Facing the worst budget crisis in Metro history, board members on Friday wrestled with how to plan for a half-billion-dollar deficit without proposing draconian cuts that could scare away riders the transit agency desperately needs back.
The meeting was the next step after Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld proposed a scaled-down budget Monday that would eliminate weekend rail service and about half the agency’s bus lines. The move generated angst about the future of transit in the Washington region amid a pandemic that has wrecked Metro’s finances.
The task of balancing fiscal responsibility while protecting Metro from more ridership losses was evident Friday during a special finance committee meeting. Board members made their first public comments about Wiedefeld’s proposed spending plan for the fiscal year that begins in July.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Justin George over at the Washington Post
