The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the
Washington metropolitan area
The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...
. WMATA was created by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
as an
interstate compact
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
between
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the
State
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
WMATA provides
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
service under the
Metrorail
METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...
name, fixed-route bus service under the
Metrobus brand, and
paratransit
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
service under the
MetroAccess
MetroAccess is a shared-ride public transportation service for individuals in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area who are unable to use fixed-route public transit due to disability. It is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authori ...
brand. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
The authority is also part of a
public–private partnership
A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...
that operates the
DC Circulator
The DC Circulator is a bus system in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Department of Transportation operates the service in a public–private partnership with RATP Dev.
The DC Circulator buses are similar to shuttle buses since they op ...
bus system. WMATA has its own police force, the
Metro Transit Police Department
The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) is the transit police agency of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), created by the WMATA Compact on June 4, 1976.
The MTPD is unique in U.S. law enforcement as it is the only U. ...
.
The authority's board of directors consists of two voting representatives each from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and the U.S. federal government. Each jurisdiction also appoints two alternate representatives. WMATA has no independent taxation authority and depends on its member jurisdictions for capital investments and operating subsidies.
In addition to ongoing operations, WMATA participates in regional
transportation planning
Transportation planning is the process of defining future policies, goals, investments, and spatial planning designs to prepare for future needs to move people and goods to destinations. As practiced today, it is a collaborative process that i ...
. Recent projects include an
extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, and
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
lines
in the District and Northern Virginia.
History
Planning and creation
Starting in the mid-19th century, the Washington area had been served by a variety of private bus lines and
streetcar services, including extensions of
Northern Virginia trolleys
The earliest electric railway, or streetcar line, in Northern Virginia opened in 1892. At their peak, when merged into a single interurban system (the Washington-Virginia Railway), the successors of this and several other lines ran between d ...
. Over time, most were absorbed into the Capital Transit Company, formed on December 1, 1933, by the amalgamation of the Washington Railway, Capital Traction, and Washington Rapid Transit. Financier
Louis Wolfson
Louis Elwood Wolfson (January 28, 1912 – December 30, 2007) was an American financier, a convicted felon, and one of the first modern corporate raiders, labeled by ''Time'' as such in a 1956 article.[O. Roy Chalk
Oscar Roy Chalk (June 7, 1907 – December 1, 1995) was a New York entrepreneur who owned real estate, airlines, bus companies, newspapers and a rail line that hauled bananas in Central America. His diverse holdings included DC Transit, Trans Cari ...]
on the condition that he replace the city's remaining streetcars with buses by 1963. The company was thereafter known as DC Transit.
In that same year, the Mass Transportation Survey attempted to forecast both freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of the Washington area in the year 1980. In 1959 the study's final report called for the construction of two rapid transit subway lines in downtown Washington. Congress responded to the report by enacting the National Capital Transportation Act of 1960 to coordinate future transportation planning for the area. The act created a new federal agency called the
National Capital Transportation Agency The National Capital Transportation Agency (NCTA) was created in 1960 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to comprehensively plan different modes of transportation in the Washington, D.C. area. John F. Kennedy appointed Darwin Stolzenbach as adminis ...
(NCTA). However, the 1959 report also called for extensive freeway construction within the District of Columbia. Residents successfully lobbied for a moratorium on freeway construction in what became part of a movement called the "
freeway revolts
Highway revolts (also freeway revolts, expressway revolts, or road protests) are organized protests against the planning or construction of highways, freeways, expressways, and other civil engineering projects that favor vehicles.
Many freeway r ...
."
The NCTA's November 1962 ''Transportation in the National Capital Region'' report included a proposal for an 89-mile (143 km), $793 million rail system. The total cost of the proposed highway and rail system was less than the 1959 plan due to the elimination of controversial freeways. The plan was supported by President Kennedy, but opposed by highway advocates in Congress who reduced the rail system to only within the District of Columbia. However, that proposal was defeated in Congress shortly after President Kennedy's death. The
Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964
The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 (, USC Title 49, Chapter 5 provided $375 million for large-scale urban public or private rail projects in the form of matching funds to cities and states. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now t ...
passed Congress, which promised 66% federal funding for urban mass transportation projects. Encouraged by the new act, the NCTA recommended the formation of a private entity or a multi-state authority to operate the system using more non-federal funds. On September 8, 1965, President Johnson signed the National Capital Transportation Act of 1965 approving the construction of a rapid transit system.
The NCTA negotiated with Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia for the formation of a new regional entity. The authority was created by an
interstate compact
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
, a special type of contract or agreement between one or more states. Pursuant to the
Compact Clause
Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Sena ...
of the U.S. Constitution, any such compact must be approved by Congress. After the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact was approved by the
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...
in 1965, and passed through the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...
and Congress in 1966, WMATA was founded on February 20, 1967.
As a government agency, the compact grants WMATA sovereign immunity by all three jurisdictions in which it operates, and except for certain limited exceptions, the authority cannot be successfully sued unless it waives immunity. Under the provisions of the compact, the authority is legally incorporated in the District of Columbia, where WMATA maintains its headquarters.
Metro construction and operation
WMATA broke ground for its train system in 1969.
The first portion of the Metrorail system opened March 27, 1976, connecting Farragut North to Rhode Island Avenue on the Red Line.
The of the original 83-station system was completed on January 13, 2001, with the opening of Green Line's segment from Anacostia to Branch Avenue.
WMATA's bus system is a successor to four privately owned bus companies. While WMATA's original compact provided only for rail service, by 1970 the need for reliable bus services to connect passengers to rail stations led to calls for authority to overhaul the entire bus system as well. The compact was amended in 1971, allowing the authority to operate buses and take over bus companies. After months of negotiation with Chalk failed to produce an agreed price, on January 14, 1973, WMATA condemned DC Transit and its sister company, the Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company and acquired their assets for $38.2 million.
On February 4, it acquired the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Transit Company, which operated in
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
, and the WMA Transit Company of
Prince George's County
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
for $4.5 million.
While AB&W and WMA Transit were in better financial condition than DC Transit, their owners did not wish to compete with a publicly owned bus system, and requested a takeover.
In 1979, an organization known as Metro 2001, Inc., planned to write a history of the development of the Metro system for WMATA using such documents as Congressional hearing transcripts, correspondence, and maps. However, this plan, known as the Metro History Project, was abandoned in 1985, and materials that had been collected up until that point (1930-1984) were donated to
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
. This collection of materials is currently under the care of GWU's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin
Gelman Library
The Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, more commonly known as Gelman Library, is the main library of The George Washington University, and is located on its Foggy Bottom campus. The Gelman Library, the Eckles Library on the Mount Vernon campus ...
.
In 1998, Congress changed the name of the Washington National Airport to the
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
, though the law did not allocate money to implement the name change. As a result, WMATA did not change the name of the National Airport station (which never included the full name of the airport). In response to repeated inquiries from Republican congressmen that the station be renamed, WMATA stated that stations are renamed only at the request of the local jurisdiction. Since both Arlington County and the District of Columbia were controlled by Democrats, the name change was blocked. Finally, in 2001, Congress made changing the station's name a condition of further federal funding.
Impacts of the Great Recession
In response to a demand for immediate repayment of a $43 million debt, WMATA sought a temporary restraining order against the
KBC Bank Group. KBC claimed that the WMATA was in technical default of a contract following the collapse of
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
, which had guaranteed the loan that KBC made to WMATA in 2002. The contract involved the sale to KBC of WMATA's rail cars, which were then leased back to WMATA. The transit agency asked for an injunction from the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...
on October 29, 2008.
After three days of negotiations in federal court, Judge
Rosemary M. Collyer
Rosemary Mayers Collyer (born November 19, 1945) is an inactive Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia,
and a Judge of the United States Fo ...
announced a settlement on November 14, 2008. WMATA had 14 similar lease agreements with other financial institutions when the KBC case went to trial. Waivers were requested from the banks to allow WMATA time to replace AIG with another insurer or guarantees by the federal government.
In 2009, WMATA issued two new series of municipal bonds bringing its total outstanding bonds to $390.9 million, as of June 30, 2010. This includes $55 million of
Build America Bonds Build America Bonds are taxable municipal bonds that carry special tax credits and federal subsidies for either the bond issuer or the bondholder. Build America Bonds were created under Section 1531 of Title I of Division B of the American Recovery ...
issued in 2009 under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
that are partially subsidized by the federal government.
However, most of the system's debt is financed directly by each local jurisdiction. In addition, WMATA was authorized to receive $202 million in grants from the federal government for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects. The funds are spent in 30 projects which include information technology, facilities maintenance, and vehicles and vehicle parts.
On January 14, 2010, General Manager John B. Catoe announced his resignation from Metro, effective April 2, 2010. He was replaced on April 3, 2010, by Interim General Manager Richard Sarles.
Sarles became one of three finalists interviewing for the permanent position, and later became the permanent General Manager on January 27, 2011.
Jack Requa became the Interim General Manager upon Sarles' retirement January 16, 2015.
Organization
Board of directors
WMATA was originally set up with a
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, of twelve members. Of those, six were voting members, and six were alternates. In response to the
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008
The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (orinally , passed as division B of ) is a law that reauthorized Amtrak and authorized the United States Department of Transportation to provide grants for operating costs and capital expens ...
, the WMATA Compact was amended on August 19, 2009, to allow the appointment of four additional board members by the federal government, bringing the total to sixteen.
, there were a total of sixteen board members: eight voting members and eight alternates. Virginia, Maryland, and the District had each appointed two voting members and two alternate members. The Federal Government, through the
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
, is authorized to appoint up to two voting and two alternate members, but had appointed just two voting and one alternate members.
Board members serve without pay, but may be reimbursed for actual expenses. The board appoints a General Manager as CEO to supervise the day-to-day operation of the Authority. Under the terms of the "Procedures for WMATA Board of Directors", none of the individual board members, including the chairman, have any power to act regarding the operations of the Authority or to issue instructions to the General Manager or employees; only the entire board as a body has the power to instruct the General Manager.
It states, "The authority of the Board of Directors is vested in the collective body and not in its individual Members. Accordingly, the Board, in establishing or providing any policies, orders, guidance, or instructions to the General Manager or WMATA staff, shall act as a body. No Member individually shall direct or supervise the General Manager or any WMATA employee or contractor."
The board approves WMATA's annual budget. The budget is approximately $3.1 billion in fiscal year 2019. In fiscal year 2019, 40.3% of revenues came from capital contributions, 23.2% from passenger revenues, 31.7% from local jurisdiction operating subsidies, 3.5% from interest income, 1.6% from advertising revenue, 0.9% from rental revenue, and 0.2% from other sources.
The WMATA board has the following standing committees: Executive, Finance and Capital, Capital & Strategic Planning, and Safety and Operation.
The position of board chairman rotates between the three jurisdictions. Article III Section 5 of the Compact specifies the method of appointment. The Compact prohibits WMATA from paying board members. However, Maryland pays its voting board members $20,000 per year and Virginia pays $50 per meeting. The District of Columbia does not compensate its board members.
On February 17, 2011, outgoing 2010–11 WMATA Board Chairman Peter Benjamin announced he was leaving the board and will be replaced by former Congressman Michael D. Barnes
Michael Darr Barnes (born September 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician who represented the eighth district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987.
Early life
Born in Washington, D.C. to John P. Ba ...
. On that date, the new Governance Committee of the WMATA board, which is chaired by Mary Hynes, held its first meeting and established a work plan to develop a new relationship between the board and WMATA management. The committee will draft new bylaws that will better define the role and term of the WMATA Board Chairman. The Governance Committee will also draft a code of conduct for board members.
Management
The General Manager is the chief executive officer of WMATA and leads all staff except that the General Counsel, Inspector General, and Board Secretary, who report directly to the board. WMATA has a Chief Safety Officer which reports to the general manager. The safety of the system is independently reviewed by the Tri-State Oversight Committee and the National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
. On March 4, 2010, the Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
issued an ''Audit of the State Safety Oversight (SSO) program overseeing Metro'' which criticised the SSO as being underfunded and poorly trained. In response, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia have increased their SSO funding and training for their employees responsible for safety oversight at Metro.
Jackson Graham, a retired general in the Army Corps of Engineers who supervised the planning and initial construction of the Metrorail system, was the first general manager. Graham retired in 1976, and was replaced by Theodore C. Lutz. Richard S. Page, head of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (the name of the Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
until 1991), took over as general manager of WMATA in 1979. Page resigned in 1983, amid increasing financial difficulties for WMATA. and was replaced by Carmen E. Turner
Carmen E. Turner (1931 - April 9, 1992) was an American administrator who served as Under Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro).
Turner was the first African-Amer ...
, who served for seven years. Former New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...
chief, David L. Gunn
David L. Gunn (born June 21, 1937) is a transportation system administrator who has headed several significant railroads and transit systems in North America. He was director of operations of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA ...
, took over as head of WMATA in 1991, followed by Lawrence G. Reuter in 1994, and Richard A. White in 1996.
White led efforts to improve accountability and dialogue with passengers during 2005. This included independent audits, town hall meetings, online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet that offers a real-time text, real-time transmission of text-based, text messages from sender to receiver. Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other participa ...
s with White and other management officials, and improved signage in stations. White had three more years in his contract to work for Metro, but had come under fire for mismanagement; however, he was also "widely credited with saving the Metrobus system from collapse and with keeping Metro running during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." Despite these efforts, however, the Board of Directors dismissed White on January 11, 2006. Dan Tangherlini
Daniel Mark Tangherlini (born 1967) is an American government official who currently serves as a Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, Governor of the United States Postal Service. He served as administrator of the United States ...
replaced White as interim General Manager, effective February 16, 2006.
Tangherlini was considered a leading candidate for Metro's top job on a permanent basis before he resigned to work as D.C. City Administrator under Mayor Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray ...
. On November 6, 2006, Tangherlini was replaced as interim general manager by Jack Requa, Metro's chief bus manager. John B. Catoe Jr.
John B. Catoe, Jr. is the former general manager of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from 2007 to 2010. He was sworn in on January 27, 2007, replacing Jack Requa, the acting General Manager. Catoe was born and raised in a low-inco ...
, who was previously the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angele ...
, became the agency's eighth permanent General Manager on January 25, 2007. He resigned three years later following the deadliest crash in the Metrorail system's history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
.
On April 3, 2010, the Board of Directors appointed Richard Sarles, former Executive Director of New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
, as interim General Manager. Sarles, 65, was offered the position of permanent General Manager but declined the appointment at that time. However, on January 27, 2011, the Board announced that Sarles accepted the position as WMATA's permanent General Manager.
With Sarles' retirement, the post of General Manager was filled by Paul Wiedefeld on November 30, 2015.
On January 18, 2022, WMATA announced that Paul Wiedefeld would be retiring from Metro in 6 months and WMATA's Board Of Directors will be conducting a national search for his replacement. On May 10, 2022, WMATA announced that current president and CEO of Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, officially stylized as CapMetro, is a public transportation provider located in Austin, Texas. It operates bus, paratransit services and a commuter rail system known as the Capital MetroRail in A ...
Randy Clarke as its new General Manager and CEO beginning in summer 2022. On May 16, 2022, Wiedefeld announced he will retire early with Andy Off being the interim General Manager.
Regional coordination
The agency's charter directs WMATA to create a unified regional transit system by coordinating other public and private agencies within its jurisdiction. Examples of its coordination efforts include: reducing unnecessary, duplicate services by other local transit systems, providing "SmarTrip
SmarTrip is a contactless stored-value smart card payment system managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) uses a compatible payment system called CharmCard. A reciprocity ag ...
" farecards for buses operated by other local transit agencies, and adding local bus schedules and commuter rail routes (such as Maryland's MARC Marc or MARC may refer to:
People
* Marc (given name), people with the first name
* Marc (surname), people with the family name
Acronyms
* MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging,
* MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...
and Virginia's VRE) to WMATA's online "Trip Planner" guide.
Transit Police
Congress established the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) on June 4, 1976. MTPD police officers have jurisdiction and arrest powers for crimes that occur throughout the Transit Zone that includes Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Inspector general
The Office of Inspector General was originally authorized by Board Resolution 2006–18, approved by the WMATA Board on April 20, 2006. With the amendments enacted on August 19, 2009, the Office of Inspector General became part of the WMATA Compact. This change was one of the requirements for the $1.5 billion federal grant offered by the ''Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008''. Helen Lew became the Metro's first Inspector General
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
on May 14, 2007, establishing the WMATA Office of Inspector General. Her appointment by the Board of Directors replaced the former Auditor General's Office. On April 17, 2017, Geoffrey Cherrington replaced Lew, who retired, as Inspector General, Unlike the Auditor General, the Inspector General and his office report directly to the Board and are organizationally independent of WMATA management.
Services
Metrorail
Since opening in 1976, the Metrorail network has grown to include six lines, 97 stations, and 129 miles (208 km) of track. It is the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States in number of passenger trips, after the New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
and Chicago "L"
The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid tr ...
. The record for daily ridership was 1.12 million on January 20, 2009, the day of Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's first Presidential Inauguration, followed by the Women's March Women's March may refer to:
* Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris
* Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London
* Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C.
* Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...
on January 21, 2017, with 1,001,613 trips. In 2016, Metrorail had nearly 180 million trips. Fares vary based on the distance traveled and the time of day. Riders enter and exit the system using a proximity card
A proximity card or prox card also known as a key card or keycard is a contactless smart card which can be read without inserting it into a reader device, as required by earlier magnetic stripe cards such as credit cards and contact type sma ...
known as SmarTrip
SmarTrip is a contactless stored-value smart card payment system managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) uses a compatible payment system called CharmCard. A reciprocity ag ...
. SmarTrip cards can also be used on a smartphone through Apple Pay and Google Pay. Magnetic stripe tickets stopped being accepted on March 6, 2016. Metrorail's frequency of service and fares vary depending on the available subsidy, the particular transit line, and the distance traveled.
Metro offers parking for commuters at 44 Metrorail stations. Most lots are on a first-come, first-served basis and fill up quickly each day. Thirty-six stations offer reserved parking, with customers purchasing permits to park in specified spaces. Four Metrorail stations (Greenbelt, Huntington, Franconia–Springfield, and Wiehle-Reston East) have spaces reserved for multi-day parking for up to ten days. Parking fees are paid by SmarTrip card or credit card. Cash payments are not accepted for parking fees.
Metroway
Metroway
Metroway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as part of their Metrobus system. It consists of a single line operating in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It opened on Aug ...
is a bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
(BRT) service that began on August 24, 2014. The first phase is the Crystal City/Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line / Yellow Line tracks ...
Transitway, which operates on Route 1 in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It is a corridor with 33 platforms and 20 stations located between and . The first 0.8 mile segment in Alexandria runs on a transit lane only. The Arlington County segment began construction in the summer of 2014 and opened April 17, 2016. Metroway originally operated between the Braddock Road and stations and was expanded to Pentagon City in April 2016. Thirteen 2016 New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 CNG buses (2981–2993) operate with the blue-and-white Metroway livery. The original Metroway fleet consisted of thirteen 2014 NABI 42 BRT diesel-electric hybrid buses (8002–8014) until they were all repainted in December 2016. The Metroway service, which is operated by Metrobus' Four Mile Run bus division, features dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, real-time information, custom designed shelters and stations, as well as near-level boarding at station platforms. A Metroway fare costs the same as Metrobus, which is $2.00 (using cash & SmarTrip).
Metrobus
Metrobus' fleet consists of 1,505 buses covering an area of in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. There are 269 bus routes serving 11,129 stops, including 2,554 bus shelters. Metrobus had 130.8 million trips in 2016. On a typical weekday, it provides more than 400,000 trips.
The route numbering represents its region of operation. To differ the regions numbering system, letters for Maryland routes appear before the route number and the ones for Virginia routes appear after it. For example, A12 serves Maryland, and 17M serves Virginia.
MetroAccess
MetroAccess is a paratransit service that WMATA provides through private contractors. It began operation in May 1994 and since that time annual ridership has grown from 200,000 to more than 2.4 million passengers. MetroAccess operates 365 days a year, providing door-to-door, shared rides reserved from one to seven days in advance. It is now the sixth-largest paratransit service in the United States with a fleet of more than 600 vehicles and more than 1,000 employees. WMATA staff determines eligibility to use the service in response to written applications. The cost per passenger for MetroAccess is significantly higher than its fixed-route counterparts, and Metro has worked to provide as many opportunities to encourage and facilitate the use of fixed-route transit by its customers with disabilities.
Art in transit
WMATA includes art works at stations and sometimes on the trains. Twenty-nine stations include artwork. Funding for the art comes from several sources, including the town in which the station is located, the WMATA art program, the Federal Transit Administration, local art groups, and some pieces are gifts or on loan.
A gallery of photos of the art works is shown here, on the WMATA web site. WMATA has asked riders to comment on the art in the stations, to guide choices on future art installations.
Funding
Fares and other revenue fund 57.6% of the Metro's daily operations while state and local governments fund the remaining 42.4%. Since the Metro's inception, the federal government has provided grants for 65% of the system's capital costs. Metrorail is unusual among major public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
systems in having no dedicated source of funding. Instead, each year WMATA must ask each local jurisdiction to contribute funding, which is determined by a formula that equally considers three factors:
# population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
, as of the 2000 Census;
# average weekday ridership;
# number of stations in each jurisdiction.
Under this formula, the District of Columbia contributes the greatest amount (37.5%), followed by Prince George's County (20.8%), Montgomery County (16.6%), Fairfax County (13.5%), and 11.6% from all other jurisdictions. From time to time, a local jurisdiction will agree to subsidize a specific fare, with the jurisdiction funding the cost of the subsidy in addition to its contribution under the above formula. For example, the District of Columbia subsidized the fares charged at Metrorail stations located in economically challenged neighborhoods.
The cost of Metrobus is allocated under a formula that considers the excess of expenses over revenues from specific bus routes. The cost of MetroAccess is allocated under a different formula, which divides MetroAccess costs by the number of trips requested by riders who reside in each jurisdiction.
In 2004 the Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
released a report entitled "Deficits by Design" that found the agency's serious budgetary challenges owe in large part to its problematic revenue base. Most notably, Brookings found that WMATA's extraordinary lack of dedicated funding sources has necessitated an over-reliance on annually appropriated support that makes the agency vulnerable to perennial financial crises. As a result, the region's political and business leaders created a committee to look at new ways to fund the system, including some type of dedicated tax.
Title VI of the ''Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008'', signed into law by President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on October 16, 2008, authorized a grant of $1.5 billion over a 10-year period for Metrorail capital maintenance projects. The grant was contingent upon the establishment of dedicated revenue sources for the Metro by the Compact jurisdictions. An amendment to the Metro's Compact on August 19, 2009, added the requirement for payments "from dedicated funding sources" by the Compact's participating jurisdictions. In June 2010, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convic ...
threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats, instead of the localities. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors agreed to provide matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to proceed with a contract to purchase 428 new Metrorail cars. McDonnell pressed for a Board seat again in 2011, and used his amendatory veto authority to amend the 2010-11 budget to require the NVTC to appoint someone of the Governor's choosing to fill one of the NVTC seats on the WMATA Board.
In the course of considering a continuing resolution for federal fiscal year 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives sought to defund all "earmarks" including the $150 million annual installment toward the $1.5 billion in federal matching funds. On February 16, 2011, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) offered an amendment to reallocate $150 million from farm subsidy payments to meet this obligation, but the amendment was ruled out of order. The suspension of the federal appropriation also calls into question the matching funds from the individual jurisdictions for capital projects. On March 1, 2010, Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convic ...
wrote to Congress urging the continuation of the federal funds. The continuing resolution for the remainder of 2011 ultimately included the federal matching funds.
On June 24, 2010, WMATA adopted a six-year capital spending plan totalling $5 billion. The plan is funded by the $3 billion from the 2008 Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and increased funding from the participating jurisdictions. The plan includes rebuilding much of its infrastructure for improved safety. The NTSB had recommended replacing Metrorail's oldest series of railcars as not crashworthy, and the spending plan would replace those cars.
The 57% funding of WMATA from fares and other revenue compares with New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
which receives 53% of its funding from fares and car tolls. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority receives of 31.8% of its funding from fares.
In an effort to gain revenues, WMATA has started to allow retail ventures in Metrorail stations. WMATA has authorized DVD-rental vending machines and ticket booths for the Old Town Trolley Tours and is seeking additional retail tenants.
The WMATA staff preliminary budget for 2011-12 shows an $89 million operating deficit. This deficit can be addressed by fare increases, service reductions, or increased subsidies from the participating local jurisdictions.
Controversy
Safety
In recent years, WMATA has drawn criticism for a neglect of safety in both its rail and bus systems. Problems include failures within the system designed to prevent train collisions and escalators failing or breaking apart while in service. The National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) has recommended that WMATA invest $1 billion in needed safety improvements. A December 2008 report by the WMATA Inspector General documented that Metro's System Safety and Risk Management Office was bypassed when changes were made to Metrorail's operating procedures, even though that office's review and approval was required as a matter of policy. On June 22, 2009, two Metrorail trains collided between the Takoma and Fort Totten Metro stations, killing nine. In February 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a public hearing during which witnesses testified about problems with the safety culture
Safety culture is the collection of the beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to risks within an organization, such as a workplace or community. Safety culture is a part of organizational culture, and has been describe ...
at WMATA. The NTSB's final report on the accident commented that " e failure of WMATA engineers and technicians or managers to properly address track circuit anomalies is symptomatic of the larger safety culture issues within the organization."
Safety concerns have grown to the point that the region's Congressional delegation introduced the "National Metro Safety Act of 2011," which would establish federal safety standards for heavy rail mass transit systems. In response, WMATA is replacing its track control system and ordered an immediate inspection of all of its escalators. That inspection showed that over 10 percent of the escalators had faulty brakes.
The service state of elevators and escalators is of public concern. WMATA posts a webpage that is updated daily to notify users of elevator and escalator outages. WMATA makes track announcements that contradict industry safety standards, encouraging passengers to "stay clear of moving parts", encouraging people to stand on one side, and slowing the operating speed, which has the effect of encouraging walking on the escalators.
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
cameras monitor every Metrobus and every Metrorail station.
Discrimination
There have been claims of discrimination within WMATA over the years. , the WMATA workforce is composed of people from the following demographic groups:
In 1990, Christine Townsend sued WMATA in the Washington federal district court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
on the basis of sexual discrimination. She won, with the court noting in the outcome of ''Townsend v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth.'' that the WMATA explanation had "many unexplained inconsistencies, irregularities, and holes".
Former Metro workers claim that WMATA consistently passes over non-black applicants or workers for employment or promotion.
In May 2015, the WMATA board voted to ban advocacy advertising after the American Freedom Defense Initiative
Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative, is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group ...
sought to purchase advertisements in five subway stations and on twenty buses depicting Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority previously attempted to deny similar anti-Islam ads by the AFDI, but had their decision successfully challenged in court, and subsequently voted to ban non-commercial advertising.
Future expansion
WMATA and its local jurisdictions developed a six-year, $5 billion "Capital Improvement Program" (CAP) which took effect on July 1, 2010, and expired on June 30, 2016. Under CAP, the local jurisdictions will fund capital projects (through the sale of municipal bonds) with matching funds provided by the federal government. CAP projects include purchasing new rail cars, rehabilitating three rail lines, replacing three bus garages, implementation of NTSB safety recommendations and purchasing new track maintenance equipment and overhauling Metrorail station elevators and escalators.
Metrorail's newest line was given the colour silver. The Silver Line's Phase I extended service to the Tysons Corner
Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...
area of Virginia, with further extension planned to Ashburn, Virginia. Phase I through Tysons Corner to Reston (at the Wiehle–Reston East station
Wiehle–Reston East (; preliminary names Wiehle Avenue, Reston–Wiehle Avenue) is a Washington Metro station in Fairfax County, Virginia on the Silver Line. Located in Reston, the station is situated alongside Reston Station, a mixed-use ur ...
) opened July 26, 2014, while Phase II to Ashburn, Virginia opened on November 15, 2022. Phase II includes a connection to Dulles International Airport. The Silver Line is financed through toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road
State Route 267 (SR 267) is a primary state highway in the US state of Virginia. It consists of two end-to-end toll roads – the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway – as well as the non-tolled Dulles Access Road, which lies in the ...
as well as a $900 million federal grant and a special taxing district on adjacent commercial properties. In contrast, a proposed new $270-million Potomac Yard station
Potomac Yard station is a Washington Metro station under construction in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The station will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), serving both the Blue and Yellow Lines, an ...
on the Blue and Yellow Lines north of Braddock Road is to be funded by a special taxing district that will cover commercial properties and perhaps residential properties as well. The station will be opened in early 2023.
There has also been speculation about an extension of the Green Line northward to Baltimore's BWI Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washingto ...
, There was also talk of extending the Green either to National Harbor
National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront devel ...
or to White Plains via Waldorf. An extension from Franconia/Springfield to Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...
is also a possibility due to the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...
process which relocated thousands of area defense jobs at Fort Belvoir in 2012. While there has been much discussion about all of these extensions, none are in any official planning stage. There as also been plans to extend the Orange Line to Centreville and Bowie.
Regarding Metrobus improvements, former General Manager Sarles reported, "Bus service will benefit from new technology that integrates fare box, destination signage and next bus systems to improve our reliability and customer information delivery. And, we will begin work in certain priority bus corridors that will deliver faster travel times for bus customers. Additionally, I look forward to working with the District of Columbia on potential bus rapid transit service improvements, such as curb running and signal preference to make bus service even more attractive, efficient, and an even more powerful antidote to traffic congestion."
Energy efficiency initiatives
WMATA reached an agreement in 2013 with the sustainable lighting division at Philips Electronics
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...
North America to switch to LEDs
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
at no upfront cost. WMATA and Philips agreed to a ten-year maintenance contract through the $2 million savings the LEDs will provide each year.
See also
*List of Washington, D.C. railroads
The following railroads operate or once operated in the District of Columbia.
Current railroads
Freight
* CSX Transportation (CSXT)
Passenger
* Amtrak (AMTK)
Commuter
* MARC Train (MARC)
* Virginia Railway Express (VREX)
* Washingt ...
*Washington Metro
The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,[Google Books search/preview ...](_blank)
*List of United States railroads
About 700 railroads operate common carrier freight service in the United States. There are about of railroad track in the United States, nearly all standard gauge.
Reporting marks are listed in parentheses. RailincSearch MARKs accessed Febru ...
*Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)
Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Its fleet consists of 1,595 buses covering an area of in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. There are 269 bus routes serving 11,129 stops, i ...
*MetroAccess
MetroAccess is a shared-ride public transportation service for individuals in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area who are unable to use fixed-route public transit due to disability. It is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authori ...
*SmarTrip
SmarTrip is a contactless stored-value smart card payment system managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) uses a compatible payment system called CharmCard. A reciprocity ag ...
– payment system for use of Metro transportation and Metro parking
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Library holdings of books, maps, etc, relating to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
Guide To The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: Metro History Project Collection, 1930-1984, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
{{Coord, 38, 53, 52.2, N, 77, 1, 9.9, W, display=title
United States interstate agencies
Underground rapid transit in the United States
Transit authorities with natural gas buses
1967 establishments in Washington, D.C.