New Rules Close Doors On Metro Shuttle Buses
Service Ends for Redskins Fans, Students on Field Trips
By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 23, 2008; B01
Metro will no longer provide shuttle bus service for Washington Redskins games, school field trips and, beginning next year, Wolf Trap performances, because of a new federal ban, General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said yesterday.
Under Federal Transit Administration regulations that became final May 1, public agencies cannot operate charter bus service if private companies are available to provide the service. Last year, Metro chartered nearly 2,500 buses for revenue of $1.6 million.
Without a waiver from the FTA, Metro cannot provide charter service unless it first checks with dozens of charter bus companies in the Washington region, a time-consuming task that would require Metro to send e-mails to every motorcoach company registered in a regional database, officials said.
"This rule, quite effectively, takes Metro out of the business of providing charter bus service," Catoe said during a Metro board meeting.
The ban has little financial impact on Metro. Metro's fees of $310.50 per bus for a minimum of three hours and $207 per bus for schools cover direct costs and overhead and allow for "a small profit," Catoe said. The concern, he said, is the inconvenience to customers and the non-Metro buses that would drive through Metro stations.
"We have no oversight on the charter bus providers, and that raises questions of safety for our operators, employees and customers," he said.
Last year, Metro chartered more than 1,300 buses for Redskins fans for trips between FedEx Field and the Morgan Boulevard Metrorail station. The team charged fans $5 for round-trip fare.
A Redskins spokesman did not return several telephone calls seeking comment.
Metro sought an exemption from the FTA to provide charter bus service for Wolf Trap this year. The exemption was granted, and Wolf Trap spokesman Chris Guerre said shuttles will run on schedule starting today. The round-trip cost is $3 for travel between the West Falls Church Metro station and the performing-arts center.
"We are looking for other options for next year," Guerre said.
Members of the Metro board said the new regulations prevent Metro from providing critical services to the community. "That is really unfortunate, and our customers will want to know why," said the board's chairman, Chris Zimmerman, who represents Arlington County.
Improved bus service was the focus of yesterday's board meeting. Members praised a proposal from planners to add rapid-bus service to 18 crowded corridors across the region over the next six years. The aim is to improve travel times and increase reliability. Metro runs limited-stop service on five existing bus corridors. The board also gave final approval to add limited-stop service on the 30s line, which has Metro's highest ridership, as part of an overhaul. The changes will take effect June 30.
The bus system has long been overshadowed by Metrorail. Metrobus riders tend to be poorer, minorities and less likely to own cars, compared with the mostly white, more affluent and professional passengers who ride Metrorail, surveys have shown. Metrobus has never been able to draw the same kind of money and institutional support despite repeated promises from transit officials.
With rising gasoline prices and train capacity already strained, improved bus service can go a long way toward reducing congestion and moving more people, officials said. The Washington area has the second-worst traffic in the nation.
"We've done a lot of bus studies, and they all show we need more and better bus service," said Jim Hughes, Metro's senior planner. "We've done enough plans. It's time [for] action."
Board members agreed.
"Transit is not just rail," said board member Cathy Hudgins, who represents Fairfax County.
Zimmerman said, "This is the kind of thing that is one of the most cost-effective things we can do to expand capacity."
The plan would add rapid buses to three or four corridors a year, at an annual cost of $3 million to $4 million. Metro and the jurisdictions it serves also need $326 million in one-time capital funds for 135 additional buses, traffic signal technology to extend green lights, road improvements and additional parking at key transit centers.
Board members will be asked next month to start making decisions about funding, with more detailed plans to come in September.
Officials said the proposal will help them lobby more aggressively for bus transit. As part of the effort to upgrade bus service, Zimmerman said Metro needs to provide higher-quality vehicles to create a different image for buses. People will ride it, he said, if they can identify with that mode of transportation.
Otherwise, he said, the bus is seen "as a social-service conveyance for the unfortunate."
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This really sucks. Now we don't know of a way to get to the game. No way in the world would we park at the stadium. The lot is a zoo before and after games. This puts a lot of fans in a tough spot.
