Public Hearing Information

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VRE ridership has continued to grow at a steady rate. Many trains are at or have exceeded capacity. In some cases, there can be as many as 200 standees on a particular train. As a result of this growth, VRE is looking for ways to increase capacity. In addition to the options at increasing storage capacity, VRE has looked at other short term options that might allow more seats to become available.

• Amtrak charges VRE $10 for every VRE rider on one of their trains.
• From 1994 to 2005, VRE riders with multi-ride tickets (10-Ride, Monthly or TLC pass) could use select Amtrak trains at no extra cost to them. VRE paid the $10 per rider.
• In 2005, VRE asked riders to pay part of the fee and instituted the Step-Up Ticket. VRE riders paid $2 and VRE covered the remaining $8.
• In 2007, VRE asked the riders to pay the full $10 fee.
• There is a possibility of this discount being available for a period of 12 months.

With ridership outpacing our ability to provide seats, VRE is looking at the possibility of shifting some of our riders back over to the Amtrak trains as a way to open up capacity on VRE trains. VRE is proposing to reduce the rider portion of the Step-Up ticket by up to $5.

• VRE currently offers a discount of 50% off the single ride fare to groups with 10 or more fare-paying passengers.
• VRE has received negative comments from our long-term riders about the fact that groups are able to pay half off the ticket price, while a passenger paying a full fare that boards further down the line may have to stand.

VRE is proposing to eliminate the group fare program.

• Prior to the arrival of the new Gallery cars, VRE only permitted collapsible bicycles on board the trains.
• Once the new Gallery cars were in operation, the policy was changed to permit bicyclists to bring full size bicycles on the last three trains on both lines in the mornings and the evenings.
• With ridership increasing and the number of standees growing, there is little room for bicyclists to safely store their bicycles and still provide seating for all riders.

VRE is proposing to limit bicycles once again to collapsible bicycles only.