Lack of dedicated funding is major cause of Metro’s woes, says stakeholder panel

Major stakeholders of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, or Metro) agreed at a March 23 National Press Club Newsmaker that dedicated funding for the transit system is critical in light of its ongoing operational, budgetary and governance problems.

The panelists — representing labor unions, the Metro board, media and the public — also weighed in on other issues affecting the nation’s second-busiest system by daily passengers, notably safety and leadership succession.

Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, a labor union of Metro employees, emphasized that the lack of dedicated, secure funding has hampered Metro’s ability to improve the system, maintain existing infrastructure and respond to safety and service issues.

Unlike some other transit operators, Metro must request funding every year from the D.C., Virginia, and Maryland governments.

“That is a driving force behind some of the woes that WMATA does have," Jeter said. "The improvements that need to be made, all of those cannot be made without money. There needs to be something to be carved out so that WMATA can exist without constantly having to beg every year for an increase in funds from jurisdictions in order to what it needs to do.”

These budget constraints have reduced Metro’s ability to provide service frequency to its customer base. Graham Jenkins, a D.C. resident and transit blogger, expressed concerns that service lags have undermined WMATA’s credibility as a transit organization. He cited long mid-day and weekend wait times as particular problems.

“As a transit agency, its duty first and foremost is to provide service and transport people, and that very core mission seems often to be the last thing on WMATA’s mind,” he said.

Tom Bulger, alternate director for the District of Columbia on the WMATA board of directors, outlined some of the other difficulties faced by Metro, including heightened expectations for what Metro could do given scarce resources and limited authority.
“You can’t ask Metro to do all these things absent a strong metropolitan planning organization,” Bulger said.

Bulger also outlined some of the initiatives that Metro is taking, including instilling a stronger safety culture. The agency has come under scrutiny following a safety incident in January that resulted in the death of a passenger.

Metro employees receive rigorous safety training, according to Bulger. He also noted that among other initiatives the transit agency has provided uniforms for station managers so that riders know whom to approach with safety concerns.

However, added Jeter, many safety initiatives originate from the top but are not implemented by lower level employees.

“There is more to developing the safety culture than just putting certain initiatives in place. You have to first build trust, not only with the riding public, but also with the employees who work for you,” she said.

The agency is also at a critical juncture in choosing new leadership. WMATA’s chief executive Richard Sarles retired in January and his successor has not yet been named.
David Alpert, editor and founder of Greater Greater Washington, a transit news source, said that Metro stakeholders, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metro board, are split over the kind of leader they want for the agency. He advocated for increased engagement with the public.

“Another career transit operator, for who this is the last stop on the road to retirement, is not going to shake up the deeply entrenched problems inside of the agency,” Alpert said. “On the other hand, a pure cost-cutter without a good barometer for what is and isn’t important in transportation could also sacrifice service at the altar of the bottom line.

"To ensure that an outsider changes the right things, riders need to be involved.”