Jack Evans Report: Metro at a Crossroads, Again

Public transportation in the District of Columbia has made significant strides since I served as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in the 1990s. Our downtown lacked a strong business community and was riddled with crime. Many buildings were vacant. Still, District leaders were resolved to advance an ambitious agenda to modernize public transportation.

Today, our Metro system is again at a crossroads. Although we have difficult financial decisions to make, I stand firmly against any proposal that would increase fares or reduce service for our residents.

In order for public transportation to work, it must be both convenient and affordable. Unfortunately, our transit system has moved away from being either. In 2014, rail fares increased by three percent, parking in Metro lots and garages increased and bus fare increased from $1.60 to $1.75. These increases were all driven by a six-percent increase in transit costs and $1.14 billion in capital improvements. WMATA has established a trend of fare increases every other year to keep up with rising costs.

I wish to emphasize that no fare increases were scheduled to occur this year, but they are now being discussed among WMATA leadership. Accepting back-to-back fare increases while facing an unprecedented loss in ridership is something that simply does not make sense. Making the Metro system less affordable will only push more riders to other options. Even without a fare increase, WMATA forecasts an additional loss of two million riders in the coming year as riders shift to arguably more reliable and efficient competitors such as Uber and Lyft.

Fare hikes and service reductions would not move us closer to our goals for our public transit system. Rather, they would cripple public perception and discourage longtime riders. I am most concerned, however, about the damaging impact fare hikes and service reductions would have on our city’s most vulnerable residents. When a single mother is tasked with waking before sunrise to catch multiple buses to a job on the other side of the city, our job is to ensure her commute is as cost-efficient and convenient as possible. It is not to make it more challenging.

So why are fare hikes and reductions being proposed? They are ways to reduce the subsidy required from jurisdictions in the region. Metro’s budget is funded through operating revenue and through contributions from the federal government; the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia; Montgomery, Prince George’s, Fairfax and Arlington counties; and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.

In fiscal year 2016, the plans are for the net operating subsidy to be reduced from $919 million in November to $883 million in December and then again to $877 million in January.

I have already made my position known to WMATA’s interim general manager, Jack Requa, and new chairman, Mort Downey. The District of Columbia is well positioned to contribute at least $331 million to avoid these dangerous cuts and hikes. I have urged my colleagues from surrounding jurisdictions to think seriously about increasing their contribution to avoid potentially calamitous harm to the trust in and ridership of our transit system.

As your board member, I will continue to push for creative solutions that will lower or maintain fares, enhance service and boost ridership. Given recent Metro setbacks, I am more determined than ever to create the safe and efficient public transportation system District residents deserve.

Jack Evans is the Ward 2 Councilmember, representing Georgetown since 1991.