September 10, 2004
Metro opens doors, but there's no room to get on
WMATA says 652,578 riders took Metrorail and 502,971 hopped the bus on an average weekday, an increase of about 3 percent for the trains. Weekend and late-night ridership increased even more.
So why are we paying more for the same service? Because WMATA can't get a dedicated funding source to pay for public transportation.
I have an idea to rectify this: at 10 percent, the D.C. sales tax is already too high, so increasing it would probably not be the best idea. Toll booths on local roads would snarl traffic as tourists and anti-EZPass commuters alike search for change as cars line up behind them. Meanwhile, thousands of cars are stopped at security checkpoints every day. Why not make those Capitol Cops useful and have them charge everyone who enters the protected zone around the Hill $1 for the privilege?
Posted by rj3 at September 10, 2004 11:14 AM
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