Posts tagged Wmata Board
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Zimmerman leaving WMATA Board, bag checks starting
Today’s WMATA Board meeting revealed several surprises, both disappointing. Chris Zimmerman is stepping down from the board. Also, WMATA will begin random bag checks. Zimmerman, the member from Arlington for 13 years, was one of the best members, both in transit knowledge and in his responsiveness to riders. Apparently even fellow Board members were unaware of Zimmerman’s… Keep reading…
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Govs, Gray hastily jump on BOT’s WMATA bandwagon
Last night, following a conference call between Governors O’Malley (MD) and McDonnell (VA) and DC Mayor-Elect Vince Gray, a press release went out seeming to endorse the recommendations in the Board of Trade’s report on WMATA governance. The press release from the offices of the three executives seemed to endorse the report’s recommendations, including… Keep reading…
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Serious fixes for WMATA, part 4: Act regionally as a group
Do you have opinions on WMATA governance? Come talk about it at a public meeting tonight, 7 pm at WMATA HQ, 600 5th Street, NW. Also, the Board of Trade and MWCOG will release their report on WMATA governance this morning. It should be interesting to see what the group, co-chaired by DC Council Chair-elect Kwame Brown, has signed on to. Continuing our discussion of the RAC report on… Keep reading…
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Serious fixes for WMATA, part 3: Bring in the CEO
Previously, we discussed two of the six elements of the Riders’ Advisory Council’s report on WMATA governanace: setting high standards for Board members’ attendance and ridership, and the Board focusing on high-level policy. Another very important element of the recommendations is getting more of a CEO to run WMATA, and treating him or her like a CEO. WMATA… Keep reading…
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Serious fixes for WMATA, part 2: Set goals and policies
Besides appointing members who actually show up to meetings and ride transit, the WMATA Board can start fixing the authority’s problems by spending more time on high-level policies and performance metrics instead of trying to decide every individual small issue. One of the biggest criticisms of the Board has been that they micromanage the agency. Ironically, one of… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: With an eye to the future
Washington in 2040; Healthy Potomac needs more forests, less sprawl; Bipartisan proposal to raise gas tax; Bike sharing should be revenue neutral; Park Service limits public input; Transit riders save thousands; Behind the bag fee victory; Should we try strict liability?; And…. Keep reading…
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What can we seriously do to fix WMATA?
Everyone agrees WMATA has problems. Unfortunately, there are a lot more criticisms of the problems going around than actual solutions. That’s because solutions are hard. But if we’re going to actually fix WMATA, instead of just complaining about it, we need to seriously discuss how to fix what’s broken. Calling for all WMATA Board members to be lined… Keep reading…
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SmarTrips staying $5 for now; keep it, help riders other ways
The WMATA Board voted to “table” any decision on reducing the price of SmarTrips and allowing negative balances, which essentially means SmarTrips will stay at $5 for now, but the issue isn’t completely resolved. A few months ago, the Board voted to ask for the SmarTrip price to decline to $2.50. As we’ve by now covered ad nauseam, that was originally… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Doing more on the Mall
Hirshhorn considers garden excavation; Restore sanity and the Mall; MPD Chief has a sweet deal; Quick Complete Streets; BOEE e-voting not secure yet; NoVA will keep Board seats, for now; College towns top for bike commuting; Teacher diversity in Arlington Public Schools. Keep reading…
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McDonnell still pushing WMATA takeover, vote Thursday
It’s been many months since Governor Bob McDonnell made a play to take half of the Virginia seats on the WMATA Board away from Northern Virginia, but if you thought the issue was dead, it’s far from it. After deferring a vote three times, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) will decide whether to accept or reject the proposal on Thursday night. Keep… Keep reading…