WASHINGTON — For months, WMATA has warned about a $750 million deficit. Transit leaders have continually said they need additional funding from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to help fill the gap.
At a Thursday board meeting, leaders seemed optimistic they will get the needed money --a far departure from last June, when leaders warned of devastating cuts to the area's transit service.
“This is a clarion call to bring everyone to the table,” Board Chair Paul Smedberg said at the time.
In the 2024 legislative season, one by one the jurisdictions have answered that $750 million call.
"[DC’s leaders] said they were committing $200 million to making sure Metro was here,” Metro GM Randy Clarke said.
Next, the Maryland General Assembly agreed to add $150 million.
“On the Maryland side, the bill just got approved today on the House side,” Clarke explained.
But Virginia remains a questions mark.
“We remain optimistic,” Clarke said. “I think everyone agrees about the value of Metro.”
Over the weekend, the Virginia Senate Finance Committee released its budget with no additional Metro funding. The largest opposition to the funding has been the committee’s chairwoman, State Senator Louise Lucas, who has expressed concerns over the agency's oversight.
Now, Clarke and Smedberg are taking their case straight to Senator Lucas in Richmond.
“We feel very encouraged,” Smedberg said. “She did give us a lot of time. And she hasn’t granted a lot of meetings."
Next, the General Assembly will merge the Senate’s budget with the House of Delegates’ budget. The House budget does have $130 million slated for Metro.
“The next two weeks in Virginia are very important and the House has already passed something,” Semdberg explained.
The legilsation Smedberg referenced would give WMATA $480 million to start filling in the massive budget deficit, without widespread service cuts.
Even with the additional funding offered by D.C. and Maryland and what Virginia may offer, WMATA isn't fully closing the $750 million gao. According to Clarke the rest of the deficit would need to be made up through a series of service adjustments, fare increases and tapping into reserves.
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