The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes extending half of Yellow Line trains to Greenbelt, increasing weekend operating hours and expanding payment options.

Students and community members say the budget proposal, which WMATA released in December, would make Metro more accessible and convenient.

Fare prices are set to remain the same under the proposed budget, according to a December WMATA news release. The proposed budget “optimizes service to meet growing ridership demand without any major funding increases,” WMATA’s website said.

In the proposed budget, the Yellow Line would operate in two patterns, with half of Yellow Line trains operating between Huntington and Greenbelt stations while the other half would continue to operate as is between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square stations. This would mean both the Green Line and the Yellow Line run to College Park.

Extending the Yellow Line would offer more transportation options to students, University of Maryland student Kathryn Garcia told The Diamondback.

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“There’s always benefits to increasing where transportation can access,” the senior environmental science and policy major said.

WMATA also plans to open an hour earlier at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and close an hour later at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Senior agricultural and resource economics major Olivia Knott said expanding hours could increase safety for people who are out late at night.

“That’s a safer option and a cheaper option from rideshare apps and any other potential ways of getting home,” she said.

For Arlington County high school student Alexander Mendelsohn, the increased operating hours is the most exciting change in the budget.

“It will increase access to opportunity, airports and social events at times not well served by transit in our region today,” Mendelsohn, who is a commissioner on Arlington County’s Transportation Commission, said during testimony at a Monday hearing about the budget.

WMATA is also looking to make its services more accessible by implementing an open payment fare system that would allow customers to pay for Metrobus, Metrorail and parking facilities with contactless debit and credit cards, mobile wallets and linked smartwatches.

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The open payment system will “make the payment experience more seamless,” the December WMATA release said.

Garcia said she supports adding new ways to pay fares.

“I think it’s a lot more accessible, and I think sometimes having to transfer money onto a Metro card can add an extra step that’s not exactly convenient,” she said.

Providing more ways to pay could discourage fare evasion, said Koree Perry, a junior journalism major at this university. Perry said she has seen many people skip paying for the Metro.

“Having different options and making sure they’re enforced, I think is a really good way for the metro to get the money that it needs,” Perry said.

WMATA also hopes to increase Red Line and Silver Line service during weekday rush periods, according to the budget proposal.