Photo by banlon1964.

This morning, the WMATA Board approved public hearings encompassing the broadest possible range of options for their $190 million budget gap.

In addition to the options staff had placed in the proposed docket, Board members asked to add all of the additional ideas proposed by the Riders’ Advisory Council, Greater Greater Washington, MetroRiders.Org and others. Staff had excluded some of these that they didn’t think were good ideas, but the Board wanted all options on the table for the upcoming public hearings.

DC’s alternate Director, Anthony Giancola, added some additional measures to the hearing as well, including a parking fee increase of up to $1, free bus-rail transfers on weekends, a larger bus-rail transfer discount of 75¢, and a surcharge for riders at up to 2 stations per jurisdiction that could specifically fund capital programs at those jurisdictions.

Jim Graham chose to vote no because he opposes the magnitude of some cuts, especially bus cuts. I don’t like many of those cuts either. I pushed for all options, including cuts, to be part of the public hearing so riders could weigh in on what they want, but I intend to advocate strongly to preserve most of this service and to keep bus fares from rising beyond the ability of bus riders to pay. While I’m glad the Board approved the hearings despite Graham’s vote, I expect to support many of Graham’s future efforts to exclude some elements in the final budget.

Graham repeated his concern that proposing cuts of this magnitude will “alarm” riders. Arlington member Chris Zimmerman said that this should alarm people: this budget is very serious. Getting more money from jurisdictions will require political pressure on elected officials, which can best come when riders are alarmed at the consequences to WMATA of not contributing more.

Graham continued to push for the use of capital funds to fund, as he took pains to clearly state, capital needs that are generally funded by the operating budget (not actual options). The others opposed this move, as they have in the past. Zimmerman said he’d be fine with such a step if this were a one-time issue, but it’s not; WMATA is chronically underfunded, and this budget hole is going to continue every year until there’s a longer-term solution.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.