Metro Momentum Plan
When Washington-area commuters typically think of the Metro, some words that come to mind might include “expensive,” “delayed” or “inefficient.” At least, a Washington Post article published earlier this month found that to be true: Some of the biggest issues the Metro is currently facing include decreasing ridership, fewer workers and higher peak fares.
A report released earlier this month by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority found that Metro ridership “has declined slightly during the recession and then more substantially during the past two years,” after a 15-year period of strong ridership growth. The decline was largely due to the fact that this metropolitan area was the only one among the top 15 employed urban areas in the country to “show a decline in gross regional product from 2012 to 2013.”
Given many of these troubles, it’s becoming obvious the Metro needs a facelift. Though direct federal employment has been decreasing, the WMATA should be preparing for renovations in its structure and operations, as Moody’s Analytics estimates show this decline will be outweighed by a potential growth in the private sector by 2025.
As much as we associate the Metro with the nation’s capital, residents throughout Prince George’s and Montgomery counties rely on it to get to and from work, class and social outings. For a lot of us, riding the Metro has practically become a part of our routine. That’s why this state should be committed to helping the Metro by pitching in to fund Momentum, the Metro’s new strategic plan.
We hope a proposal by the Senate Executive Committee, which requests the University System of Maryland Board of Regents to endorse the plan passes.
If the plan successfully receives enough funding and moves forward, initiatives such as running 100 percent of eight-car trains during peak periods and bus fleet expansion, among five others, will be put in place.
The university community is a large stakeholder in the Metro, so the university system should ensure its voice is heard when it comes to the improvements that can be made. As a top university when it comes to sustainability, we should be supportive of actions that can reduce the amount of single-rider cars on the road as well as vehicle emissions at large.
Though Gov. Martin O’Malley agreed to support the plan by pledging $25 million, an endorsement by the university system would add an additional representation to a demographic that would benefit from improvements made to the Metro — students.
According to an American Public Transportation Association report, younger generations have become more reliant on public transportation than their older counterparts. The mean “preference rank” of transportation modes among 18-34 year-olds was bus, bicycle, rail transportation, car and walking, in that order.
Today, there’s a certain stigma surrounding public transportation. Politics about funding levels and inefficiency seem to be endless. If we really want conversations on these topics to end, we need to show commuters how efficient and operationally capable the Metro can be. We’re not saying this will happen in a few years, but by the time 2025 rolls around, we hope riding the Metro will become a more attractive, economical option. This can only happen if everyone’s on board, particularly influential voices at this university.
