FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 13, 2018
CONTACT
Clare Flannery
MDB Communications
cflannery@mdbcomm.com
914-659-7805
Washington, DC – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Dedicated Funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Emergency Act of 2018, to provide the District of Columbia’s full $178.5 million share in new, dedicated, and bondable funding for Metro. This comes days after the D.C. Council unanimously voted to pass the legislation.
MetroNow commends Councilmember Evans, Mayor Bower, and Chairman Mendelson for their leadership, as well as Councilmembers Bonds, Grosso, Silverman, White, Nadeau, Cheh, Todd, McDuffie, Allen, Gray, and White for displaying DC’s firm commitment to meeting Metro’s long-term dedicated funding needs. The District’s leaders clearly understand how vital Metro is to the city’s economy and future prosperity.
“A world-class city needs a world-class transportation system. Today, Mayor Bowser and the DC Council did their part, not only for the District but for the entire Greater Washington region — all those who live, work, play, or visit here,” said MetroNow Campaign Manager Clare Flannery. “We’re all grateful to Mayor Bowser, her colleagues on the Council, and their colleagues in Maryland and Virginia to make funding a reality this year.”
Since its formation at the beginning of this year, the MetroNow coalition has been calling on Metro’s compact jurisdictions to make a minimum regional commitment of $500 million per year in new long-term, dedicated, and bondable funding allocated under the existing formula, with $167 million from Maryland, $154 million from Virginia, and $178.5 million from the District of Columbia. Now that funding commitments have been secured, we urge the leadership in each jurisdiction to complete the necessary work to reform Metro’s governance to improve accountability and service for its riders, and provide better outcomes across the system.
“Today marks a major milestone for our Metro system. The legislation passed by DC Council and the Mayor shows a true commitment to ensuring a successful and sustainable future for our region. As we celebrate this milestone and the commitment of dedicated funding, we also stress the need for governance reform. Only by pairing governance reforms that improve accountability with the newly secured dedicated funding, can Metro achieve the operational improvements that will deliver safe, frequent, and affordable service,” said Anthony Williams, former DC Mayor and Executive Director of the Federal City Council.
The MetroNow Coalition applauds DC for being the first jurisdiction to enact into law legislation dedicating a full Metro funding share, and eagerly await legislation previously passed in Maryland and Virginia to be signed into law by Governor Northam and Governor Hogan.
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About the MetroNow Coalition
The MetroNow Coalition is a group of regional leaders from organizations representing businesses and non-profit advocates who have come to together to ensure that action is taken to put Metro—the backbone of Greater Washington’s transportation infrastructure—on a safe, smart and sustainable path forward in 2018 and beyond. We are dedicated to securing comprehensive improvement of Metro’s governance, funding and operational structures in 2018. Visit MetroNow.com for more information.