Metro plans to charge for Saturday parking at WMATA lots starting in February and just recently has made Wi-Fi available at 30 stations.
The Washington D.C. Metro Transit authority announced that in February that it will be starting a six-month pilot program which will require all Metro riders to pay for parking on Saturdays in Metro’s garages and lots. The good news, however, is that initially the parking fee will be $1 or less during the six-month program as Metro’s sole purpose of charging for parking is being implemented for data collection purposes. Metro also announced that Wi-Fi service is now available at 30 of the system’s stations. The pilot program will help a committee to determine how charging for parking on the weekends would affect ridership and the total revenue that would be the result of a permanent change. Metro has also proposed that the program include changes to weekday parking, charging for parking beginning at 7:30 a.m. as opposed to 9:30 a.m. WMATA is also considering the implementation of extra parking fees for commuters who park in the facility’s lots but aren’t using the Metrorail system. Another change (and perk), however, is that Metro plans to have flea markets and farmer’s markets in the system’s parking facilities on holidays and weekends.
On Thursday, WMATA revealed that Wi-Fi service is now available at 30 of the rail system’s 91 stations. Prior to December 14, only six stations were Wi-Fi-nabled in downtown D.C. Wi-Fi service is now available at the following stations: Farragut North, Farragut West, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Rosslyn, Cleveland Park, Crystal City, Van Ness-UDC, Crystal City, Smithsonian, Tenley Town-AU, Mt. Vernon Square, Friendship Heights, Columbia Heights, Bethesda, Waterfront, Medical Center, Forest Glen, Navy Yard-Ballpark, Anacostia, Wheaton, Court House, Clarendon, and McPherson Square.
Metro says that every underground station will have Wi-Fi by mid-2018. They have already had cellular service available at all the system’s stations, but that will be further supplemented by Wi-Fi capability and access. Underground wireless service is currently available on the Red Line between Glenmont and Silver Spring and from Metro Center to Stadium Armory on the Silver, Blue, and Orange lines while the remaining underground tunnels will soon provide full cellular service.