The Federal Transit Administration is withholding millions of dollars in funding for the troubled D.C. Metro system because of concerns over safety.
The FTA announced Friday that the agency will withhold 5 percent of fiscal year 2017 funds from D.C. Maryland and Virginia until a safety oversight program is established.
The agency said the D.C. mayor and the governors of the two states missed a deadline Wednesday to have a state safety oversight program, or SSOP, in place.
D.C. passed a bill to run the program, but Maryland and Virginia did not.
About $15 million could be withheld from the District and two states in fiscal year 2017, the FTA said in a statement.
Once the SSOP is established, the funds would be restored.
The FTA has had oversight over Metro since Oct. 2015, following multiple safety lapses.
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Metro said the agency will work to prevent any effects on riders.
"Federal formula dollars support Metro’s capital program, which is critical to the safety and maintenance of train and bus service," a spokesman said in a statement. "We will work closely with the funding jurisdictions to determine how best to make up the difference to avoid reducing safety or reliability projects."
This story has been updated from a previous version.
