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Home News Blog D.C.-Maryland-Virginia Passengers—Speak now, or forever hold your piece! (DEADLINE TODAY!)

D.C.-Maryland-Virginia Passengers—Speak now, or forever hold your piece! (DEADLINE TODAY!)

October 25, 2016

In the wake of a series of serious safety incidents, WMATA launched a “SafeTrack” accelerated track work program to address a growing maintenance backlog. SafeTrack accelerates three years' worth of work into approximately one year, by closing earlier and introducing extended service outages during the week.

Now, WMATA executives are saying they need to reduce service even more to meet longterm maintenance goals—and that these service cuts will be permanent. Metro is proposing closing the Metrorail system at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights, and continuing midnight closures on all other nights—including Fridays and Saturdays—beyond the conclusion of the one-year SafeTrack program.

While NARP appreciates the critical safety work being done by Metro, we believe it is unacceptable to make these reductions permanent. Transit services have to serve the public; Metro is already facing serious ridership losses based upon its reduced service schedule, and this move will make those losses worse—and permanent.

Metro needs to hear the following message:

  1. Local business leaders have criticized proposals to close early, saying workers and customers will be hurt. These businesses have made decade-long investments based upon the assumption that transit would support public mobility and access. Transit is an economic engine, and it has to serve the public.
  2. There are better ways to address this backlog. Mayor Muriel Bowser has suggested segment early closures that would rotate every 3 or 4 months. A compromise, such as closing at 2 am on weekend nights, may also be acceptable.
  3. As a passenger, a customer, and a taxpayer, I stand up for fast, frequent, reliable transit service in the DMV region!

Any input you wish to provide must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.

Public feedback will be provided to Metro’s Board of Directors in December 2016 as part of the final decision process.

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