MetroNow Dispatch 10.2023
This month we highlight the urgency of WMATA’s operating budget gap and thank a transit champion in Northern Virginia for their service and dedication to the region.
Crunch Time for the Region, WMATA
The scale of WMATA’s $750M+ operating deficit exposes Metro’s financial challenges. Even the latest proposals for fare increases and substantial service cuts would still leave Metro short of closing the gap. While the cost-savings and efficiencies identified by Randy Clarke and the WMATA team will help alleviate next year’s funding gap, this is a temporary fix. Much more work is needed — both internally at WMATA and regionally — to create stability for jurisdictional funding partners, businesses, and riders.
MetroNow is encouraged by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s (NVTC) respective efforts to independently assess WMATA’s numbers and offer practical solutions. With legislative sessions in Virginia and Maryland only weeks away, this work is both urgent and timely. Yet, the work must also continue beyond this upcoming funding cycle.
The business community strongly supports Metrorail and Metrobus service as essential to the regional economy. Our businesses, institutions, and residents as well as the federal government and its employees rely on these essential services, and the region continues to invest around Metrorail stations. World-class regions have world-class transit, but world-class transit requires a world-class operating model supported by dedicated and reliable funding streams to remain competitive and ensure longevity.
MetroNow looks forward to seeing the solutions and recommendations that will be offered by MWCOG, NVTC, and our elected officials in the weeks ahead. The time is now for better transit.
The ScuttleBus
Here are MetroNow’s top transit picks this month:
⌛ 244 days until the transit cliff: FY 2025 budget starts July 1, 2024.
✍️ Registration open for this year’s Capital Region Transportation Forum!: Hear from the region’s top transportation leaders at Georgetown University on Nov. 30th.
📊 Visualizing the Value of Transit: A new online tool from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission shows growth, financial return of public transit in NOVA.
🚨 Fare evasion bill in the District: Proposed legislation from councilmember Brooke Pinto would boost enforcement and attempt to fix a “loophole” in current law.
Ⓜ️ All aboard! (automatically): Metro is piloting automatic doors on Red Line trains, an early step towards the full readoption of automatic train operations.
💸 Metro funding looming large in Virginia: WMATA officials joined state political leaders in October to discuss readjustment of the 3% cap.
🚏 Buses in DC are slower, more crowded: Metro says bus service has declined across different metrics, due in part to increased traffic in the region. It’s time for more dedicated bus lanes.
🛣️ More toll lanes on the way in Virginia?: Virginia unveiled nine possible Capital Beltway projects to complete the final leg of the Commonwealth’s tolling system.
🙋 Georgetown Metro station has full neighborhood support: With recent Metro expansion plans including a new station in Georgetown, it’s become more a matter of “when” rather than “if.”
🔎 Cause of Metrorail derailment uncovered: A broken brake on decades-old 3000 series train (to be replaced by the 8000 series) proved to be the culprit.
🥇 One million riders at Dulles Metro: Metro celebrated its one millionth rider at the Dulles Airport Metro station earlier this month, highlighting the value of rail access for airline passengers and workers.
🏗️ Dedicated capital funding dollars at work on Bl/Or/Sv: Metro began major work to repair elevated structures outside Stadium-Armory.
🚌 24-hour Metrobus coming to a line near you: Overnight Bus Service initiative funded by DC would extend operations around the clock starting later this year.
🏛️ What to do with all those government buildings?: The future of downtown DC will almost certainly rely on the repurposing or entirely rethinking federal buildings.
Transit Champion of the Month: Kate Mattice, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
This month, the MetroNow Coalition recognizes Kate Mattice and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission as our transit champion. We applaud Kate and the NVTC team’s efforts to map the value of transit in Virginia and to develop practical proposals for improvements through its WMATA Operating Funding and Reform Working Group. MetroNow eagerly awaits NVTC’s forthcoming Annual Report on the Performance and Condition of WMATA and looks forward to its continued contribution to regional action on transit and transit funding.
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The MetroNow Coalition is made up of regional leaders from the business, non-profit, and advocacy communities who believe that transit is designed to bring us together —at work, school, and play. Today, we believe our collective advocacy for better transit for the Washington DC region is more important than ever.
We launched the MetroNow Dispatch to bring residents, leaders, and transit agencies together to think about how we can make better transit today, during the pandemic, and “tomorrow,” as we look beyond recovery to how we can build a more equitable, sustainable, and accessible transportation system for our region.