A rainy night at the Takoma Metro by Jordan Barab licensed under Creative Commons.

Riders, the public, and elected officials are being asked to weigh in as the Metro’s Board of Directors considers how to close a major hole in the agency’s budget caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Metro’s Chief Financial Officer says the agency needs to cut $212 million from the agency’s $2 billion budget and will have to significantly cut service to do so.

Metro financial budgets run from July 1 to June 30, and are typically approved in the springtime. The Coronavirus pandemic turned the current FY2021 budget upside down, and could affect budgets for years to come. Proposed cuts to this years’ budget are large enough that the agency was required to hold a public hearing and gather public comments before proceeding.

COVID-19 and associated reductions in transportation demand have placed dramatic constraints on an already tight budget. Metrorail, which generates 81% of the agency’s fare revenue, has sustained a deeper and more prolonged ridership drop than Metrobus.

Metrorail ridership is still down about 85% compared to the same time last year, whereas Metrobus ridership never dropped as far and is currently sitting at a nearly 60% ridership drop compared to the same time last year. In numbers, an average of 86,000 rail trips were taken each weekday last week, while 187,000 bus trips were taken on average over that same period.

Proposed Metro service cuts. Image from WMATA.

In total, the agency says it will need to cut $212 million from this year’s budget, assuming that no more Federal CARES act funding will be made available any time soon. The agency is also assuming that local jurisdictions, which contribute to the budget and subsidize service, will have no additional money to provide while dealing with their own budget crises created by the pandemic.

Metro says it found ways to save $30 million by deferring projects in the capital budget and outlined $42.6 million in “management actions” including some furloughs and layoffs, but says they’ll need to cut the remaining $139.4 million from Metrobus/Metrorail service.

Proposed budget cuts

Metro staff generated four proposals for how to cut Metrorail service, and one for Metrobus. The proposed service cuts total $159.8 million, $20 million more than what the agency says is necessary to cut, so public input will help the agency choose which cuts to implement.

On the rail side, the agency is proposing four main cuts:

  • “Standardize Weekday Rail Service Frequencies” - the agency is proposing to cut rail service on all lines. On the Red Line, trains would arrive every 6 minutes during weekdays at all times; on the other five lines, trains would be cut back to run every 12 minutes all day.

Trains would be cut back from running every 12 minutes to every 15 on Saturdays (12min on the Red Line) and only Red Line train service would be cut back on Sundays from 6 minutes to every 7.5 minutes.

Cuts here would save up to $29.7 million, but would also come at the expense of 493 Metro employee jobs.

  • “Implement Turnbacks on the Red Line” - Half of all weekday trains on the Red Line would run only between Grosvenor and Silver Spring, bringing back the turnbacks which Metro eliminated in July 2019. Trains would run every 6 minutes between Silver Spring and Grosvenor, and every 12 minutes out to the ends of the line at Shady Grove and Glenmont.
  • “Implement Turnbacks on the Yellow Line” - All Yellow Line trains both on weekdays and weekends would terminate at Mt. Vernon Square instead of running all the way north to Greenbelt. The combination of this and the earlier Red Line turnback option could save $2.8 million, according to Metro.
  • “Close Rail Earlier Sunday Through Thursday” - Under this proposal, Metrorail would close at 9 pm on Sunday through Thursday, and 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. The rail system under the normal budget is scheduled to close at midnight from Monday through Thursday, 1 am on Friday and Saturday, and 11 pm on Sunday, but currently closes at 11 pm every day of the week in this phase of its Coronavirus recovery plan.

Metro says closing early and reducing service by 10 hours per week could save up to $5.5 million.

The 11Y bus line by MW Transit Photos licensed under Creative Commons.

On Metrobus, the agency’s plan is to maintain bus service at its currently-reduced schedule. The “August service plan” provides about 75% of pre-pandemic bus service to riders, according to Metro, but leaves some routes suspended. Keeping bus service in its reduced state would save the agency $62.6 million, according to its estimates, and cut 876 jobs.

Under the Metrobus proposal, the routes currently suspended would be eliminated and reduced service on other routes would become the new normal. Some of the cuts include late-night service, in which “All trips (on all lines) starting after 12 am will be discontinued.” Forty routes are up for elimination.

Riders are facing even more cuts next year

The $212 in cuts this year are just the beginning. Three scenarios outlined by Metro’s finance team estimate that no more than half of all riders will return to the system by the end of the next Fiscal Year, which ends in June 2022. At worst, system ridership remains low and only 25% of riders return.

Metro funding gap. Image from WMATA.

Under the “best case” scenario, Metro’s budget shortfall for next year is estimated to be $167 million. The “worst case” scenario says the shortfall will be $345 million - almost half of all Metro fare revenue. Both of these estimates already include savings the agency will realize by making the current FY21 cuts proposed (above), and additional drastic reductions to service or budget savings would need to be implemented.

Riders can weigh in until October 19

Through the required public input process, riders can give Metro their feedback on the proposed service cuts up until 9 am Monday, October 19. Additional details about the service cuts can be found here.

The Metro Board is expected to vote on the FY21 cuts likely next month. The cuts will go into effect in January.

Stephen Repetski is a Virginia native and has lived in the Fairfax area for over 20 years. He has a BS in Applied Networking and Systems Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and works in Information Technology. Learning about, discussing, and analyzing transit (especially planes and trains) is a hobby he enjoys.