Posts by Craig Simpson — Guest Contributor
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Maryland Senate raises taxes in a more progressive way
The Maryland Senate voted today to increase income taxes to prevent large-scale cuts to schools, higher education, low-income health care and public safety. Last night, the full Senate made changes to the plan to make the tax increase more progressive. The revenue package is one part of an effort to close a $1.1 billion budget shortfall. Other pieces of the budget plan involve… Keep reading…
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Should Metrobus run like the Circulator on major arteries?
WMATA has made strides with its Metrobus service, but it’s still a little stodgy when it comes to trying new things. Is it time WMATA took a bold move and began some Circulator-type service on a major arterial? WMATA has managed to reduce its average fleet age, institute MetroExtra service, implement NextBus service (which still needs improvement) and developed… Keep reading…
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What can we learn from the 7th/Georgia bus errors?
In 2007, WMATA and DC introduced several measures to improve service in the 7th Street/Georgia Ave. corridor: Metro Extra Route 79, signal priority at 28 intersections, and bus lanes on 7th street and 9th Streets downtown. Some of them have helped, while others have failed. Why? Signal priority was introduced on the corridor for Route 79 only, but has only yielded a 1.5% time savings… Keep reading…
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Bus priority getting priority in DC
Spurred by a federal TIGER grant, planners at WMATA and DDOT are moving closer to making bus priority measures a reality in the District of Columbia. WMATA has identified operational savings estimated at $5.6 million annually for six corridors in the District for measures funded by the grant including transit signal priority (TSP), bus bulb-outs and stop improvements. … Keep reading…
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Proposed Metro Matters much better, but with a loophole?
Maryland has announced they will pay their share of capital money under Metro Matters for FY 2010 and support funding a new FY11-16 agreement at the $5 billion level. The proposed new agreement also provides more assurance that jurisdictions will pay for projects, but there are still some questions about the details and whether a jurisdiction can back out too easily. WMATA… Keep reading…
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Maryland moves slightly on operating funds, but plans more bus cuts for Prince George’s
Maryland’s WMATA board members announced April 22 that the state would meet its proposed contribution requirement of $13.9 million in GM Richard Sarles proposed budget through a combination of increased funds, possible local revenue and likely bus service reductions within Maryland. The announcement at the WMATA board meeting followed a rally last Tuesday at Addison… Keep reading…
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Region poised to back away from Metro good repair
The consensus emerging from months of negotiations between area jurisdictions that fund Metro is for fewer dollars for capital projects and diminished guarantees that the dollars committed will actually materialize. The WMATA board will be updated today and presented with three possible capital funding agreement renewal options. All them provide fewer dollars and fewer… Keep reading…
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Sarles proposes budget with far fewer service cuts
WMATA interim GM Richard Sarles has revised the proposed FY11 operating budget to substantially pare back proposed service reductions. He will present his proposal to the Board of Directors today. Sarles manages to reduce the need for service reductions by cutting departmental costs and increasing some revenue, but the biggest change is restoring the tactic of using capital… Keep reading…
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Switching to CNG buses could help long-term WMATA budget situation
As area governments continue to struggle with funding Metro, some WMATA board members are looking at increased use of federal capital dollars for preventive maintenance currently paid out of the operating budget as part of the ultimate budget solution. The challenge will be to ensure that the capital program is not compromised by doing so. Making the capital investment… Keep reading…
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Federal bureaucracy delays WMATA “dedicated funding”
The long awaited annual federal payment got a boost when legislation passed authorizing the annual so-called “dedicated funding” and the first appropriation actually cleared Congress in December. Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia all appropriated $50 million each for FY2010, so the federal government put their check in the mail, right? … Keep reading…