Declining ridership is freeing up space in the D.C. Metro system but constant breakdowns are still forcing riders into packed rush hour trains.
A quarterly performance report from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) shows that a sharp decline in ridership since SafeTrack began is leading to a decrease in congestion throughout the system. The report notes however, that much of the rider reductions were offset by a large number of broken trains that officials removed from service, according to the Q3/2016 Vital Signs Report.
Metro officials said overcrowding instances are particularly bad on the orange line at the Court House station, the silver line at the Rosslyn station, the blue line at the Smithsonian station and the green line at Mt. Vernon Square station.
“Year-to-year decreases in rush period ridership occurred each month in this reporting period, ranging from a 7 percent rush period ridership decrease in May to a 16% rush period ridership decrease in July,” the report states. “The year-to-year rush period ridership decrease in July was offset by significantly fewer railcars observed for the month during both AM and PM rush periods, leading to overcrowding at multiple locations.”
Declining ridership and unreliability due to SafeTrack is pushing the D.C. Metro further into a financial hole, prompting a controversial budget proposal from General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. Metro is strapped for cash and many localities appear reluctant to allocate additional funds to the transit system. The current budget shortfall at Metro is $275 million.
Metro made 321 million passenger trips for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, marking a 6 percent decline over ridership in 2015. Metro officials previously estimated ridership would grow by 3.2 percent this fiscal year. Analysts warn if the trend continues, the D.C. Metro will have a $1.1 billion budget shortfall by 2020.
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