Momentum’s outreach was unprecedented. Metro staff heard from almost 12,000 stakeholders during the process, which helped inform our understanding of the public’s short- and long-term needs. Below is a high-level summary of the most commonly-held viewpoints across region:
Make no small plans for Metro;
Recognize Metro is critical to the region’s future;
What happens if Metro completes MetroForward and ceases there? Simply put, the region cannot afford for Metro to get the system back to where it should have been, but stop short of preparing the system for the growth that has already created overcrowding conditions and service disruptions, let alone prepare for additional growth that has yet to come.
Note that the region is already the most congested area in the country, and Metro is a huge part of what keeps this region moving and working in spite of its transportation gridlock. Stopping short of implementing Metro 2025 and Momentum means that the region’s attractiveness as a place to live and work may be threatened. The region could face the following consequences:
Metro will degrade quickly with more delays and service disruptions – visible progress will be lost;
Shoulder-to-shoulder, rush hour conditions experienced today on an increasing number of rail lines and stations will grow system-wide and become worse;
Crowding similar to Presidential Inauguration Days will likely become the norm;
Customers will be left with 1970s-era communication and trip planning services;
Residents would have fewer jobs within an acceptable commuting distance and employers would have access to a much smaller pool of employees; and
The regional transit system will advance towards antiquity, harming the region’s competitive advantage for talent, jobs and investment dollars.
Momentum builds upon and advances a number of regionally significant planning studies that are either recently completed – or underway. They include:
Region Forward: A vision for the DC region created by the MWCOG. It addresses the interrelated challenges of population growth, aging infrastructure, traffic congestion, energy costs, environmental impacts, affordable housing and sustainable development, as well as disparities in education, economics and health (2010)
Economy Forward: A companion piece to Region Forward that reinforces the importance of transit to the region’s overall competitiveness (2012)
Financially Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP): The region’s official long-range transportation plan that outlines the priority projects to be implemented in the region between 2012 and 2040 as prioritized by the Transportation Planning Board (TPB) and local jurisdictions (2012)
A next generation communications system would expand current communications infrastructure to provide an integrated one-stop communications hub for the region’s transit customers. Proposed improvements will capitalize on efforts already underway to improve the functionality of the rail control software. They include the next generation of the Passenger Information Display System (PIDS), new public address systems, improved station signage, and equipping station managers with mobile devices. Bus and train information will also be integrated, with real-time information displays to well-used bus stops.
Metro will be the region’s transit planner, providing leadership for the transit map of the future.
The region’s public transit needs are great, and the current multi-party approach has flaws that threaten the overall viability of the network. Metro is the only entity that is capable of and chartered to provide regional transit leadership.
Metro has and will continue to make these and other investments, but it should be noted that jurisdictional partners will also have to do their part in order to ensure that these investments result in significant improvements. This means cooperating on mobility policies, coordinating on capital investments such as traffic signal prioritization, and making land use decisions that support transit usage and ridership gains, especially in areas where Metro has underutilized existing capacity.
Since 2010, the Board of Directorshas been laying the foundation to rebuild Metro itself. From hiring a new General Manager to beginning the largest capital program since the inception of Metro, the Board has taken numerous actions to better equip the agency to succeed, including providing a stronger governance foundation.
Under the leadership of the Board, Metro has made substantial progress on improving system safety, reforming the agency’s governance, and stabilizing its finances
The Board has made strategic investments in infrastructure, equipment and workforce training, and developed policies that have markedly improved safety, as recognized by the NTSB and FTA and documented in the Authority’s publicly-reported Vital Signs score card.
Governance reforms undertaken over the last two years have modernized Board leadership, strengthened the Authority’s governing structure, improved the Board’s partnership with the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer, enhanced internal management, and prioritized public dialogue. The Board also adopted governance reform measures that strengthened its Code of Ethics and provided its first-ever bylaws, which detail the Board’s focus on policy, financial direction, oversight and Metro’s relationship with its customers and jurisdictional partners.
Metro also delivers quality-of-life benefits to individuals by reducing the costs of travel and minimizing environmental impacts. Without transit:
Congestion at peak times would increase 25 percent, costing over $1.0 billion annually in wasted time.
Households would spend an additional $500 million/year in auto expenditures, including an additional 41 million gallons of fuel annually.
Air quality would worsen because of an additional 260 tons of volatile organic compounds, 22 tons of particulate matter and 500,000 tons of CO2 equivalent in the air, the equivalent of 9 billion party balloons.
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), adopts the region’s constrained long-range plan (CLRP) annually. Only projects included in this regional transportation plan are eligible for federal funding, and since 1991, federal law requires the CLRP to be constrained financially. This regional transportation plan includes only projects that are reasonably expected to be fully funded.
Mary Hynes — Board Member with Arlington County and WMATA Board of Directors Member — was recently featured by Comcast Newsmakers, discussing sustainability efforts as well as Metro’s strategic plan, Momentum.
Ms. Hynes describes Metro’s “Big Ideas” for 2025, including: the need for “all 8-car trains” during rush hour; additional crossovers and pocket tracks to provide more flexibility during peak period operations, emergencies and trackwork; and priority for Metrobus on city streets and highways.
Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Since 2011, Metro has made great strides to improve customer service through the Customer Service Action Plan. As a starting point, to determine customer priorities, Metro conducted customer and employee research to define good customer service and to identify customer priorities. With the information gathered from its customers and frontline employees, Metro identified the areas needing improvement in the respective departments and then put together individual corrective work plans. Through the Customer Service Action Plan, Metro has accomplished the following:
Developed new customer service training programs and trained over 2,000 employees;
Replaced and/or rehabilitated 28 escalators in 2012;
Introduced new and improved bus maps;
Assigned over 30 more police officers to improve bus security;
Developed and launched a trip planning and information site designed for mobile devices;
Installed digital flat screens in all stations to improve customer information;
Deployed MetroAlerts so customers have access to real-time detour and disruption information;
Installed over 2,600 static stop signs to enhance service information at bus stops;
Enhanced MetroAccess’ on-time performance standards in response to customer survey feedback;
Installed SmarTrip dispensers in all stations; and
Implemented the Better Bus program to improve service.
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