Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans urged the federal government this week to seize control of the capital region’s failing transportation system, penning another chapter in the never-ending saga, “Just How Bad Does Metro Suck?”
Federal control is total surrender and an admission of defeat. Mr. Evans is conceding that Metro needs a massive bailout and a complete restructuring that only a federal takeover with “extraordinary powers†(and deep pockets) can accomplish. Metro is in a death spiral, and our local leaders are in dangerous denial.
Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL), chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets bluntly stated federal funding would not be forthcoming. “Absolutely not,†he said, “It’s a very prosperous region. The local governments can certainly help.â€
“…local governments can certainly help.†Is that another Metro railcar burning, or do I smell a tax increase?
Since 2010, Metro ridership has declined 12% (100,000 trips per day). If proposed fare increases are implemented, Metro projects an additional drop of 10,000,000 trips per year. Metro has an annual operating deficit of $290M (tax increase). Their unfunded pension liability is $2.8B (big tax increase). Projected additional needed capital funding is $12B-$18B (really big tax increase).
In July ’12 the Loudoun Board of Supervisors foolishly voted to become a funding partner to Metro. Loudoun couldn’t have picked a worse time to partner with this failing system that suffers from unreliable service, eye-popping debt, plummeting ridership, and whose passengers are killed by derailments, train fires, and common thugs. The Loudoun County Mensa Club agreed to fund 4.8% of a system that is roughly $20 BILLION in the hole.
Officials are whistling past the railyard graveyard. Beholden to developer promises of grandeur, they continue to focus on the sizzle of shiny new Metro stations while ignoring the probable actual costs, the possibility that Metro tax districts will underperform, and the potentially economically devastating proposal to cut service to suburbs leaving new Loudoun stations with few or no trains.
All NOVA readers be warned. Expect attempts to raise our already high property taxes to temporarily appease the insatiable appetite of the Metro beast even as it writhes in its throes of death. DC mayor Muriel Bowser (D-DC) already proposed a regional 1% sales “metro tax†and, additionally, DC is floating a proposal for jurisdictions to double their contributions. These taxes are in addition to Virginia’s record high “transportation tax†enacted just a few years ago.
Reject all Metro taxes.
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From today’s WAPO: “In an apparent effort to pressure Virginia and its suburbs to contribute more money to Metro, a board member said Tuesday that he will ask the agency to consider canceling the $5.8 billion Silver Line extension, which is expected to open in 2020.”
Anyone interested in Metro should read this. Basically, it says they need to raise taxes or they threaten to cancel the Silver Line. From WAPO, “Metro board member suggests killing Silver Line in apparent bid to pressure Va.”
Again, “Reject all Metro taxes.”
Monorail
https://youtu.be/ZDOI0cq6GZM
Life imitates art!!!!!! That about sums up the whole system.
Metro is a company which is organized under an interstate compact, involving VA, DC, and MD. Metro started with buses, and they did that by absorbing (buying out) 3 privately owned companies: 1) DC Transit, primarily centered on DC routes/stops, 2) AB&W, primarily centered on VA routes/stops, and 3) WV&M, primarily centered on MD routes/stops. Metro’s problems require an intervention which would use the Bankruptcy Court system. In the reorganization (chapter 11), Metro ought to be split into 3 companies: one for VA, one for DC, and one for MD. That way, each company would have the oversight of its own jurisdiction, and each company would have a clear profit and loss responsibility. You wanted more stops? You get to pay for them. Each jurisdiction should contribute based upon the number of stops they have, even after the inevitable Bankruptcy
I also foresee bankruptcy in WMATA’s future. Nobody is willingly going to take over a system that needs $20B. My best guess is that WMATA is delaying the inevitable (bankruptcy) so that they and MWAA can complete the Silver Line. If they declare bankruptcy now, creditors won’t buy MWAA’s Metro bonds. Once the Silver Line in complete, they will go belly up and everyone takes a haircut.
But, to your point, what do you do post-bankruptcy? The current “system” does not function and you need a re-born WMATA that can actually do the job. Dividing it up sounds like a viable idea.
Yeah. I agree. Let’s shut Metro down and get all of those riders back on the road. After all, our traffic situation is easily manageable and our roads can accommodate another several hundred thousand cars. No big deal.
The point is, there are cheaper and better methods of transportation than Metro. Buses do a much better job at a fraction of the cost. At a minimum, Metro should not be expanded. That’s just throwing good money after bad. Prince William County was wise to not sign on to the disaster that is metro. Loudoun was not wise and stuck the county with this antiquated form of transportation.
Expanding metro has never helped traffic problems but only made them worse. Have you been to Vienna or Tysons Corner lately? What a mess. Metro encourages more development which just means more traffic and more need for infrastructure. And guess who gets stuck with those bills for more schools, fire stations, libraries, parks and other services? We the taxpayers.
I think – given our preposterous immigration policy which is filling our country up and historically unprecedented and unsustainable levels – we would have development anyway. But you are correct. Metro does encourage development. I had not considered that.
I think the answer is to shrink Metro down to its inner, dense urban core. Running lines out to the suburbs is a money loser and I believe the main reason it was done was because of developer influence so they could buy land and flip it for profits. Suburbs should be serviced by more cost effective buses with flexible routing that can adapt to the suburban landscape as it grows.
System needs an extensive audit and corrupt leaders who’ve had their fingers in the till need to go to jail.
Sadly, probably nothing will happen until there’s some major disaster or failure.