VRE Weighs Policy Changes with Commuters

In the face of historic ridership levels, Virginia Railway Express CEO Dale Zehner met with members of the public in Fredericksburg Wednesday to discuss three policy changes which officials hope could free up to 200 seats a day on some VRE trains. 

The meeting, held at the Rappahannock Library in Fredericksburg, is the first of six public hearings on several changes to VRE policies. One in Woodbridge will be held on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Potomac Rappahanock Transportation Commission offices off of Potomac Mills Road. 

Officials are proposing a $5 reduction in the Step-Up fare which allows riders to catch less crowded Amtrak trains, discontinuing group fare discounts and modifying the rules for bicycles on trains. 

Zehner stressed that these three items are short-term options, reiterating that .

"The net solution is more trains, more cars," said Zehner. "But it's tight fiscally right now."

During the meeting, Zehner also speculated about reasons for the record ridership which VRE has seen recently. 

"We track the top 10 ridership days in VRE's history," said Zehner. "Right now, six of those are in January of last month. All of a sudden ridership has gone up."

He says that changes to federal employee telework regulations and the extension of a $230-per-month transit subsidy available to federal workers have the greatest impact on ridership levels on VRE. 

Step Up Fare Cuts

The first proposal Zehner discussed was a $5 decrease in the VRE Step Up fare. The Step Up program allows riders of VRE trains to switch to Amtrak trains for a small fee. By reducing the Step Up fare, Zehner hopes the lower price will shift some riders onto Amtrak trains, freeing up seats on VRE trains in the process. 

Amtrak charges VRE $10 for every VRE rider on their trains. Between 1994 and 2005, VRE foot the bill for riders with multi-ride tickets who wanted to ride Amtrak. The result, said Zehner, was that 400 people per day rode Amtrak with VRE tickets. But then in 2005, VRE only subsidized $8 of the fee and started charging riders $2 to ride Amtrak. That only lasted for two years, at which point VRE riders were forced to pay the full $10 fee to ride Amtrak. Now, says Zehner, only about 100 people per day take up the option.

"Having the ability to catch the amtrak trains give me more of a variety about how I get home in the evening, especially if VRE trains are running late," said Fredericksburg resident and VRE commuter Janine Steir. "Decreasing the step-up fare by $5 is cutting it in half, so anytime I'll have to take it, that's a positive for me." During the meeting Steir told Zehner that she could see more people using Amtrak if the price came down a bit. 

Group Fare Discounts on the Chopping Block

Citing negative comments from long term riders, VRE is also proposing the elimination of the group fare discount program which gave a 50% discount to groups with 10 or more fare-paying passengers. At the meeting, Zehner said that school groups on field trips used the discount to make educational visits to Washington, D.C. more affordable and predictable, however many riders complained that the groups were receiving a discount while full-fare passengers who board further down the line have to stand. 

"100 middle schoolers on a train can be really disruptive," said Zehner after the meeting. "And they're paying half price, and the regular riders are paying full price, and it's just getting too crowded."

Changes to Bicycle Policy 

VRE is also proposing to reverting to an earlier policy which allows only folding bicycles aboard its trains. Prior to the arrival of new gallery cars, VRE only permitted collapsible bicycles on its trains. The policy was changed after the new gallery cars went into use, allowing full size bikes on the last three trains on both lines in the mornings and evenings. But Zehner, describing historic ridership levels, said that there is now little room for cyclists to store their bikes and to provide seating for all riders.