Metro braces for closed stations, layoffs, reduced service without funding hike

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Alexandria Now

Metro considering earlier closure, eliminating bus routes, and other cost cutting measures
Vernon Miles Today at 10:05am

A particularly bleak budget prediction is forcing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to consider plans involving longer train waits, Metro station closures, and eliminating many bus routes, the Washington Post reported.

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TRANSPORTATION

Metro braces for closed stations, layoffs, reduced service without funding hike

Forced to plan ahead, Metro has drawn up multiple service plans that vary in severity depending on how much financial help the transit agency receives

By Justin George
October 24, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

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Metro’s funding shortfall next fiscal year is so steep that even an additional $300 million couldn’t stave off severe service cuts that would include the elimination of bus routes, reduced rail hours, longer train waits and station or station entrance closures.

Metro leaders Tuesday released multiple outlines for reduced service for fiscal 2025 that take into account a projected $750 million budget shortfall, as well as what would happen if Metro received no funding increase or only a partial increase. While the plans are only a possible framework and could change dramatically before July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, Metro officials said the proposals include carefully “targeted” cuts to minimize effects on the most passengers.

The plans are intended to show how quickly transit service in the region could deteriorate without a huge injection of subsidies from jurisdictions across the Washington region. The outlines are the transit system’s latest attempt to sound alarms about the depths of its financial troubles, a problem hastened by the end of federal pandemic aid. ... Metro officials warned that severe service cuts — even for one year — would have lasting consequences for the transit system. Hiring and training staff to replace laid-off operators and technicians would take months. Service cuts, they warned, also would result in lost passengers.

Changes in work and travel routines during the pandemic have contributed to a loss of nearly 40 percent of Metrorail riders, leading to diminished fare revenue.

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This is a developing story and will be updated.

By Justin George
Justin George is a reporter covering national transit and Metro, the D.C.-area public transportation system, for The Washington Post. He previously covered criminal justice for the Marshall Project and the Baltimore Sun. Twitter https://twitter.com/justingeorge

[brooklynite]

1. Worst-case scenarios never come to fruition.

They're a negotiating tactic.