D.C. Metro Asks Congress to Double Funding

[crabby_appleton1950]

D.C. Metro's board chairman asked Congress on Wednesday to double its spending to $300 million annually to turn the transit agency into one that can operate the kind of “world-class” subway system found in foreign cities.

“This system has become an embarrassment in the nation’s capital,” said Board Chairman Jack Evans, who is also a D.C. council member. “All I’m asking from you is $300 million, which is your fair share given the fact that we transport 50 percent of your workforce. Everyday.”

At an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill, Evans warned that if lawmakers didn’t increase funding for the system, it could lead to further safety issues.

“Next time something happens, I’m blaming it on you guys,” he said.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/metro-manager-no-straight-answers-repairs#sthash.2RRQRhCo.dpuf

 

[Bob Dylan]

Good, Congress deserves their share of blame but so do the DC career political hacks that have turned what was once a bright and shinning transportation system into a joke and an accident waiting to happen!

 

[afigg]

Bumpy week and year for the DC Metro. While I think WMATA should get more federal funding, I also think that Congress would right to insist that the WMATA board and management get their house in order first. With hundred of millions unspent in capital grants and projects from previous years because of poor financial and project management - ok, make that terrible financial management - and a dysfunctional organization, got to show that they can properly spend the funding they are getting before getting more direct funding from Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, another shoe drops. The project to replace the Smartrip cards with NFC fare payment technology has been cancelled. With all the problems, there is little to no interest from the 3 local governments in going ahead with the fare system upgrade at this time. For those who have not taken the DC Metro recently, the paper farecards are no longer used and all the ticket machines now disperse Smartrip cards (with a $2 charge for new cards). And the Smartrip cards (with a new vendor/supplier found several years ago) work pretty well, so they will stick with them. By getting rid of the paper farecards, the problem of fare gates all too often eating or jamming on the paper cards went away.

Washington Post: Metro scraps plan for high-tech fare-paying system. The plan is still to replace or upgrade the fare gates and ticket vending machines, but I have not seen any details on what that means.

 

[MARC Rider]

Good, Congress deserves their share of blame but so do the DC career political hacks that have turned what was once a bright and shinning transportation system into a joke and an accident waiting to happen!

Why only blame DC career political hacks? I believe the Metro board also has career political hacks from Maryland and Virginia. And lots of the Metro riders travel over considerable track mileage located in those states.