MetroNow Dispatch 4.2022
In this month’s Dispatch we 👏 transit riders, 😰 about WMATA’s woes, share 6 ways to show 💕 for WMATA, 🙏 the K Street Transitway, and 🙌 our transit (TOD) champion.
Metrorail and Metrobus Weekday Ridership Exceeds 500K
Since the Ides of March, Metrorail weekday ridership has consistently exceeded 200,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic (which, in case you lost track of time, was March 2020) and Metrobus is approaching 300,000 daily riders. Despite diminished rail service and longer wait times, more riders are choosing Metro. If the 7000-series were back in commission and frequent rail service were restored, we suspect those numbers would be even higher.
Collectively, more than 500,000 daily trips were made on Metrorail and Metrobus last week, almost double the number this time last year. More people returning to the office, Spring tourists, reopening nightlife, and the elevated gas prices are all attracting more people to transit. If you are one of those 500,000 riders, we see and appreciate you for choosing transit! The latest numbers are certainly an encouraging sign, but… we are still missing about half of pre-COVID riders.
Now that we’ve given you some good news, it’s time to take a seat… Here are four worrisome WMATA news the region needs to keep a close eye on:
(1) 7000-Series Railcars Remain Sidelined:
Six months after the October 12 Blue Line derailment, the region still does not have a good sense of when the 7000-series railcars will be fully returned to service. Perhaps this summer, per WMATA’s latest updates, or perhaps not. The restoration of fifty 6000-series cars in May will certainly help, but it has been 18 months since the 6000-series railcars were originally sidelined in November 2020 and they are still not all back in service. Are we looking at a similar timeline for the 7000-series? We can only hope for the best regarding returning the 7000-series railcars as soon as safely possible.
(2) WMSC WMATA Safety Audit:
The findings of Washington Metrorail Safety Commission's (WMSC) Safety Audit of WMATA are concerning. To quote the executive summary, “elements of Metrorail have a culture that accepts noncompliance with written operational rules, instructions, and manuals.” After MetroNow launched in 2017, we outlined ten priorities for the board to deliver upon in the next 3-5 years, including, “placing the safety of the riders and workforce as the first priority for the authority.”
Five years later, the WMSC report shows WMATA still has a long way to go and has us wondering how WMATA’s Board intends to address these shortcomings while also managing a search for a new CEO? Would splitting the CEO and General Manager into two positions, the former focused on regional engagement and establishing and executing a vision with the latter focused on improving WMATA’s internal culture and operations, be more effective? Is it too much to ask of one individual to deal with both internal and external challenges, and both the near- and long-term?
(3) Silver Line Opening Delayed Again:
WMATA announced that based on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) delivery schedule, the Phase 2 extension of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport overseen by MWAA will not be open and operational before this summer, four years after the scheduled opening date.
We appreciate the rigorous testing and modifications being made to ensure the highest safety standards, but we do hope that WMATA and MWAA can work together to deliver a safe, fully-functional, and operational Silver Line before…Labor Day?
(4) Federal Relief Money Runs Out Next Year:
WMATA has been able to survive the pandemic and provide decent service because of the federal relief money for transit agencies. That money runs out next year, FY2024, meaning July of 2023, and we’ve seen no presentation yet from WMATA on the scale of the fiscal cliff and what it would entail if the region had to cut service to close the budget hole.
We continue to strongly encourage WMATA’s Board to include this in an upcoming Board meeting to allow the region to understand the extent of the potential fiscal cliff, the impact on the region, and make the case for establishing a regional strategy to avoid massive service cuts next year, never mind FY2025 and beyond. Without a clear strategy in sight, it is time to start ringing the alarm bells. [🔔-🔔-🔔-🔔-🔔]
Read More:
Editorial: Metro slides toward a budgetary cliff (Washington Post 4.12.22)
“Washington’s transit system has been kept alive during the pandemic, barely, thanks to federal relief funds. That life support — about $1 billion in the current fiscal year, split about equally between operating and capital funds — will run dry next year. So local leaders should be scrambling to find ways to sustain Metro, whose good health is a precondition for the Washington region’s post-covid rebound. Unfortunately, there’s little sign of urgency.”Metro train operators lack refresher training, audit finds (Washington Post 4.8.22)
“Parts of the rail system “have a culture that accepts noncompliance with written operational rules, instructions, and manuals,” the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission wrote in an almost 60-page report reviewing Metro’s rail operators, station managers, rail supervisors, training instructors, and quality assurance personnel and practices.”Metro delays create hassles for businesses, workers (Virginia Business 3.30.22)
““At any other time, this would be catastrophic,” says Julie Coons, president and CEO of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “We need to be on a path to resolving this problem. It is imperative to the long-term success of our region. Metro is an integral part of our transportation system.””If Metro had been more like Southwest Airlines, it’d have saved a lot of headaches (GGWash 5.25.16 | An oldie but a goodie)
“The problem is that the 7000 series is yet another kind of railcar that Metro needs to know how to maintain. When that’s the case, as opposed to a fleet full of the same kinds of cars, it’s a nightmare.”
We Still <3 WMATA
Some days, it is all too easy to point out the faults in WMATA, a 12,000 employee organization with a $4.8 billion operating and capital budget that is an essential part of our regional economy, drives growth and development, and provides hundreds of millions of transportation trips each year.
Even though we love WMATA, we also know it is not perfect and has MUCH to improve upon. The reason we poke is not because we want WMATA to fail but because we want WMATA to succeed. If you love WMATA too, here are a few resources to share to help the region return to transit and help WMATA succeed.
Not been on WMATA in a while? Use WMATA’s Trip Planner tool to plan your next trip.
If you have a SmarTrip card that was purchased before 2012, it no longer works. Follow these directions to replace it.
Watch and share WMATA’s latest ad in their “Doing Our Part” campaign.
Talk to your employer about setting up SmartBenefits at your workplace.
Use the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Cost Calculator or the PublicTransportation.org calculators to see how much you can save by riding transit.
Apply to join WMATA’s Riders Advisory Council by April 24.
K Street is for Lovers… of Transit
Move over New York City’s 14th Street Busway! Transit’s new darling is coming to town. When DC completes its K Street Transitway, more than 20,000 daily bus riders who currently use K Street are going to see time savings and more reliable service to get across downtown. This is a huge win for the region and builds upon the successful models from Arligton’s Metroway to DC’s growing network of dedicated bus lanes.
“A bus system that is more reliable and faster won’t just serve the people who ride today better, it is also going to attract new customers,” said Laura Miller Brooks, a co-leader of MetroNow.” - Washington Post April 7, 2022
Read More:
K Street makeover will bring dedicated bus lanes, remove service lanes (Washington Post 4.7.22)
“Design of the K Street Transitway between 12th and 21st streets NW is on track to be completed this fall, followed by construction beginning early next year, city officials said. The redesign of the mile-long corridor will eliminate K Street’s decades-old service roads, which transportation officials say confuse motorists, slow traffic and leave pedestrians scrambling between medians.”
Transit Champion of the Month: WMATA Office of Real Estate and Parking
This month, WMATA released its first ever Strategic Plan for Joint Development at its transit station. The strategy outlines a roadmap to increase private development opportunities on Metro-owned land over 10 years. In light of ongoing ridership challenges and the looming FY2024 fiscal cliff, more transit oriented development around WMATA’s stations will not only create a more dynamic, sustainable, and inclusive region, it will also mean more riders traveling both directions all day, creating more sustainable revenue and ridership for WMATA. Leaders in Maryland, Virginia, and DC should take note that WMATA is doing their part to increase revenue and ridership, but may need their support to bridge the gap until ridership stabilizes and WMATA can execute their plans for 20 joint development agreements by 2032.
Honorable Mentions:
Allison Davis is the new Vice President of Planning for WMATA. We congratulate Allison for the well-deserved promotion and wish her great success in setting the foundation for long-term strategic planning.
David Harrington, former President and CEO for the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce, former County Council Member, Mayor, Maryland State Senator, and MetroNow Principal, is moving on to join Kaiser Permanente as the Regional Senior Director of Community Relations and Stakeholder Engagement for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Thank you for your leadership David! We will miss you but glad you will continue serving the region
Bob Buchanan, President of the 2030 Group and MetroNow Principal, was awarded the 2021 Williams Trophy by the Washington Airports Task Force for, “being a local champion for regional cooperation in every aspect of our region’s transportation needs.”
Mayor Anthony Williams, CEO of the Federal City Council and MetroNow Principal, will be awarded the 2022 Trailblazer Leadership Award by ULI Washington at their June 7th event.
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smart Growth (CSG) and MetroNow Principal, will be awarded the 2022 Changemaker Leadership Award by ULI Washington at their June 7 event. CSG will also be celebrating its 25th Anniversary on May 12th.
Read More:
Metro looks ahead 10 years while states consider funding increase (Washington Post 4.8.22)
“Metro announced an ambitious 10-year plan Thursday to build housing and commercial space on 20 properties it owns, which the transit agency projects will bring thousands of customers and millions of dollars in rent and fares as it diversifies income streams for the lean years ahead.”Public transit as a public good: Three local approaches to fare-free transit (GGWash 4.7.22)
“In March, GGWash hosted “The Cost to Ride,” a webinar exploring efforts in our region to bring transportation costs down for millions living in the I-95 Corridor. The webinar covered Richmond’s adoption of a fareless system, Montgomery County’s Ride On fareless initiative, and Ward 6 DC Councilmember Charles Allen’s proposed Metro for DC transit benefit legislation.”
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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.