As morning commutes on Washington, DC’s subway, the Metro, go, this morning wasn’t bad at all. The train pulled into the station just as I was stepping onto the platform, I found a seat, and was even able to get in a little bit of a snooze on the ride. Usually I’m lucky to get just one of those, and more often get stuck holding onto mere inches of handrail, while shoved up against some large, sweaty individual. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m going to have to resign myself to the latter.

A new report out this week from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)  finds that transit ridership was at record highs for the first quarter of 2008, and is expected to grow further in the second. Citing gas prices that have topped four dollars a gallon nationwide, APTA found that light rail trips are up by about 10%, commuter rail rose by 5.7%, heavy rail by 4.4%, and bus usage by about 2% over the same time last year. At the same time, the Federal Highway Administration last week announced a decline in vehicle miles traveled of about 2.3 %.

While the increase in transit ridership might be good news for the environment and motorists on somewhat less crowded highways, that doesn’t mean we have adequate transit infrastructure to meet this suddenly rising demand. In the 2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure ASCE graded the nation’s transit infrastructure at a D+. Only about 5% of the nation’s population has safe and reliable access to transit, and what systems that are available, are generally cash-strapped and under-maintained.

In Washington alone, where Metro ridership is beating the national average at a 15%-20% increase, the system is chronically under-funded and lacks any dedicated source of funding. If gas prices keep rising and the upward trend in riders continues, the nation’s transit systems might be pushed to a breaking point. As we look forward to 2009 when SAFETEA-LU (the nation’s highway bill) expires, serious attention must be paid the maintenance and expansion of the transit system. Without transit solutions that reduce traffic congestion and get workers to their jobs quickly and comfortably, our only options become sitting in traffic or forcing our way onto a jammed subway car.

Over the last few months, Metro, Washington DC’s subway and bus system, has been threatening a substantial fare increase of about thirty cents per ride. At a time when overcrowding and delays are at an all-time high, the initial unveiling of the plan met with considerable outcry from riders and other groups. The official announcement of the increase came last week, and while it will certainly upset many, it is an important first step in revitalizing the capital’s transit system.

As regular Metro riders, the ASCE Government Relations staff has expressed our frustration in this blog with the train system many times over the past few months, and so as vested interests, we believe we’re the right group to weigh in. Sure, we’d love to take that extra $150 every year (two metro rides a day for 50 weeks) and do something a little more fun, but we realize the system is ailing and needs significant improvements: we all just have to pony up a little more for them.

When you think about it, the fare increases are not that steep and are actually much needed. According to the Washington Post, Metro has not raised fares in over four years, so the fare increase will not match inflation over the same time period. To cushion the blow for the disadvantaged, Metro will be distributing SmarTrip Cards (electronic fare cards) to shelters and social service providers since increases will not be as high if a passenger uses the debit-style payment option. The new revenue will help cover Metro’s sometimes questionable operating costs and keep it from laying-off workers. While Metro’s management problems may still persist, those short term costs are negligible compared to the overall needs to the system.

A Washington Post editorial from this weekend explains the problem best, "The more important and tougher problem for Metro, and by extension for the nation's capital, is how it will pay to expand, renew and maintain the system. That, and not the predictable squabbles over annual budgets and fares, is the $3 billion question. In fact, $3 billion is a conservative assessment of the system's capital needs over the coming decade -- for new rail cars, buses and construction projects -- based on an already three-year-old report that used outdated estimates. But even the $3 billion now is far from assured."

As the editorial rightly points out, the real issue is that the current capacity is inadequate to meet the demands Washington’s commuters put on the system. Metro is the only subway system in the country without a dedicated local funding mechanism and to counteract that deficiency, legislators and local officials in all jurisdictions have made good faith efforts to secure funding to improve and expand Metro service. Northern Virginia Representatives Tom Davis and Jim Moran, joined by senators from both Virginia and Maryland sponsored a bill "The National Capital Transportation Amendments Act" (H.R. 401/S.1446) to secure Metro funding, provided local jurisdictions were able to secure matched funding. Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia each have passed measures to dedicate the funding, and all parties involved seem to agree that this is the best solution to Metro’s financing problems. Since Metro is responsible for transporting many government workers, this plan is an acknowledgement that localities should not have to bear the burden alone – the federal government needs to pay its fair share as well.

So really the questions the editorial brings up are already answered – there is a plan, but it has yet to come to a vote in the 110^th Congress. While all the essential players have come together, final action on the bill is held up because some legislators oppose federal involvement. In the same editorial this weekend, the Washington Post called on the offending Senator, Tom Coburn, R-OK, to release his hold on Metro funding, and help get the region moving again. Metro is a vital piece of the transportation infrastructure that carries thousands of federal workers everyday; it should not be a casualty of a political ideology that starves everyone and feeds no one. A fare increase may not be popular, but it is the only option to keep Metro at least limping along until the politicians get their acts together.