Get Creative to Fix D.C.’s Metro System
D.C. area residents were greeted with sad news in March as the WMATA transit service finalized plans to increase fares for the first time in three years along with increased bus and parking fares. For residents, this news follows already dismal Metro service from “Safe Tracking” repairs, late night service cuts and other needed updates that have ultimately led to a declining ridership. WMATA says it hopes the increased fares would help to adjust for the lower number of passengers.
Let’s face it folks, the D.C. Metro is suffering from an identity crisis. It is not sure if it is a Metro/Subway system or a commuter rail system, since it is essentially designed to bring commuters into D.C. and provide limited mobility throughout it. The Capital Metro Region also suffers from chronic sprawl characteristic of far too many U.S. cities with gated communities leapfrogging interspersed strip malls for miles radiating from the city.
The increased attention to cities and urban technology is a welcome turn of events for urbanists when compared to the rapid flight away from cities not more than a half century ago. However, the time has come for us to confront the fact that no amount of technology or wishful thinking is going to mend the physical structure of our cities. To fix that, we are going to need creative zoning, incentives, investment and policy solutions. What we need are radical ideas that change the actual structure of our cities and push the envelope to figure out how policy, law, business and government can work together.
In all reality, Washington D.C. cannot function without a Metro system, but how can it be expected to survive with increased riding costs and exorbitant parking fees? If we consider that a commuter might be coming from Chantilly, Virginia, a suburb towards the outer fringe of the Metro system, we could see how the Metro system’s current price and access model does nothing to incentivize ridership. The rider would first have to own a car to reach the Orange or Silver lines to get to the train. Once at the station, they would have to spend ~$5 for parking and another ~$10 for a ride ($5 for each — there AND back). Assuming they ride the Metro around 20 times per month, that is $300 per month and $3,600 per year. Combined with an assumed car payment to get to the Metro, insurance, repairs and other costs, this is an extremely high amount. Why would anyone bother to use the Metro if they could drive in peace and quiet for the same price or even cheaper?
Alright, enough ragging on the Metro; so what could or should be done to fix this spiral of rising prices, decreased service and subsequent lower ridership? This list is not exhaustive, nor is it fully researched. The goal is not to provide a prescription, but rather to show the tools and levers that could be explored to create better solutions to the WMATA’s problems.
- Creative Advertising Inside Metro Stations
If you have ever been in an underground Metro station, you may recognize the iconic arched roofs with squared sound proofing panels. Perhaps there is some nostalgia in having all of the stations look the same with their dark, stoic motif, but perhaps advertising space could be sold there to offset the cost of a ride. I’m talking about filling EVERY.SINGLE.SQUARE with some sort of advertisement. Personally, I would prefer a station plastered with advertisements that costs $3 dollars to ride as opposed to one that costs upwards of ~$6. - Selling or Leasing Air Rights to Raise Revenue
This is a rather innovative approach to tackling the Metro’s problems and focuses on addressing density. Selling or leasing the air rights above the above-ground Metro rail, such as the Orange or Silver lines in Fairfax County, could allow developers to start constructing over top of the Metro. This approach may sound a little bit crazy, but if done correctly with proper financing agreements, local governments could capture sizable amounts of the revenue and re-invest it into the Metro’s upkeep and expansion. Selling or leasing air rights is not a new concept and, even though it is not used frequently, could be a useful tool over such roads as I-66 and other smaller roads the Metro runs near. - Rezone Land Near Above Ground Metro Lines
Although perhaps limited to the more suburban areas of the Metro lines, this is another approach that could address density. Currently the Metro system is more or less a spider web that brings people into the city during the day and out of the city at night. However, what if the Metro acted as a backbone for development where commercial centers were all along the system rather than just sporadically places like in Tyson’s Corner or Bethesda. If the land along the Metro were rezoned to mixed-use and denser residential development, the Metro could create corridors for economic development rather than a system that simply trucks people in and out of D.C. It would take many years for this transition to occur and mixed-use developments to take the place of the neighborhoods currently along the Metro line, but it would likely set a stronger foundation for economic and social growth for the region.
- Add Wifi to the WMATA System
This is a pretty basic and standard modernization that the WMATA system needs desperately. While riding underground, there is no service for phones, which significantly hinders the ability of riders to do work or entertain themselves on their journey. Of course, the purpose of public transit is not to entertain, but in a day in age when “user experience” can make or break the success of an organization, the Metro needs to become technologically relevant and think more like a business. This is easier said than done, but it is a mindset that WMATA needs to adopt. - Integrate BRT lines throughout the entire DMV region
It seems the rest of the world understands the importance and general usefulness of busses. In America, we are too stubborn or selfish to bare the thought of spending time in busses when we can just take a car, but busses can and should be a stronger tool in our public transportation toolkit, especially in the D.C. Metro area. One of the main problems with WMATA is the complaint that it does not seem to integrate areas around the region in a way that a person can leave their home and rely on just public transportation to get to their next destination. One cost-effective solution that could change that: Bus Rapid Transit, or BRTs. Imagine bus-only lanes running through other thoroughfares in the region that could bypass transit and provide a (relatively) cheap way to create a more robust “spider-web” of transit options. Countries all around the world (particularly in Latin America) are realizing how useful and cost effective these systems can be and the D.C. Metro area desperately needs this addition to the Metro system. This integration has the potential to reach a greater number of customers and increase demand for the WMATA services.
These solutions are certainly not the only options the WMATA has, but they show that the way we think about public transportation in the region must be changed. Admittedly, the politics of the WMATA would make some of these options extremely difficult, if not impossible, to execute, but simply continuing to raise fares and lower service is a recipe for failure. And this is a failure the WMATA cannot afford. It is time to get creative.