to $10.27 per ride for operating costs and ALL the capital costs. If I were a slug I would hold out for $10.27 and cut back work to 35 hours per week based on the new source of income.

	http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122601054.html

	or

	http://tinyurl.com/bhuap

	Progress Has Passed Metrobus By

	Outdated System Is Plagued by Unreliable Schedules, Inefficient Routes

	By Lyndsey Layton

	Washington Post Staff Writer

	Tuesday, December 27, 2005; A01

	As shifting housing patterns, job growth and an influx of residents have transformed metropolitan Washington over the past three decades, Metrobus has done little to adapt, remaining essentially the same system since opening in 1973....

	...

	Metro has added little service to overcrowded routes, saying it lacks money. The X2 line, which runs from Minnesota Avenue SE in Anacostia to McPherson Square via Capitol Hill and Metro Center Station, averages 59 passengers a trip. Fares pay for most of the operating costs of that line; the public subsidy is about 38 cents a passenger. A regular Metrobus fare is $1.25.

	Meanwhile, the agency rarely eliminates routes with low ridership because of an institutional resistance to cutting service. The Kings Park line between George Mason University and the Pentagon Metro station averages seven passengers a trip who pay an express fare of $3. That means fares pay 11 percent of the cost to run the line and, for every person boarding that line, taxpayers pitch in $10.27.

	For the first time, White's proposed budget recommends that Metro cut a handful of poor-performing routes and use the $2.4 million in savings to add buses to the most overcrowded lines.

	dickboyd@aol.com

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dickboyd Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote dickboyd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Progress Has Passed Metrobus By Posted: 27 Dec 2005 at 1:59am
	OK, slugs, here is an estimate of the value of a slug. METRO is willing to pay anywhere between $0.38 to $10.27 per ride for operating costs and ALL the capital costs. If I were a slug I would hold out for $10.27 and cut back work to 35 hours per week based on the new source of income. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122601054.html or http://tinyurl.com/bhuap Progress Has Passed Metrobus By Outdated System Is Plagued by Unreliable Schedules, Inefficient Routes By Lyndsey Layton Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 27, 2005; A01 As shifting housing patterns, job growth and an influx of residents have transformed metropolitan Washington over the past three decades, Metrobus has done little to adapt, remaining essentially the same system since opening in 1973.... ... Metro has added little service to overcrowded routes, saying it lacks money. The X2 line, which runs from Minnesota Avenue SE in Anacostia to McPherson Square via Capitol Hill and Metro Center Station, averages 59 passengers a trip. Fares pay for most of the operating costs of that line; the public subsidy is about 38 cents a passenger. A regular Metrobus fare is $1.25. Meanwhile, the agency rarely eliminates routes with low ridership because of an institutional resistance to cutting service. The Kings Park line between George Mason University and the Pentagon Metro station averages seven passengers a trip who pay an express fare of $3. That means fares pay 11 percent of the cost to run the line and, for every person boarding that line, taxpayers pitch in $10.27. For the first time, White's proposed budget recommends that Metro cut a handful of poor-performing routes and use the $2.4 million in savings to add buses to the most overcrowded lines. dickboyd@aol.com

sluDgE Members Profile Find Members Posts Master Slug Joined: 27 Oct 2003 Status: Offline Points: 501	Post Options Post Reply Quote sluDgE Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Dec 2005 at 11:34am
	Come on, Dicky B, be serious! [;)] [?] When was the last time we rode a Metrobus? [?] For me, it's been years! [:D] They offer no convenience to most slugs' commuting situations. [;)]

dickboyd Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote dickboyd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Dec 2005 at 12:31pm
	quote: Originally posted by sluDgE [br]Come on, Dicky B, be serious! [;)] [?] When was the last time we rode a Metrobus? [?] For me, it's been years! [:D] They offer no convenience to most slugs' commuting situations. [;)] Look at the doughnut, not at the hole. I posted this to provide a dollar estimate of the value of a slug. METRO seems to think riders are worth between $0.38 to $10.27 per ride. At least that is what the Post reports that METRO is paying to get those people to ride in buses. Granted, METRO doesn't give the money to the riders. Who does get the money? No one knows. Just pay it. If slugs could convince the powers to be to pay slugs directly, everyone would be happier. No more overhead cost for adding more seats. Fill the existing seats first. The greatest commodity in rush hour is empty seats in the cars of the drive alones. dickboyd@aol.com

omaryak Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Nov 2005 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote omaryak Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Jan 2006 at 10:27pm
	The money goes to paying for maintenance, fuel, and cost of paying the drivers. The "cost per passenger" the Post referred to was the abstract idea of what Metro was paying each passenger based on the number of passengers per bus. If Metro eliminated these routes, rest assured the surplus would go toward providing other (desperately needed) service. I don't think the Post article was entirely fair, though. One route they cited, the Burke Center line, supposedly carried only 3 or 4 passengers. But every bus I've ever seen leave the Pentagon to Burke Center is full. The reason Metrobus was more useful to me than slugging is because I could take it by walking a block from my house. It got me to the Pentagon in 30 minutes, which is about how long driving would take. Also keep in mind, some bus riders view sluggers as the leeches, depriving Metrobus of needed business. I think there's room for both in DC's transportation system. There are some who slug who would never ride a bus, and taking cars off the road benefits us all.

dickboyd Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote dickboyd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Jan 2006 at 2:21pm
	Paid to Pool http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/0106/03carpool.html?cxntnid=biz010306e Pleasures of pooling Driven by gas prices, some actually like sharing rides By MICHAEL E. KANELL The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/03/06 The women meet about 6 a.m. on weekdays at a Publix on U.S. 41 in Kennesaw, piling into Pam Flynn Rohlke's Trailblazer for the 15-mile trip to Vinings.... ...One measure of interest in carpooling is the Clean Air Campaign's "Cash for Commuters" program, which reimburses drivers $3 a day for ride-sharing... dickboyd@aol.com