hbfm

Hooray for subsidized commuting! This quarter's farecards came in the mail yesterday. Fiddling around with them, I realized that they were a different style than the last few issues, so I checked out my local system. I didn't notice anything about the new look, but Sunday last, the powers that be raised the subway fares. (For those with mass transit systems that don't cross state lines, the fee structure in DC is based on distance, instead of a flat access fee. Having to check before you enter the system to find the cost of the trip sucks, but it could be worse.)

Since I should be doing my monthly tab, but instead I'm here on the internet, I've calculated how much this hike costs me. While the increase was only about eight percent for the maximum fare, that only matters when figuring the cost on trips other than for work. My work subsidy hasn't increased, so after figuring the round trip costs before and after, then subtracting $1200 for the subsidy and dividing, it's up 27.5%. That's a lot, but I'm still several thousand dollars better off than driving and I like that I'm reimbursed for sitting and reading everyday.