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Tag: public transit

Va. appoints new DRPT director

Tiffany Robinson is the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s new director, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday.

Robinson succeeds Zach Trogdon, who has served as acting director since Jennifer DeBruhl retired July 1.

Robinson has almost 15 years of experience in state and local government, according to a DRPT news release issued Tuesday. She was most recently deputy chief of staff in Youngkin’s office, a role she has held since September 2023.

“I am very excited to welcome Tiffany Robinson to lead DRPT,” W. Sheppard Miller III, the state’s secretary of transportation, said in a statement. “Her extensive background in public policy, strategic operations and community development fully equip her to advance Virginia’s rail and public transportation goals.”

Before joining Virginia state government, Robinson was secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, where she managed more than 1,800 employees and a $1.7 billion operating budget. Robinson previously served as deputy chief of staff in the Maryland’s governor’s office under former Gov. Larry Hogan, and before that as assistant secretary in the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

“I am honored to join the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and am excited to lead such an important agency that plays a vital role in connecting communities and enhancing mobility across the commonwealth,” Robinson said in a statement.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Metro passes $4.8B budget for FY25

Metro’s board of directors on Thursday passed a $4.8 billion capital and operations budget for fiscal year 2025, which avoids massive service cuts, although fares will increase by 12.5% beginning July 1.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which oversees the Metrorail and Metrobus public transportation systems, had warned of “catastrophic” cuts to service because of a $750 million shortfall, if Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland state and regional officials didn’t increase funding to support Metro, which has seen decreased ridership since the pandemic, with many regional workers still on part-time or fully remote schedules.

According to Thursday’s announcement, all three jurisdictions provided hundreds of millions of dollars to cover the budget gap — including a total $467.3 million from Virginia and Northern Virginia localities for Metro’s 2025 operating budget and $294.8 million for the fiscal 2025 capital budget. Also, Metro’s board found $50 million in cost efficiencies to put toward the funding gap.

Meanwhile, customers will pay 12.5% more for bus and rail fares, with base rail and bus fares rising from $2 to $2.25, and maximum rail fares increasing from $6 to $6.75. There also will be a salary and wage freeze for Metro employees, expected to save the system $113 million in fiscal 2025, which starts July 1.

The $2.3 billion capital budget will fund 256 new 8000-series railcars and more electric buses, as well as repairs and replacements for aging bus garages and track maintenance.

According to the approved budget’s introduction, if Maryland, Virginia and Washington had not allocated more funding, Metro expected to eliminate more than 2,200 jobs, a 25% increase in fares and a 20% hike in parking costs, as well as “steep reductions in maintenance, police presence and customer service functions.”

“We want to thank our elected officials and jurisdictional partners for the historic commitments they have made to Metro and the region to keep Metro strong in the coming years,” Metro Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg said in a statement Thursday. “Over the next year, we’re looking forward to continuing a robust conversation with jurisdictional partners, elected officials and business and community stakeholders around Metro’s role in the region and how the region can sustain and support the world-class transit that the DMV deserves. We also acknowledge that, while this budget maintains the frequent and reliable service our customers rely on, it asks for a shared sacrifice from our employees and customers to make it work. On behalf of the board, we’re grateful for their continued support.” 

In Virginia, the request for increased Metro funding from the state has caused a tug-of-war between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Democrats in the Virginia State Senate. The House of Delegates’ proposed 2024-26 state budget included about $144 million in extra funding for Metro over the next two years, which the Senate increased to $149.5 million. Then, in Youngkin’s budget amendments, he changed the amount to $133 million in additional funding — but used $98 million from a Northern Virginia transportation trust fund instead of allocating more state taxpayer funds.

According to Metro’s announcement Thursday, the authority expects to encounter similar shortfalls next year without dedicated funding.

Northern Virginia lawmakers and others have warned that providing Metro with money now from the regional transportation trust fund would leave other future transportation projects in jeopardy. Currently, the source of extra Metro funding is under discussion among state lawmakers and Youngkin, who are working now to come to a compromise on the state’s budget after barely avoiding a state government shutdown earlier this month. After Senate Democrats killed the $2 billion Alexandria arena plan touted by the governor, he returned the legislature’s amended budget with 233 proposed budget amendments of his own, as well as a record-shattering 153 vetoed bills and 116 amended bills.

Senators and delegates are scheduled to return to Richmond to vote on a new budget in a special session May 13, if Youngkin and Democratic lawmakers can hammer one out.

Transportation 2023: RANDY CLARKE

In July 2022, Clarke joined WMATA, the Washington, D.C., regional public transit system, which manages the Metro subway system and Metrobus. He took leadership of WMATA when it was struggling with lingering low ridership from the pandemic and the removal of 60% of its railcars due to a wheel defect.

Things have picked up somewhat. The defective cars were fixed, and although Metro ridership hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, bus ridership has exceeded 2019 numbers. In November 2022, WMATA opened the Silver Line’s $3 billion second phase, and in May, WMATA opened the $370 million Potomac Yard-VT station in Alexandria.

But Clarke isn’t done dealing with crises. This year, he’s focused on staving off a massive budget crisis and trying to get officials from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., to bail out the transit system. Due to decreased ridership and increased personnel costs, WMATA faces a $750 million shortfall next year that could result in drastic cuts to services.

Clarke previously was president and CEO of Capital Metro in Austin, Texas, and vice president of operations and member services for the American Public Transportation Association. He was also an executive for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Cabbies cry foul over Va. Beach’s free ride service

Lynne Johnston’s business, All City Cab Co., took a hit from the pandemic. But when the city of Virginia Beach started offering free door-to-door rides in one of her busiest zones — the Oceanfront — during tourist season, it was like another punch to the gut.

This year, Virginia Beach contracted with Miami-based microtransit service Freebee to run a $550,000, yearlong pilot transportation service in the city’s resort area. Freebee’s fleet of five, all-electric Teslas operates daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., providing free on-demand rides via an app, with a model similar to Uber or Lyft.

At the end of the year, the city will evaluate the program’s impact on traffic congestion and decide whether it should be continued. “The goal is to get people to the resort area more efficiently,” says Virginia Beach Parking Manager Rob Fries. “It’s definitely exceeded expectations.”

In June and July, Freebee picked up a total of 16,200 passengers, Fries says.

Johnston estimates she lost about 40% of her Oceanfront business after the city began offering Freebee service. She’s cut back on the number of cabs she sends there. Other local cab companies are also unhappy with the situation, she says.

Some beach business owners, like Kristina and Tim Chastain, owners of contemporary gastropub Esoteric, encourage customers to use Freebee. “It’s an extremely positive thing for Virginia Beach,” Kristina Chastain says. “It’s forward-thinking and nice to be on the cutting edge. Our guests enjoy the experience of it, as well as the utility.”

However, Johnston sees Freebee as direct competition.

“It doesn’t make sense for the city to put a service out there that competes with businesses that are already paying licensing fees to operate transportation services,” she says. It wouldn’t be much different from the city opening a hotel and offering free rooms, she says.

Fries doesn’t see it that way. He says Freebees go short distances, unlike cabs, which he says often go across town. Fries also says that Freebee provides “a level of equity,” being free to any rider, ranging from tourists to “economically disadvantaged” locals.

But Johnston says that by moving out of fixed-route mass transit into point-to-point ride services, the city is now essentially in the cab business, subsidizing a direct competitor.

“They’re literally taking money out of the hands of people who are trying to feed families,” she says. 

Elizabeth Cooper contributed to this story.

Metro bringing back first group of 7000-series trains

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Wednesday that it will return eight 7000-series trains to service on Thursday, months after all 748 railcars were taken off track due to a wheel malfunction that caused a derailment near Arlington National Cemetery.

The return of eight trains — with eight railcars each — to service comes after an intense training period on safety processes for inspectors over the past month, according to WMATA, which runs the Metrorail and Metrobus services. In October 2021, the wheel problem caused a derailment and led to the removal of the 7000-level trains, which make up about 60% of all of Metro’s fleet. Its older 6000-series cars were returned to service to prevent further delays, and as of early March, Metro had 330 railcars in service.

The eight 7000-series trains will initially run on the Yellow Line, which runs from Alexandria up to Fort Totten in Maryland, and the Green Line, which runs from Prince George’s County, Maryland through Greenbelt, Maryland.

According to Metro’s announcement, it is working on second and third phases to return more 7000-series trains to service this summer, which will allow faster service on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines by July. The later phases, which include using the Automated Wayside Inspection System (AWIS) equipment as part of Metro’s inspection process, will require approval from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.

Safety incidents have been a source of difficulty for the transit authority over the past few months, with WMSC citing concerns about driver fatigue, and Metro had to remove 72 train operators in May who were out of compliance with safety certifications.

In May, Paul J. Wiedefeld, WMATA’s general manager and CEO, resigned early after announcing his retirement would take place June 30. Randy Clarke, head of Austin, Texas’s transportation system, is set to become Metro’s next general manager.

Metro announces next general manager, CEO

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s new general manager and CEO is Randy Clarke, the current president and CEO of Austin, Texas’ Capital Metro.

The board of the authority, which runs Metrorail and Metrobus, announced Tuesday that Clarke will assume the position in late summer. Metro’s current general manager and CEO, Paul J. Wiedefeld, announced in January that he would retire June 30 after six years with Metro.

Clarke, who has served as president and CEO of CapMetro since March 2018 and led a multibillion-dollar expansion of Austin’s public transportation system, comes to Washington during a challenging time for Metro, which has faced declined ridership during the pandemic and the suspension of more than half of its train car fleet due to malfunctions last fall.

Before joining CapMetro, Clarke was vice president of operations and member services at the American Public Transportation Association, where he led safety audits and industry peer reviews, and he held several roles at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, beginning in 2009. He served as the chief safety officer, director of security and emergency management and deputy chief operating officer.

“I am honored to be selected as the next general manager/CEO of Metro and want to thank the WMATA board for their confidence in me to help lead this amazing organization through a critical time in its future,” Clarke said in a statement. “As a fellow transit customer, I will be focused on delivering the safe, reliable and customer-centric transit service that this region deserves. I look forward to meeting with staff, customers, stakeholders and community members to learn more about how we can collectively build a bright future together.”

Metro is currently working on three mixed-use projects near the West Falls Church station that will comprise more than 3.2 million square feet. In April, WMATA released its first-ever strategic plan for joint development that includes creating 26,000 housing units in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

The Metro has had delays and difficulties with its service since October 2021, when a wheel problem caused a derailment. In January, WMATA suspended its 748 7000 series rail cars, about 60% of its fleet.

However, on Monday there was some good news: Metro announced its total ridership was nearly 40% ahead of projections for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2022. In March, average weekday rail ridership peaked Tuesday through Thursday at 230,000, and average bus ridership at 280,000. Metrobus has now hit 61% of its pre-pandemic ridership levels.

Laying tracks for The Tide

Commuters are on board with Hampton Roads Transit’s plans to extend The Tide, its 7.4-mile light rail system, according to recent public discussions about proposed new routes.

This fall, HRT held one virtual discussion and three pop-up sessions at transit stations in Norfolk to gather public input about expanding the light rail to Sentara Leigh Hospital and Military Circle Mall, both in Norfolk. A light rail stop at Military Circle would tie in with Norfolk’s plans to transform the struggling mall into a mixed-use community of hotels, parks, offices and residences. The 2.2-mile extension would take light rail from Newtown Road, crossing under interstates 264 and 64. Modifications would also be made to the Newtown Road station.

“The response has been very positive,” says Sam Sink, HRT’s director of transit development.

Extending The Tide to Military Circle would enhance transportation options in one of Norfolk’s most flood-resistant areas. “We view that corridor as high ground in Norfolk,” notes Jared Chalk, the city’s economic development director. “It’s 13 feet above sea level and much more resilient than other parts of the city.”

Chalk believes light rail service between downtown Norfolk and Military Circle will increase ridership on The Tide. “It’s a compelling way to get between these two nodes, as well as an opportunity to extend what was a very short segment and maximize its value.”

However, commuters said during the public meetings that they were disappointed that plans do not include taking The Tide to Naval Station Norfolk.

“We always wanted to see it extended that far,” Sink says, “but the level of ridership didn’t support it. It wasn’t necessarily the bang for the buck we would like to see.” Instead, HRT plans to launch a bus rapid transit (BRT) line connecting the eastern end of The Tide with Naval Station Norfolk. The bus route would have prepay stations, dedicated traffic lanes and fewer stops than other HRT buses.        

“We think we will serve that need effectively with the BRT,” Sink says, adding that a timeline for adding the rapid route has not been established. Once the final survey results are tallied and shared with HRT stakeholders, the agency will begin environmental assessments in early 2022.

“These projects take a long time,” Sink notes. “We might be looking at six or seven years before we break ground on light rail to Military Circle.”   

Metro to keep reduced service levels through end of year

Metro customers will see reduced rail service through the end of the year, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Monday.

The transit system authority attributed the disruption to its 7000-series fleet, the newest rail cars, still being out of service. These trains make up much of Metro’s fleet but have been sidelined since October.

Metro faced its biggest crisis in six years after the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission ordered it to suspend all 748 of its 7000-series rail cars on Oct. 17 following the derailment of a Blue Line train. The suspension has removed about 60% of Metro’s cars from service and the WMATA had to bring out of storage about 40 rail cars, some nearly 40 years.  Initially, officials thought the new 7000-series cars would be back in service within weeks. Metro submitted a testing plan to its oversight agency that would check rail cars every eight days for a wheel defect that has afflicted several of the newer cars over the past four years, The Washington Post reported.

“Engineers, safety and operations teams are preparing return to service and mobilization plans to reposition more than 748, 7000-series railcars,” WMATA wrote in a news release. “The railcars that have been in storage will need to be prepared for service and inspected more frequently once they are back in passenger service.”

Nearly 75% of Metro stations have trains arriving at least every 10 to 12 minutes. More frequent service will depend on available railcars meeting safety standards.

“As we get more parts, we will return more of the [older] railcars to service for our customers during December,” said Metro General Manager and CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld in a statement. “While we know service is not as frequent as customers would prefer, we will add each train as it becomes available to help incrementally improve service reliability and frequency.”
Rail service for next year depends on Metro’s test and restoration plans for the 7000-series railcars, which will require approval from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.

Virginia public transit grapples with reduced ridership, zero fare

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia public transit systems from Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads are looking for a path forward after losing riders and revenue during the pandemic. Some transit systems have been harder hit than others.

“We are serving a market of essential workers that can’t stay home; they have to use our service,” said Greater Richmond Transit Co. CEO Julie Timm during a recent presentation.

Gov. Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency in March of last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move prompted limits on public and private gatherings, telework policies and mandates to wear masks in public, although some restrictions have eased.

GRTC faced a “potentially catastrophic budget deficit” since eliminating fares last March in response to the pandemic and reductions in public funding starting in July of this year, according to the organization’s annual report. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding and Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation emergency funding covered the deficit, according to the report.

The transit system lost about 20% of riders when comparing March to November 2019 with the same 9-month period in 2020. Overall, fiscal year-to-date ridership on local-fixed routes decreased the least (-16%), compared to the bus-rapid transit line (-49%) and express routes (-84%), according to GRTC data. Local-fixed routes had a 7% increase from March 2020 to March 2021.

GRTC eliminated fares in March 2020 to avoid “close interactions at bus fareboxes,” Timm said in a statement at the time. CARES Act funding made the move possible. GRTC will offer free rides until the end of June.

GRTC will need an additional $5.3 million when federal funding ceases to continue operating with zero fare, Timm said. Zero fare can be supported through the third round of federal stimulus money and Department of Rail and Public Transportation funding, advertising revenue and other funding sources, Timm said.

“This is the conversation and it’s a hard conversation,” Timm said. “To fare or not to fare?”

GRTC serves a majority Black and majority female riders, according to the 2020 annual report. Commuters account for over half the trips taken on GRTC buses and almost three-quarters of commuter trips are five or more days per week. Nearly 80% of riders have a household income of less than $50,000 per year.

GRTC spends about $1.7 million to collect fares annually, according to Timm. Eliminating fares is more optimal than collecting fares, Timm said in March. She believes in zero fare operation because the bus rates act as a regressive tax, which takes a large percentage of income from low-income earners.

Free fares could lead to overcrowding on buses, opponents argue. However, Timm said that’s not a good reason to abolish the initiative.

“If we have a demand for more transit, I don’t think the answer is to put fares out to reduce the ridership,” Timm said. “I think the answer is to find additional funding sources and commitment to increase service to meet that demand.”

GRTC will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the zero fare model, according to Timm.

“We’ll have a lot of conversations post-COVID about how we consider transit, how we invest in transit and how that investment in transit lifts up our entire region, not just our riders but all of our economy for a stronger marketplace,” Timm said.

GRTC added another bus route as the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March. Route 111 runs in Chesterfield from John Tyler Community College to the Food Lion off Chippenham Parkway. The route surpassed ridership expectations despite being launched during the pandemic, according to the annual report.

GRTC also will receive additional funding from the newly established Central Virginia Transit Authority. The entity will provide dedicated transportation funding for Richmond and eight other localities. The authority will draw money from a regional sales and use tax, as well as a gasoline and diesel fuel tax. GRTC is projected to receive $20 million in funds from the authority in fiscal year 2021. The next fiscal year it receives $28 million and funding will reach $30 million by fiscal year 2026.

These funds cannot be used to assist in zero fare operation, Timm said.

Almost 350,000 riders boarded the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority buses per day on average in 2019, which includes passengers in Northern Virginia. That number dipped to 91,000 average daily boardings in 2020, according to Metro statistics.

Metro’s $4.7 billion budget will maintain service at 80-85% of pre-pandemic levels, according to a Metro press release. Federal relief funds totaling almost $723 million filled Metro’s funding gap due to low ridership.

“The impact of the pandemic on ridership and revenue forced us to consider drastic cuts that would have been necessary absent federal relief funding,” stated Metro Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg. “Thankfully, the American Rescue Plan Act has provided a lifeline for Metro to serve customers and support the region’s economic recovery.”

Hampton Roads Transit buses served 10.7 million people in 2019 and 6.2 million people in 2020. The decline has carried into 2021. Almost 1.6 million passengers took HRT transit buses in January and February 2020 and just over 815,000 have in 2021, resulting in a nearly 50% decrease. HRT spokesperson Tom Holden said he can’t explain why HRT bus services saw a higher drop off than GRTC buses.

“We had a substantial decline in boardings in all our modes of transportation just as every transit agency in the U.S. did,” Holden said.

HRT operated with a zero fare system from April 10 to July 1, 2020. Ridership had a slight uptick from April to October, aside from an August dip. Fares for all HRT transit services were budgeted for 14.2% of HRT’s revenue for Fiscal Year 2020.

“We are hopeful that with vaccinations becoming more widespread, the overall economy will begin to recover, and we’ll see rates increase,” Holden said.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn St. stations to close during holidays

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Thursday that the Blue Line Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations will be closed for safety improvements from Dec. 19 through Jan. 3. 

“Doing this work during the holidays will help minimize the number of riders affected by the closures,” according to a WMATA statement. “Ridership at the two stations remains at historic lows, down about 90%, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and typically drops even further over the holidays.”

The Blue Line will continue to operate between Huntington and Largo and free shuttles will be provided. 

The closures will allow Metro and its contractor to work uninterrupted and to reduce the duration of the project.

Graphic courtesy WMATA
Graphic courtesy WMATA

 

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