Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Thursday, Metro’s finance committee will vote on the general manager’s revised budget proposal for the financial year that starts in July. Metro rail and bus riders weren’t happy with the budget General Manager Paul Wiedefeld proposed last November, but this one may be less objectionable.
The bad news is Wiedefeld’s revised budget includes increases for rail and bus fares and parking lot rates. Rush hour trains would only come once every eight minutes if this proposal is approved.
The good news is, the price for a seven-day bus pass will stay the same, allowing frequent riders to avoid paying a quarter more for each ride they take. The revised budget also keeps off-peak rail service the same, instead of reducing it. Bus routes, mostly in Virginia and Maryland, that were originally on the chopping block, will stay.
Wiedefeld announced these and other changes earlier this week after riders said during public hearings that they would rather pay more than have less service options.
This revised budget pays for $23 million in parts used to fix train cars with money from the capital budget instead of the operating budget.
In a statement, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 said it opposed the revised budget because they believe it forces riders to pay more for less and uses disruptive employee policies to close the system’s financial challenges.
Following today’s vote by the finance committee, the budget will be sent to the full board for approval in two weeks.
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