MARC favors Inauguration visitors over commuters

It’s one thing for commuters who are working in
Washington on Tuesday to share the travel headaches with Inauguration-goers.

It’s another thing, some commuters complain, for a train
system to reject their monthly passes and instead require “special
Commemorative Inaugural tickets” that sold out almost two weeks ago.

That’s the policy of the Maryland Department of
Transportation’s MARC trains for Inauguration Day. Not even a monthly pass that
costs as much as $275 is going to get anyone on board.

{mosads}MARC announced Dec. 9 that it was requiring the special
tickets. Charging $25 roundtrip, higher than its regular fares, MARC put them
on sale Dec. 20 and sold all 30,000 by Jan. 8, said MARC spokeswoman Stephanie
Smith. Some tickets are now going for inflated prices on eBay.

Not surprisingly, many of MARC’s everyday riders are not
happy.

Malissa O’Hara of Jefferson, Md., said she was aware of
the policy before the Inauguration Day tickets sold out. But as a monthly-pass
holder, she was upset and decided not to buy one of the special tickets.

“I just don’t think you should have to pay twice to ride the
train that day,” she said.

An insurance company supervisor, she is giving herself
the day off on Tuesday, an option that many commuters do not enjoy.

MARC spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said the train system has
a proper role in travel related to Barack Obama’s becoming president. And she
noted that many regular MARC riders are federal workers for whom Tuesday is a
holiday.

A taxpayer-subsidized system, MARC does not run on
weekends and most holidays. Greene said MARC does not “legally” owe service to commuters
on Inauguration Day.

“This is a historic occasion and we have to manage the
expectations of our riders,” Greene said. “This is not a normal day.”

Greene cited options for MARC’s regulars who work
Tuesday. But the Washington area’s subway and bus system, Metro, is widely
expected to be overwhelmed, and with several major roads into Washington set
for closure, driving into the nation’s capital is being discouraged.

MARC is a heavy-rail system that serves many Washington
suburbs but also runs much farther out than Metro. Terminating at Washington’s
Union Station in the morning, MARC trains carry capital-area workers from
beyond Baltimore to the north and as far west as West Virginia.

Typical ridership is about 30,000 roundtrip passengers a
day, roughly the same number expected Tuesday, Greene said.

Amtrak honors MARC multi-trip passes on some of its
trains along the Baltimore-Washington corridor, but that’s not the case for
Inauguration Day.

Selling special tickets while not honoring regular
tickets, according to Greene, is not viewed by MARC officials as a
revenue-booster for the agency. She said Tuesday’s reserved-seating system and
the relatively high ticket prices reflect logistical and security challenges,
employees’ overtime pay and other considerations.

MARC’s regular fares vary widely because they’re based on
the distance that a passenger travels. For Inauguration Day, with service at
various stops, the flat $25 roundtrip price exceeds the highest regular fares,
even on the rate schedule for a single roundtrip ticket.

Most Monday-through-Friday commuters use the monthly
passes, which cost less per ride than a single roundtrip ticket. But the
monthly tickets aren’t cheap — typically in the range of $100 to $200, and as
high as $275 for travel between Perryville, Md., and Washington.

On eBay on Sunday, there were dozens of listings for
MARC’s Inauguration Day tickets. Bidding for one pair was up to $91, nearly
twice the face value, with several hours left on the sale. Some sellers were
asking for more than three times the face value on eBay’s “Buy it Now” option.