richard sarles says station escalators weren't maintained according to system standards. he told our monika samtani the upcoming rate hikes will lead to better service and better equipment. >> rush plus goes into effect in july which is more rush hour service on most of our rail lines. that's a good thing. we're buying new buses to replace the oldest buses in the fleet. on the metro access vehicles, we're buying over 200 new vehicles. those are some of the things people will be seeing. >> you can watch monika's entire better view with metro's m&m richard sarles on -- metro's g.m. richard sarles on wusa9.com. >>> the super bowl ad featuring clint eastwood was a huge hit but were they trying to sell more than cars? >> that's a hot topic. erica hill is joining us live from new york. before we get started on that, i have to say congratulations on your giants. they played very well and deserved it. >> reporter: well, that's very kind and generous of you, mike. you know, it was a good game. your pats did their best. >> not good enough. >> it seemed like giselle is making more o

under a new proposal from general manager republican arrested sarles, smart trip fares would go up from 10 crept for a dollar depending on how long the trip is. there would be a new national rate for paw per fare cards, $4 to $6. bus fares would go up 10-cent for smart trip users. park fees would go up 25-cent a day. rider are sounding off at public hearings. >> it is not fair to us. it is not fair to anyone that rides metro access. we're already on a budget. pretty much everyone that is disabled is on a budget. >> if they do the needed repairs that are necessary and improve the system, then the fare increase is a good thing. >> a new budget will be voted on by the board by may. >>> a d.c. council committee held a hearing yesterday about how harry thomas, jr. stole hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for d.c. youth organizations. the children and youth investment trust corporation issued checks to langston 21 without proper documentation. langston 21 was funneling the money to thomas. turns out it is policy to advance 25% of the grant and then make quarterly payments. >>> an update o

. >> reporter: metro's gm richard sarles is proposing a 5% fare increase on rails and bus lines. that would generate about $60 million a euro. here is how the fare hike might look. proposal would raise fares for anyone using a smart trip card from 10 cents to a dollar depending on how long the trip is. if you pay for pay per fare cards, you feel it the most with a new plat rate of $4 to $6 during rush hour. another proposal would raise the surcharge from 25 cents for a dla on top of the smart trip fare. bus fares would go up 10 cents for smart trip users. cash fares increase 30 cents. and parking fees would go up 25- cent a day. >> government subsidized transit service is not for profit. >> reporter: but some outspoken rider are making their case to prevent any more pain in the wallet. d.c., maryland, virginia and the federal government combined contribute about 40% of metro's budget and the board of directors is asking all those entities to kick up their contributions by about 8%. the next hearings will be tomorrow night in falls church and then there will be another one on thur