Making Amends
Last week's column incorrectly stated the volume of sales of commuter passbooks for use at tunnels and toll highways. The Maryland Transportation Authority sells 17,000 ticket books per month. The Sun regrets the error.
John A. doesn't mind getting tickets.
In fact, the Ellicott City commuter is in a hurry to get more. And he feels he's earned them -- at least 50 at a time.
That's the number found in the commuter passbooks available from the Maryland Transportation Authority for use at the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge.
Mr. A. (who asks that his name not appear in print) isn't happy with the current method of assessing tolls, which reserves the deepest discounts for daily users.
While the tickets are good at any of five toll facilities, he is pretty much concerned with his route through Baltimore: the Fort McHenry.
"If the present toll system was designed to make commuting through the tunnel difficult, irritating and a constant hassle, then it should be left alone because it is working to perfection," he writes.
"On the other hand, if a 'user friendly' tunnel is desired, I suggest two things: Eliminate the expiration date [on ticket books] and make the commuter ticket books available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in any open toll booth."
Currently, the $20 ticket books are good for just 60 days after they are purchased. That's usually not a problem for a person who commutes twice a day, five days a week through the tunnel. In fact, it gives that person an extra three weeks to use up the book.
The discount is significant. If commuters use all the tickets in a book, they are paying 40 cents for each crossing, compared with the usual $1 toll.
Books are sold at the tunnel office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays or in designated tunnel toll lanes Sundays through Fridays from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. They are also sold by mail.
But you can see how Mr. A. could be unhappy with the system.
Say you commute through the tunnel only twice a week. In 8 1/2 weeks, you would use only 34 of the 50 tickets. If you take a vacation or get sick, you lose out on even more.
If you commute between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. or on Saturdays only, you can't buy tickets. Most drivers prefer to buy from toll lanes, but you can't do that at midday or in the evenings before 10 p.m.
We took the case to the folks who run Fort McHenry. They showed interest in Mr. A's recommendations, but nixed them.
Maryland Transportation Authority officials say his suggestion that tickets books (and their 60 percent discount) be more broadly available is, in a word, impossible.
The drop in toll revenue would be too costly. The tolls collected at the tunnel aren't just sent to the state's treasury. They are paying off the principal and interest on bonds that financed the project.
In fact, the authority's charter expressly prohibits such an action, says spokeswoman Lori A. Vidil.
She also points out that for all the alleged problems, ticket books are more popular than ever. Last year, the authority sold about 17,000 books at the Fort McHenry, a record for that tunnel.
While it's true that the biggest discount is given commuters who make 50 crossings in 60 days, other commuters get a break. Anyone who crosses more than 20 times in 60 days gets some kind of discount through a ticket book, she says.
As for the availability of books, Ms. Vidil says she's not getting many complaints. On Aug. 3, the hours for ticket sales in the designated toll lanes increased from 48 hours a week to 64 hours a week.
If the authority sold books in every lane, traffic could get bogged down.
Incidentally, the discount offered today is a better deal than the authority offered when its first tunnel, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, opened in 1957. Back then, the toll was 40 cents, but a ticket cost 25 cents. In 37 years, the toll has risen 150 percent, but the ticket cost is up 60 percent.
New MARC station opens near Laurel
Laurel's crowded commuter rail station has gotten some relief.
Service was to begin today at the new Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) station at Muirkirk. It's located 1.5 miles south of Laurel at Muirkirk Avenue and U.S. 1 and will serve the Camden Line.
With 670 parking spaces, the $1.5 million station should offer an alternative for Washington-bound commuters from the Laurel area. Last year, MARC opened a facility at Laurel Race Course to help relieve crowding at Laurel Station.
"We needed to fill the gap from Laurel to Greenbelt," says John A. Agro, administrator of the Mass Transit Administration. "This is another opportunity to move people from the suburbs to jobs in Washington and Baltimore."
The station is MARC's 40th and another sign of the system's growth. Last year, MARC opened a new Camden line station in Greenbelt. Another new stop will be built on Dorsey Road between the Elkridge and Jessup stations in 1996.
Camden's on-time record has also been improving of late. The line, which is operated by CSX Transportation, achieved a 95 percent on-time rate last month. Amtrak's Penn Line performance was 93 percent during the same period.
The one-way fare from Muirkirk to Washington or Baltimore will be $3.75.