A first glimpse of Metro’s upcoming budget proposal shows service cuts, station closures and layoffs that could cripple the transit system and perhaps the regional economy, if elected officials don’t find new money to plug a shortfall that’s long loomed.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the agency that manages the Metro system, has been chugging toward a $750 million fiscal cliff, as federal bailout dollars that offset the Covid-induced loss of ridership and fare revenue run out. Metro leadership has been sounding the alarm for months, warning that if the various governments that fund the system don’t step in, the only way for Metro to close the gap — a statutory requirement, as the system is not allowed to run deficits — would be to slash services.
CEO Randy Clarke’s forthcoming fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which he’ll present to the Metro board Thursday, does just that, to the point that he’s calling it “an existential crisis.”
“It would be devastating to the region’s economy. The ability to attract and retain businesses would be undercut,” Clark Mercer, who heads the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, told me in an interview.
