Now that the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council has voted (insiders know that this is the way they have been leaning for months if not years) to support the light rail option for the Purple Line to run between Bethesda and New Carrollton it will be interesting to see what roadblocks opponents put in the way. Also, if this isn't really a typical Metro line (heavy rail) is it really fair to call it by a name with a color like all the other Metro rail lines? Maybe it should be called something like the X-15 line or the P-46. I guess 2015 isn't that far away but the quote in the Examiner from the Maryland Transit Administration's Purple Line project manager, Michael Madden, was a bit ominous and, to my ear, sort of off-putting. He told the council members, "We have a long way to go, but we do appreciate your guidance." Ugh. When somebody says they appreciate something like advice or guidance that usually mean they are going to do what they want to do anyway. It will be interesting to watch as this project progresses. That includes the reaction of Metro to accommodating an additional mode of transportation into its system. That is something that Metro has fought rather hard in the past and I hope that it doesn't slow this project down.
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We all know that times are tough and that local and state highway and transportation authorities just don't have the resources they once had. Even still, I was surprised and disappointed to read that Maryland is considering adding a monthly fee for users of its EZ-Pass electronic toll payment transponders. These are the deck-of-cards-sized devices that stick to the windshield of a car or truck and pay the toll without the driver having to come to a complete stop and fish for the right amount of cash. This system has been credited with reducing congestion on the interstates (mostly Interstate 95) between Maine and Virginia. It has reduced lines at toll plazas, meaning that emissions are lessened and time is saved. It has worked better than anyone predicted. But now Maryland wants to try to recover lost revenue on the backs of those who have committed to this technology.
State officials seem to forget that they are already saving hundreds of thousands of dollars every year with EZ-Pass because they don't have to have as many toll takers on the payroll. For those who only use the system occasionally when they head out of town the one and a half dollar per month charge will be significant. For those who use the system as part of their daily commute the cost can be quickly amortized and even justified. The problem will begin when people start to return those transponders to save the fee and end up going back to the lines at the toll booths. Everyone will suffer.
Oh yeah... the transponders are available from several other states without the monthly fee so Maryland will simply miss out on getting its piece of the pie when residents start to swap those devices out.
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Speaking of lost revenue; I found it interesting that District officials were so quick to get their No Parking signs up in the areas closed off for the inauguration. In some cases they put big red canvas bags over double meters. It did the trick in keeping people from parking there. The problem was that they forgot to remove those signs and bags in several areas. The media relations department sent out an alert to the press asking us to tell residents to report areas where the bags or signs were still up so that crews could go out and remove them. Why the big fuss? Because the city was losing thousands of dollars in parking fees that they would not be able to recoup as part of its inauguration participation. Follow the money.
Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter,
observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation
issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com.
Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used
within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first
name and city/neighborhood.
In Boston, the Green Line is light rail while the Red, Blue, and Orange Lines are heavy rail. Everyone thinks of them as a single system.
Posted by: Ben Ross | January 29, 2009 at 08:33 AM