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Metro will hold a series of public hearings on options for closing a $189 million budget gap in fiscal 2011 this month and in April.

On the table is a combination of fare increases, Metrorail and Metrobus service reductions, staff cuts and increases in funds from the jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia serviced by Metro.

The hearings all begin at 7 p.m. with an open house beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The hearings will be held throughout Metro's service area. The schedule for Maryland is:

-March 29 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 5120 Whitfield Chapel Road, Lanham.

-April 1 at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building's cafeteria, 101 Monroe St., Rockville.

Among the possible changes, Metrorail travelers could see the minimum peak charge increase from $1.65 to $2 and maximum peak fare from $4.50 to $5.45. Peak hours are from 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

Off-peak boarding charges could increase from $1.35 to $1.65.

Metrorail also is considering a "peak of the peak" surcharge of 50 cents for trips from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Among other increases, parking could increase by $1.15 per day to $6.15 and bike locker rentals could increase from $70 annually to $200 annually.

Reductions could include elimination of low ridership bus routes, closing some stations earlier, starting rail service later and increasing the intervals between trains and buses.

Public officials will have five minutes to make a presentation. Other speakers will have two minutes. Written statements may be sent to: Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20001, or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 6.

Transit activist to be honored

Transit organization Purple Line Now! is paying tribute to its late leader Harry Sanders on Monday at a reception at the new Performing Arts Center on Montgomery College's Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus in Silver Spring.

The longtime activist died March 10.

"We will all miss Harry's energy and dedication," said Webb Smedley, immediate past chairman of Purple Line Now! "The best way his admirers can commemorate his life is to carry his spirit in our hearts as we move forward, respectfully and in a principled manner, working for environmental justice and a quality light rail Purple Line and Capital Crescent Trail."

The organization advocates for the 16-mile-long proposed light rail Purple Line to parallel the Capital Beltway from Bethesda to New Carrollton.

State providing

real-time traffic jam info

The State Highway Administration rolled out a second phase of a program to let motorists stuck in traffic jams know how long it will be until they begin moving.

The overhead signs were added last week to Interstates 695, 70, 95 and 83 and the Capital Beltway.

The program began in January along I-95 between the Baltimore and Washington beltways.

SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen said in a statement that new technology is allowing SHA to provide motorists with real-time travel time information.

That information, he said, can allow drivers to know whether to take an alternate route or change their travel plans.

Commuters also will be able to visit http://roads.maryland.gov online to get information before hitting the road.

Metro train operator fired

A Metrorail operator was fired March 11 for her part in a Feb. 12 derailment on a side track at the Farragut North Metrorail station that injured three people. Metro announced she was dismissed for failing to follow standard operating procedures. The unidentified operator had worked for Metro since 1976 and been a train operator since 1999.

The derailment of the train, bound for Shady Grove, closed a portion of the Red Line and left three passengers with bumps and bruises.

About 345 passengers were on the six-car train when it derailed.

Metro has been plagued by a series of accidents, some fatal, in recent years. The worst accident in the system's 33-year history occurred June 22, when a Red Line crash killed nine people and injured 70.