Last Sunday, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority increased Metrobus and Metrorail fares throughout the District, Maryland and Virginia. This is the third fare hike in the past five years for the WMATA, according to the Washington Post.

Off-peak Metrorail rides will cost between $1.70 and $3.50, while peak hours on weekdays will increase the fare to somewhere between $2.10 to as high as $5.75. Seniors and disabled will continue to see a fare between $1.05 and $1.85.

To save money, SmarTrip cards are essential. A paper ticket will garner you a surcharge of $1. Avoid using cash, as bus fares add on a 20 cent surcharge without a SmarTrip card and 35 cents for express routes. However, the WMATA is making it easier to get a SmarTrip card by adding machines in rail stations rather than solely in grocery or convenience stores. Both the Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom stops will now have machines to buy SmarTrip cards.

The WMATA finance board approved the fare increase last April, to go into effect July 1. The Board of Directors predicted a $103 million deficit for fiscal 2013, which factored into the decision to increase revenue through five percent increases in Metro fare. A victory for all is seen in the decision to no longer increase “peak-of-the-peak” rates by 20 cents across the board during rush hour.

Discounted fares for students, however, remained the same. Moral of the story: stay a student, forever. Hoya Saxa. Although this only applies to elementary and secondary school students in D.C., so in that case, Hoya Saxa anyway?

Photo by Flickr user through Creative Commons

According to TBD, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has issued a request for proposals from contractors to install what the request calls “Customer Information Electronic Display Signs” at important Metro stations and along high-usage Metrobus corridors. If all goes according to plan, the first 30 arrival data signs will be in place by the end of June.

While many bus stops won’t see the new technology installed for many months or at all, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Avenues are probable candidates for early installation, which is good news for Hoyas commuting to and from work or internships downtown.

However, installing the signs is only the first step for a transit system that has increasingly become a joke. Real-time data displays for Metrorail are often incorrect, and displaying data doesn’t do anything to address Metro’s frequent rush-hour delays and mechanical breakdowns.

D.C. transportation blogger Kurt Raschke also challenged WMATA to use cheaper, open source options for the signs, instead of relying on an expensive IT firm. Citing the success of New York City’s BusTime, an open-source program that displays real-time info for Staten Island buses, he called for Metro to live up to it’s branding as “America’s Subway” and lead the country in exploiting new technologies

“WMATA should make a commitment to technological excellence, and part of that should include breaking away from the usual routine of squandering riders’ dollars on IT vendors who will, inevitably, overpromise and underdeliver,” Raschke wrote on his blog.

WMATA hopes to eventually install 800 signs in its roughly 2,400 Metrobus shelters in the region. To put these numbers in perspective, Metro services over 12,000 bus stops. High-usage stops with shelters, like those outside the social Safeway on Wisconsin, are likely to eventually receive real-time arrival displays.

Last week, the Washington Metro and Transit Authority proposed changes to bus services in all areas of its jurisdiction. These changes include attempts to fix the rampant problem of buses running behind schedule, and eliminate late-night service that is less popular among riders.

But included in the services being cut, unfortunately for us on the Hilltop, are those belonging to two buses that are popular among Georgetown students. WMATA is proposing to stop running the G2 and the D2 buses late on Friday and Saturday nights. The G2, or P Street-LeDroit Park Line, picks up right at Healy Gates, and provides a convenient route to DuPont Circle and the U Street Corridor, both of which are popular locations for students on weekend nights. The D2, or Glover Park-Dupont Circle Line, makes stops in Georgetown and Burleith, and provides routes to Dupont and Farragut West.

But a few Georgetown students who don’t want to pay for cabs seems to be the only business that these two bus routes are getting on weekend nights, as the proposal refers to them as “low-productive.”

The other proposed changes to the Metrobus, however, come pretty welcome. Adjustments are being made on certain bus timetables to better reflect actual travel times, and among those being considered are the D1 and D6.

Although these adjustments have been proposed, this does not mean that they are going to take effect. As reported by Greater Greater Washington, WMATA will hold public hearings before making any final decisions.

Photo from TBD.