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fare system which is now under consideration by the local jurisdictions prior to adoption by the WMATA Board of Directors. The public hearings also contained a proposal for the frequency of service for Phases I and II of the Metrorail system. These proposals, now under consideration, are as follows:

• A Metrorail fare structure of 30 cents for the first mile
and 10 cents for each additional mile during peak periods

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A Metrorail fare of 25 cents for the first mile and 5 cents
for each additional mile during the off-peak

Senior citizen/handicapped patron off-peak fare level of
50% of the peak fare

Metrorail Hours of Operation and Frequency of Service

Phase I, which will run from Rhode Island Avenue Station on the "B" route to Farragut North Station on the "A" route, will cover a total of six stations and 4.5 miles. Trains will run five days per week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with five-minute headways during rush hours and ten-minute headways during the entire day which is tentatively set to maintain the weekday hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Phase I will add service between the National Airport Station on the "C" route and the Stadium-Armory Station on the "D" route. Also, service will be extended on the "A" route from the Farragut North Station to the Dupont Circle Station. This will provide service to 25 stations along 18 miles of the system. The increased ridership that will develop from the additional routes and stations brought into operation and from the sharp influx of visitors attracted by the Bicentennial celebration calls for an extension of service over that provided in Phase 1. During Phase II, service will be extended from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. on weekdays with five-minute headways during rush hours and ten-minute headways during off-peak hours. Weekend service will continue as in Phase I with ten-minute headways tentatively set between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Parking Policy at Metrorail Stations

Due to the limited amount of parking to be provided at Metrorail stations and the desire to encourage feeder bus as the prime mode of arrival, the following parking policy is under consideration for the WMATA Metrorail parking lots:

• Parking fee will be based on a flat daily rate.

• Parking fee will be $1.00 in Metrorail lots through Phase II.

• Parking will be free evenings and weekends (to encourage
transit usage during those times).

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It is being recommended that the parking fee at stations in subsequent phases be in inverse relationship with the distance from the Downtown, and that the actual parking fee be established by the Board of Directors at a later date. It is also understood that a separate parking policy may have to be established at stations with delineated short-term parking (such as Takoma and Minnesota Avenue). V. PREVIOUS WMATA RAIL-BUS STUDIES

With the adoption of the Regional System by the WMATA Board on March 1, 1968, rapid rail transit development had reached the stage where a final and conclusive financial program had to be developed for submission to the federal and local governments. In order to develop the plan, an equitable and practical interconnecting feeder bus system and fare structure had to be included.

1969 Net Income Analysis Study

The WMATA Board of Directors authorized the award of a contract in early 1968 to the joint venture frims of W.C. Gilman and Company, Inc. and Alan M. Voorhees and Associates, Inc. to conduct a study of traffic revenue and operating costs of the Regional Rapid Rail Plan and Program and including a description and discussion of coordinated bus and rail operations. This analysis covered the financial impact upon the four private bus companies and an analysis of three alternative fare systems.

1971 - Update Study of the Net Income Analysis.

The objective of this study was to update the February, 1969 Traffic Revenue and Operating Costs Study to reflect the impact of new population and employment estimates for the Washington metropolitan area. In addition, the study assumed common ownership and operation of the rail and bus portions of the transit system, a unified fare structure, and unit costs updated to current (1970) levels.

Based on the assumption of common ownership and operation of the rail and bus portions of the system, this 1971 study estimated 352 million annual riders for the completed rail and coordinated bus system in 1990. Of the more than one million daily transit trips forecast, 20 percent would use bus service exclusively while 81 percent would use bus service for at least part of the trip and the remaining 19 percent would use rail only.

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On June 8, 1972, the WMATA Board approved the award of a contract to Wilbur Smith and Associates to conduct a series of Transit Technical Studies. The major objectives of the studies were to develop a plan to provide for the continuation of bus

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service after the acquisition of the private bus companies, to assure efficient and economical operation of the area bus facilities before, during and after construction of the rapid rail system, and to establish a level of service compatible with the needs of the area.

Among the principal products of the two-year series of studies are an on-bus origin-destination survey made in the fall of 1972, a statement of Metrobus service objectives, a short-range 1974/75 integrated Metrobus service plan, analyses of numerous possible fare systems and fare schedules for Metrobus, a recommended garage construction and improvement program, and analyses of new ridership potentials through joint development of fringe parking lots and Metrobus express commuter services.

Numerous technical papers and Memorandum Reports which have been published for review and comment have enabled the staff to implement a number of improvements recommended during the conduct of the study. Other high priority recommendations are being investigated for possible implementation.

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Staff Plan and Program for Use of 620 New Buses

The WMATA Office of Planning, through coordination with other departments and the participating local jurisdictions, developed a plan and program recommending Metrobus service improvements that could be implemented in conjunction with the delivery schedule of 620 new buses. Essentially, the plan provided for three scheduled implementation phases:

Phase I, which provided for the first 100 bus deliveries

to be used to supplement the existing Metrobus fleet so as to provide improved operations and to reduce overcrowding conditions on many of the lines. This phase was implemented on April 28, 1974;

Phase II, which provided for the next 369 vehicles to be used to replace older equipment. This action was to provide greater operating efficiency and more attractive and dependable service; and,

Phase III, which provided for the remaining 151 new buses to be used to expand and improve service throughout the region. This portion of the plan was inaugurated on September 1, 1974.

Also, in coordination with the WMATA Phase III program to improve service, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments implemented bus service improvements in the Congress Heights area of Southeast Washington, D.C., as part of the Urban Corridor Demonstration Project.

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The objective of this study was to provide information for the development of a revised financial plan for rail and bus operations,

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and to develop information for recalculation of the local share of the net project cost of the transit system for allocation to each of the political subdivisions as required by the Capital Contributions Agreement of March 13, 1969.

A further purpose of this Net Income Analysis Study was to develop updated information for planning and designing of stations and routes based on the latest land use activity data. Also, the requirement for the development of a feeder bus network adequate to serve the land use of the Washington metropolitan area in the year 1990 was considered. The study was to be completed by June 1, 1974, but the final report was delayed to include alternative fare systems analysis and various operating characteristics.

Based on the assumptions used in this study, an estimated 455,500,000 annual riders would be using the consolidated rail-bus system in 1990. Of the approximately 1.6 million daily transit trips forecast, 36 percent would use Metrobus exclusively while 73 percent would use bus service for at least part of the trip and the remaining 27 percent would use rail only.

1975 - On-Board Bus Passenger Survey

On January 16, 1975, the WMATA Committee on Development of the Metrobus Deficit Allocation Formula unanimously recommended that annual operating deficits beginning with Fiscal Year 1975 be allocated using specific formulae which measured costs and revenue. WMATA staff conducted this system-wide bus passenger survey with technical and administrative assistance supplied by contract and with local jurisdictional assistance.

1975 - Environmental Impact Study of Contra-Flow Bus Lanes
Along 14th and 15th Street Corridors

This study was concerned with the development of one-way street and contra-flow bus operation on 14th and 15th Streets in downtown Washington. The contra-flow plan is part of a larger program to improve public transportation and encourage transit ridership in the National Capital Area.

Such a concept is consistent with the goal of the Environmental Protection Agency to improve transit operations and to increase system ridership, which in turn reduces vehicle miles traveled. Bus Lane provisions were one of the sets of strategies promulgated by the EPA on December 6, 1973 (38 FR 234) for the three states (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) which make up the National Capital Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

1976 - Proposed Study

Transit System Planning for Metrobus

Interface with Metrorail Phases II and III

The primary purpose of this study is to provide detailed bus route planning for the consolidated rail-bus operations that will

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