Metro News Release

For immediate release: December 15, 2005

Metrorail passengers experiencing fewer delays

Metrorail riders have experienced fewer delays in recent months as rail service reliability improved by 23 percent from the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 to the first quarter of fiscal year 2006. For the same period, ridership is up by 5 percent to nearly 700,000 per weekday and overall customer satisfaction is at 90 percent.

"In November 2004, we announced a back-to-basics program to improve system reliability and customer service," said Richard A. White, Metro’s General Manager and Chief Executive Officer. "During the past year, we have seen continued improvement in our rail car fleet. Based on these numbers, improved reliability is moving in the right direction, the number of customer complaints has declined, and more of our customers are satisfied with our service. And all of this is happening at a time when we are moving 32,000 more passenger trips during an average week than the same time a year ago. I am very pleased that our management intervention and initiatives are clearly working."

Metro sets clearly defined annual performance goals relative to improving customer service. Comparing the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 (July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2005) to the same period in fiscal year 2005, (July 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004) there has been a marked improvement in rail service reliability, even while more passengers continue to use the rail system.

In the first quarter of FY2005, Metrorail passengers experienced a service delay once for every 41,594 miles. In the first quarter of FY2006, the number increased to 50,963. For November 2005, the mean distance between delays number was 54,666 miles, nearly achieving Metro’s December 2005 goal of 56,000 miles. Metro categorizes a service delay as a delay of four minutes or more.

Metro passengers have obviously noticed the reduction in delays, because 90 percent of Metrorail passengers surveyed expressed satisfaction with rail service in the first quarter of FY2006, as compared to 87 percent a year earlier.

"The increase in the distance between delays, the measurable improvement in customer satisfaction, and the decrease in the number of rail delays means we are moving in the right direction," said Steven Feil, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer for Metrorail.

The mean distance between delays has improved through a refocused improvement program with our newest 192 series 5000 rail cars and those series 2000/3000 cars. To date, 142 of Metro’s 364 2000/3000 rail cars have been overhauled.

At the same time that overall railcar reliability is improving, the performance of Metro’s railcars by individual series is also on the rise. The 5000 series railcars are performing at more than 61,000 mean distance between delays for the first quarter of FY 2006, a 10 percent improvement over the first quarter of FY 2005.

The performance of the 2000/3000 series rehabilitated rail cars has also improved. Even though service reliability declined in the first quarter of FY2006, modifications were implemented by the contract provider and by November, the performance of the fleet increased to more than 60,000 miles between a delay.

Metrorail service reliability has also improved due to improvements to track and better management techniques. Maintenance crews have replaced 34 track switches and about two miles of worn rail. Metro is also minimizing service disruptions to its passengers by making better choices when mechanical problems arise.

All of these changes are occurring at the same time an unprecedented number of riders have been using the Metrorail system. In the first quarter of FY05, 666,735 average weekday passenger trips were recorded. In the first quarter of FY06, 698,868 average weekday passenger trips were recorded.

News release issued on December 15, 2005.