Metro News Release

For immediate release: October 30, 2003

This week at Metro (Monday, Nov. 3, 2003)

Metro Partners in Strategic Alliance

The " Holiday Homecoming" Campaign Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation (WCTC) is planning the third annual " Holiday Homecoming" celebration promoting travel to Washington, D.C., and the use of Metrorail and Metrobus by those visitors during the winter months. The campaign runs from December through February with promotional graphics celebrating the various holidays and dedication events falling during that time: Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, New Year’s Day, Restaurant Week, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents" Day, Black History Month, Leap Year, and more. The winter months have traditionally been an extremely slow time for the tourism industry in this city, and these campaigns are designed generate tourism revenue for the city.

The District’s restaurants, hotels, museums, cultural institutions, theaters, choral groups, cultural centers, and performing arts institutions will design themed celebrations on the various holidays and designations in their respective venues and contribute discounts, events, and special offers for the promotion. Hotels plan to purchase One Day Passes and provide them free-of-charge to visitors booking rooms under the " Holiday Homecoming" program.

To publicize the campaign, WCTC will place approximately $300,000 in print and on-line advertising with the Metro logo in national and regional papers for nearly 27 million impressions in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Norfolk. It will also be promoted on WCTC’s Web site, which bears the Metro logo as a signature partner, a direct link to www.metroopensdoors.com., and incorporates Metrorail stops for all participating hotels, attractions, restaurants, and more. WCTC’s Web site averages 200,000 hits per month, or 2.5 million annually. WCTC will also print approximately 50,000 brochures to be distributed through Metrorail stations and through direct mail by WCTC. The brochures will list venues, their events, and promote the use of Metrorail and Metrobus to reach these destinations. Hotels advertising their close proximity to Metro stations and/or those offering free One Day Passes under the program advertise not only on WCTC’s Web site, but also on the individual Web sites of their respective hotels. In addition to distributing the WCTC-produced brochures throughout its system, Metro will print and install 80 interior rail cards and 500 interior bus cards.

Upcoming Events Accessible by Metro ∙
November 1-30, National Native American Month, when the nation recognizes and honors the contributions of Native Americans to the success of the nation. Metro will announce a program to honor Native Americans during the month.

∙ November 1, 2003, Seventh Annual WMATA/Fire Department Rodeo, with invited participants from the Alexandria, Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s Fire Departments, at the Carmen E. Turner Training and Maintenance Facility, 3500 Pennsy Drive in Landover, Maryland, at 8:30 a.m.

∙ November 17, 2003, Metro Procurement’s Small and Local Business Fair at the Carmen E. Turner Facility, 3500 Pennsy Drive in Landover, Maryland.

∙ November 18, 2003, Metro’s 21st Annual Employees Awards Ceremony at the Lincoln Theater, 1 p.m.; for the first time ever, Metro will announce the winner of the new Carmen E. Turner Award, named for the first woman and African-American general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. ∙ November 17 to 21, National COMTO Week, with the theme " Raising Awareness and Creating New Opportunities" ; sponsored by the National Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, National COMTO and local chapters are observing this week to renew its focus on organizational effectiveness and increasing membership.

∙ November 19, 2003, 8:45 a.m., Metro Free SmartBenefits Employer Seminar, at Metro headquarters, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., lobby level Meeting Room, for employers to learn how to make the Metrochek transit benefit program easier to manage. Interested employers may register on line at www.metroopensdoors.com or call 202-962-2787. Board Committee Meetings Scheduled The Planning and Development Committee will convene on Thursday, November 3, 2003, at 9 a.m., in the Meeting Room adjacent to the lobby at Metro headquarters, 600 Fifth Street, N.W. To hear a recording about the date and time of upcoming meetings, or the results of the last meeting, call 202-962-1055. To hear quotes by Metro experts, call MetroVoices at 202-962-2007.

News release issued on October 30, 2003.