Metro News Release

For immediate release: March 23, 2015

Metro invites public to share feedback on proposed budget


No cuts in service or fare increases proposed

Metro will host a public hearing Tuesday, April 7 to collect feedback from riders on the proposed FY16 budget, as well as Metro's Capital Improvement Program.  Public input is an important part of the process, and all feedback will be taken into consideration by the Metro Board before finalizing the budget.

The public hearing will be preceded by an “Information Session,” starting at 6 p.m.  This informal session provides the public with an opportunity to learn about Metro’s current service planning and to provide comments and suggestions on any topic, including subjects that are not on the docket. The public hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. to provide an opportunity to give formal testimony on the docket of proposed budget actions.  To review the docket, visit wmata.com/hearings.

The proposed FY16 budget and Capital Improvement Plan would invest $1.3 billion in providing safer, better, and more service for Metro riders.

The budget proposal does not include fare increases or significant service cuts. The items that are being considered are as follows:

  • Increase the parking fee at Minnesota Ave Station to $4.60.
  • Extend the collection hours at all Metro parking facilities by one hour in both the morning and evening.
  • Eliminate the TransitLink Card (TLC) pass, one of Metrorail’s few remaining paper fare products.

The daily parking fee at the Minnesota Avenue station is currently $3.60, which is $1.00 below the daily fee of $4.60 at all other Metro parking facilities in the District of Columbia. In coordination with the District of Columbia, Metro is proposing to raise the daily parking fee at Minnesota Avenue to $4.60, equal to the other locations in the District of Columbia.

Metro is also proposing to extend the hours of collection at all parking garages and lots (i.e., the hours when the gates are down) by one hour in both the morning and the evening. This will generate additional parking revenue and also make it easier for customers to find parking spaces in the morning.

The hearing is scheduled to take place:

Tuesday, Apr. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Metro Headquarters
600 5th Street, NW
Washington, DC
(Via Metrorail: Gallery Place or Judiciary Square)

Metro’s fiscal year 2016 budget, and any approved changes, would take effect in July.

Members of the public can also give feedback through an online survey at wmata.com/budgetsurvey.  The survey is open until 9 a.m. on Monday, April 13, and is provided as an option to submitting a verbal or written statement for the record.  Survey results will be presented to the Board as part of the public record.

How to register to speak at the public hearing

To establish a witness list for the public hearing, individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to be heard at the hearing are asked to provide in writing their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, requests to speak may be faxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to speak@wmata.com. Please submit only one speaker’s name per letter and reference the hearing number. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Others present at the hearing may be heard after people who have registered have spoken. Please note that this information may be releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy (PARP). The PARP can be viewed on WMATA’s website under the link marked “Legal Affairs.” Public officials will be heard first and will be allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All other speakers will be allowed three minutes each. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be permitted.

The location of all public hearing is wheelchair accessible. Any individual who requires special assistance such as a sign language interpreter or additional accommodation to participate in the public hearing, or who requires these materials in an alternate format, should contact Danise Peña at 202-962-2511 or TTY: 202-962-2033 as soon as possible in order for Metro to make necessary arrangements.

How to submit written comments

Written statements and exhibits may be sent to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, or e-mailed to writtentestimony@wmata.com. Statements also may be faxed to 202-962-1133. Please reference the hearing number. Submissions must be received by 9 a.m. on Monday, April 13. Please note that any personal information such as name, e-mail address, address, or telephone number you provide in the statement may be releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy.

 

News release issued at 8:58 am, March 24, 2015.