By the end of this month, local residents should have a better idea of options on the table, as regional leaders attempt to find dedicated funding streams for transit service in the D.C. area.
“We do expect information to be shared” at the next meeting of the DMV Moves task force, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Executive Director Kate Mattice told the commission’s board at a meeting last Thursday (March 6).
Convened last June by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the DMV Moves task force includes 23 elected and appointed leaders from across the region.
They are charged with identifying ways to provide more financial stability for Metro, Virginia Railway Express and local transit networks across Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and D.C. Options considered in recent months have ranged from regional taxes to longer I-66 toll hours.
The task force’s next meeting is slated for Monday, March 24 at a location yet to be determined. Another meeting is scheduled for May 16.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who heads the NVTC board’s Metro committee, described the current funding system for transit in the local region as disjointed.
“It’s a complex and sometimes complicated system,” he said.
Local funding could become even more important if the Trump administration starts to trim transit support at the national level.
“We’ll need to be focused more [on funding options] than we have in the past,” said NVTC’s chair, David Snyder, a member of the Falls Church City Council.
To date, Metro hasn’t received any major funding surprises from the new administration, according to Paul Smedberg, a Virginia representative on WMATA’s board of directors.
“So far, everything’s been fine. That’s not to say things can’t change,” Smedberg said at the NVTC’s March 6 meeting.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters to WMATA, Amtrak and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last week calling for a report on crime and safety on the transit systems, but there was no mention of funding, according to news reports.
Mattice agreed with Smedberg that, while “a lot of things are happening in real time … there’s no immediate crisis at this point in time.”
She said changes enacted at the federal level have the potential to be either “supportive or challenging” as they trickle down to localities.
Metro at least has reported a ridership boost following the Trump administration’s back-to-the-office edict to federal employees, which is being matched by some private companies bringing workers back to the office on a more frequent basis.
At the same time, the Trump administration’s push to downsize the region’s federal workforce — and the potential impact on the private sector — could blunt any ridership gains.
Despite the uncertainty, NVTC members seemed confident that any challenges can successfully be addressed as they arrive.
Alcorn observed that Metro leaders have gotten their financial house in order.
“The cost management strategies are now looking realistic,” he said.
In addition to DMV Moves, a Northern Virginia Growing Needs of Public Transit Joint Subcommittee established by the General Assembly is looking at new or expanded ways the Commonwealth can fund its share of local transit costs.
A report with recommendations is slated to be delivered to Virginia legislative leaders by the end of the year.
