WMATA (2024)

FAQs

What is the shortfall of WMATA funding? ›

Last year, Metro faced catastrophic cuts to service as we faced an unprecedented $750 million budget gap because of record inflation, more people working from home, and exhausting the last of the federal COVID relief funds for transit.

By the end of 2023, Metrorail's average daily ridership was just 56% of what it was in 2019, generating nearly $100 million less in fares today than in 2019. For the current fiscal year, fares and other Metro-generated revenue such as parking and advertising comprise just 22% of WMATA's budget.

Here is how it works. Customers that tap in and out of the same station within 15 minutes, and do not use a rail pass, will receive a trip credit in the amount of the fare they were charged. Customers who enter from one mezzanine and exit from another at the same station are still eligible for the credit.

If the United States had a public transit problem, Washington's Metro was a good case in point. In the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, DC's transit system — widely considered to be one of the best in the nation — found itself plagued by frequent delays, safety concerns, and falling ridership.

Funding Sources

Metro's federal funding includes Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) funding, as well as formula grants, most of which come through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The proposed plan would: Eliminate service on 83 of 184 routes. Reduce service on 51 of 184 routes. Shorten routes with rail service.

The average Director base salary at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is $169K per year.

The average Station Manager base salary at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is $87K per year.

As of May 24, 2024, the average hourly pay for a Metro Train Driver in Washington is $19.48 an hour.

Smart card product purchases expire if they are not loaded to your smart card within 30 days of purchase. The system delivers your online purchases to the rail stations and buses that you've used in the last 21 days.

What happens if I tap in and out at the same station? ›

Same station exits

If you touch in when you enter a station, and then touch out to exit it within a short period of time, you'll be charged a same station exit charge. These are: Between 0 - 2 minutes: a maximum fare. If you re-enter the same or a different station within 45 minutes, you'll be refunded.

SmarTrip stored value and passes are non-refundable. Refunds are available in the following circ*mstances: Non-Residents: Customers who live outside a 100-mile radius of the District of Columbia. Contact SmarTrip Customer Service at 1-888-762-7874 to initiate your refund.

The busiest station in the system in 2023 was Metro Center, with more than 3.9 million passenger entries over the course of the year. Rosslyn was the busiest station in Virginia, while Silver Spring was the busiest in Maryland. The system's 10 busiest stations are all located in Washington.

With a population of 395,000, Arlington remains the largest U.S. city without a mass public transit system, including bus or rail.

Why doesn't Metro run later? In the mid-2010s, Metro ran until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and midnight on other days. Then in 2016, it cut back hours to allow more time for maintenance work to keep the system running in a more reliable state.

The $4.5 billion budget includes a $2.6 billion capital budget, including debt service and revenue loss from capital projects. According to WMATA, this proposal falls short by $750 million. For comparison, WMATA's budget was a little higher at $4.8 billion last year.

Revenues and Expenditures

At the start of 2023, the MTA faced a $600 million budget shortfall for the year with gaps of more than $1 billion in 2024 that could have ballooned to $1.6 billion in 2026.

Metro's board of directors on Thursday passed a $4.8 billion capital and operations budget for fiscal year 2025, which avoids massive service cuts, although fares will increase by 12.5% beginning July 1.

Totaling $4.7 billion, our proposed FY24 budget covers capital and operating expenses from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024.