For months, transit advocates have dreaded the decision to raise fares and cut service throughout the D.C. Metro system. That day arrived last week. Changes take effect on July 1.
"[D.C.] Metro’s board gave final approval Thursday to fare increases and service cuts as part of an austere fiscal 2018 budget aimed at easing the transit agency’s financial struggles," reports Faiz Siddiqui.
The system's first fare hike in the last three years will increase fares for rail transit in peak hours by 10 cents. Rail transit fares during off-peak hours will increase by 25 cents. Bus fares will also increase by 25 cents.
"As part of changes approved in the $1.8 billion operating budget, riders also will spend more time on platforms, as trains arrive about every eight minutes across most of the system, with more frequent service in the downtown core," adds Siddiqui. "But there will be fewer trains overall on five of six rail lines."
The article includes more details about the changes coming to the Metro system, including an expected 500 layoffs, in addition to the 500 employees already laid off. Siddiqui quotes extensively from the justifications for the cuts from soundbites by Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld.
Read the full story: Metro makes it official: Higher fares, reduced service coming July 1
Additional Funding, Service Increase Sought by D.C. Metro Officials
For the first time in years, there is talk of expanding service on existing rail lines in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) system.
D.C. Metro Will End Late-Night Rail Service for Two Years
A tough decision that has been on the table since the summer has now been made official by the WMATA's board of directors.
D.C. Metro's Proposed Service Cuts Would Disproportionately Affect Communities of Color
Planning and urbanism writers in Washington, D.C. agree that a proposal to cut service to 20 stations in the Metrorail system would have harmful effects for minorities in the region.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello