WMATA and MWCOG announce new joint transit initiative

Makea Luzader
·2 min read

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (COG) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced plans for a new joint initiative for the region’s transit.

In a news release sent out Wednesday, officials said that the organizations’ Boards of Directors will meet on May 1 to start “months-long discussions about how to efficiently provide, fund, and govern public transit.”

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The partnership followed cries for help from WMATA over budget concerns in FY 2025. The organization initially said it was facing a $750M budget shortfall in December of 2023. In February, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an additional $200M in funding for the transit system.

“World-class regions are built on world-class transit, and it’s up to us, as leaders, to advance this vision. WMATA’s financial challenges remain, but our region worked together to solve the next year or two while we focus on the region’s long term transit needs. But that crisis creates an opportunity in this moment, and it’s one I’m confident we can meet. We look forward to creating a comprehensive and inclusive effort that will bring together area governments and agencies and all the key stakeholders from the business, labor, and civic sectors,” COG Board Chair Charles Allen said in the release.

Wednesday’s release said that the new partnership between COG and WMATA will build on coordination related to 2025’s budget challenges.

“This joint initiative is an important step towards a collaborative approach to regional problem solving. Our leaders have already made good-faith efforts to address some of Metro’s ongoing financial challenges. I am confident this important work will allow us to look at the region holistically and move towards solutions that benefit us all,” WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said in the release.

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