RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is calling on the Biden administration to bring back in-person work for federal employees. Back in December, Youngkin wrote a letter to the Office of Personnel Management urging the administration to mandate and enforce a full return-to-work policy in an effort to boost Metro's ridership. Now he's asking again.
Virginia's recently signed budget includes state dollars to help the transit system's budget gap — something that initially was not included in the governor's proposal.
Metro says ridership is up from last year, but still has not reached pre-pandemic levels.
"Let me just be clear, I think one of the top priorities is to get Joe Biden to bring back the federal workforce so that the ridership returns to Metro," Youngkin said. "It's such a big part of Metro ridership — folks who live in Virginia commuting into D.C. He's got to get them back to work."
Youngkin said he has also spoken with Metro General Manager Randy Clarke about conducting a comprehensive review of Metro's cost structure.
"I think they understand the merits of that," Youngkin said.
The governor is not the only one pushing for a return to work for federal workers. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued similar calls as well.
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