Metro proposes a budget that would slash bus and train service, devastating transit in the region

A draft budget unveiled by Metro on Monday would eliminate rail service on weekends, cut trains to run only every half hour, and slash bus service in half from pre-pandemic levels. The agency has a $500 million dollar hole in its budget to fill, and no forthcoming savior in Congress.

https://t.co/lKQnsBNcHX#wmata says they’ll need to cut $494.5 million next near - in addition to this years’ cuts - to balance their budget. pic.twitter.com/6IHgzLXvaz

— Metro Reasons (@MetroReasons) December 1, 2020

Metro staff and its Board of Directors are beginning discussions for the agency’s next fiscal year which begins next July 1 and runs through June 30, 2022. The budget is bleak, at best. Metro estimates they’ll have a $1.681 billion deficit during the year, but will only be able to account for $1.186 billion through subsidies provided by local jurisdictions, leaving a $494.5 million hole the agency is required to fill.

The budget deficit isn’t surprising; Metro said in September it was likely going to have to cut between $379 million and $569 million from its FY22 budget, depending on how ridership recovery during the pandemic went. Rider fare revenue, most of which comes from the rail side, is down drastically compared to before.

The Metro Board voted in September to cut $212 million from the agency’s current fiscal budget which ends June 30, 2021, but those cuts even aren’t enough given sustained low ridership through FY22.

Even if this is the tone-setter to kick off discussions, this is not the starting point you want to negotiate from

— Faiz Siddiqui (@faizsays) December 1, 2020

How Metro plans to cut costs

Metro’s proposed budget does three main things to reduce spending:

• Cut $55.9 million in costs by reducing contractor spending, deferring wage increases, and employee buyouts/early retirements.
• Shift $160 million of preventative maintenance funding from the operating budget to the capital budget (a different pot of money). Metro says this move would be temporary and “unsustainable,” but would “reduce the magnitude of devastating service reductions”
• Cut bus and rail service
  • Bus service on 41 routes would see less service, leaving 60 lines “fully or partially [covered]”
  • Metro proposes that all weekend rail service be cut - no service on Saturdays or Sundays
  • The rail system would close at 9pm during the week; 5 am openings would remain
  • Silver Line trains would run only between Ashburn (scheduled to open July 1) and Ballston, rather than running all the way to Largo
  • 19 rail stations would be closed; these are likely the same 19 which were closed earlier during the pandemic

A call for federal relief

DC’s Mayor Bowser issued a brief statement late Monday, calling on Congress to “come together to save Metro.”

Mayor Bowser Statement on WMATA FY2022 Budget Proposal pic.twitter.com/62OTG0B5og

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 1, 2020

Transit agencies have been asking for additional funding from Congress for months, though none appears to be immediately in the pipeline. Metro received $767 million in CARES Act funding in May which meant the agency didn’t have to lay off workers, but that money is running out. A Twitter thread from Transit Center, a public transit advocacy organization, notes agencies across the country are preparing to slash service to close holes in their budget.

The Metro Board is expected to discuss the draft budget on Friday, December 4. A final budget, after allowing for a public comment period, will likely be approved around March for the changes to take effect in July.

What stands out to you the most in the proposed budget?