For months, WMATA has been sounding the alarm about its own impending financial doom. The pandemic sent ridership plummeting, inflation hit hard and Metro allowed D.C., Maryland and Virginia to reduce their payments temporarily in response to COVID-19. All of that has led to a $750 million budget shortfall that will slam the transit system when federal pandemic funds run out in July 2024 — unless contributing jurisdictions step up to provide more funding.
Metro has released some of the “doomsday” service cut options the agency might have to take if the gaping hole isn’t fixed. None of them sound pleasant. Metro wait times could skyrocket to 20-30 minutes, and some rail stations could close completely. All but 37 of the busiest Metrobus routes could vanish. In any of the worst-case scenarios, more than 4,000 people could lose their jobs.
Our transit agency faces budget issues almost every year, but they’re usually nowhere near this dire. Small fare increases won’t do the trick this time: fares would have to rise to between $20 to $30 per ride to fix the problem, WAMU reported in June.
Any fare increase would likely drive away at least some riders, and so will service cuts. The budget issues could lead to a “death spiral,” where a loss in services drives away riders, causing the revenue to shrink further and require even more service cuts.
All of this is potentially devastating for our region’s economy and the many people and communities that depend on Metro and bus to get around. Even for those who don’t, a collapsing WMATA would cause problems. It would mean more cars on the road if people switch from transit to personal vehicles — traffic would get worse and so would air pollution.
Regional leaders need to prioritize getting a deal on the books ASAP. And residents in the DMV — whether they ride the bus, the Metro, the streetcar or none of the above — should be pressing them hard to make sure it gets done.