Metro (WMATA)

Metro Board, GM Meet to Discuss Proposed Budget Amid Station Shootings

Ridership has been increasing, especially with the Silver Line extension, but not to pre-pandemic levels

NBC Universal, Inc.

The Metro Board of Directors and Metro General Manager Randy Clarke met Thursday to discuss a proposed budget for the new year.

That proposal, released on Tuesday, would bring major changes to D.C. rail and bus fares and operations with the goal of bringing more riders back to Metro.

Randy Clarke said Metro is putting more police officers on the rails, but the bigger safety issue is America's gun problem. News4's Adam Tuss reports.

The budget meeting took place less than 24 hours after a shooting on the Metro Center platform left one person dead and the off-duty FBI agent who shot them in the hospital. While the meeting was ongoing, a shooting at the Benning Road station injured a woman and two teenagers.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Clarke said the shootings on Metro platforms were the result of the "gun problem in America."

"I don't think this is being political in any nature, we have a gun problem in America," Clarke said. "That's not Metro's problem. We are impacted by that."

But the budget proposal was the main topic of discussion at the meeting.

Clarke's budget proposal aims to continue the increase in passengers returning to Metro. Ridership has been increasing, especially with the Silver Line extension, but not to pre-pandemic levels.

The highlights of the proposal include:

  • an increase in bus frequency, by building what Metro is calling a "better bus network,"
  • an increase in rail frequency, especially at core Green, Orange and Yellow line transfer stations downtown, to reduce crowding and rate times, and
  • a reduced fare system that sets a base fare of $2, doing away with the peak and off-peak fare system in favor of increases based on distance traveled.

"What I'm trying to do is, Randy Clarke the general manager has a set of conditions to run the system today," Clarke told News4 on Tuesday. "But I'm also trying to create some energy around, 'Let's have a big discussion about what we want Metro to be.'"

The new budget would also help low-income riders. Residents who receive SNAP benefits could get a 50% discount on their bus and rail rides.

The earliest any of the changes would take place is July.

Contact Us