103 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

WMATA press release

 

For immediate release: April 23, 2020

  Metro to use upcoming low-ridership summer to maximum effect, expands Orange, Silver line shutdown

 

 

Making the most of historically low ridership and traffic-free highways, Metro today announced plans to combine the schedules of its two biggest capital priorities in Virginia: rebuilding platforms and connecting the Silver Line to Metro's existing network.

 

Under the expanded plan, Metro will combine this summer's work demolishing and reconstructing platforms at four Orange Line stations with a separate project on the Silver Line to connect Metrorail to the new "phase II" stations, which are being constructed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). 

 

The resulting summer shutdown will close a total of nine stations from Memorial Day weekend through the fall. 

 

"This is about two things: working smarter and working safer," said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld. "Closing the stations to get the work done while ridership is historically low allows us to limit the exposure of our frontline staff and contractors, mitigate delays to our capital program, and minimize inconvenience to the public."

 

Under the new plan:

• All stations west of Ballston on the Orange and Silver lines will be closed beginning Saturday, May 23:
  • Orange Line: East Falls Church, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring, Vienna
  • Silver Line: McLean, Tysons, Greensboro, Spring Hill, Wiehle-Reston East
• All trains will begin/end service at Ballston. Orange Line service will run from Ballston to New Carrollton.
• There will be no Silver Line service.
• Free express and local shuttle bus service will be available to provide alternative travel options for essential workers.

 

As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, ridership at stations west of Ballston totals about 1,200 customers per weekday – less than 5% of normal ridership. 

 

Metro's platform contractor, Kiewit, has implemented new protocols and procedures to ensure that construction crews are as safe as possible in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Because the effect of these safety measures on the project schedule is not yet known, Metro will announce an expected reopening date for the affected stations after construction gets underway.

 

Travel alternatives

Metro will provide three free shuttle bus options:

• Orange Line Local: Service between Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and Ballston
• Orange Line Express: Direct service between Vienna and Ballston (no intermediate stops)
• Silver Line Local: Service between Wiehle-Reston East, Spring Hill, Tysons Corner and Ballston

 

Shuttles will run seven days a week, and operate during the same hours as the rail system, currently 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. on weekends.

 

Shuttles will run approximately every 10 minutes on weekdays and approximately every 15 minutes on weekends.

 

Shuttles will not stop at stations closed due to Metro's response to COVID-19.

 

Parking

Metro's Board approved plans to provide free parking at Vienna and Dunn Loring through the end of the summer shutdown.

 

No customer parking is available at East Falls Church Station due to construction activity.

 

Stay at home orders in effect 

Use of Metro should be limited to essential travel only, as stipulated under stay-at-home Executive Orders in effect throughout the Metro service area. Essential travel includes first responders, hospital staff, critical government employees, grocery and pharmacy workers, and others who must work during the public health emergency. Unless traveling for an essential purpose, you are urged to stay at home.

 

Customers can stay up to date on the project and sign up to receive email updates at wmata.com/platforms.

 

Cross-Posted:  WMATA Orange & Silver Line Summer 2020 Shutdown in VA

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post 5/9/20

 

Op-Ed

 

How Metro plans to gradually return to full service

 

By Paul J. Wiedefeld 

 

Paul J. Wiedefeld is general manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

 

 

Metro ridership has plummeted to historic lows and that’s a good thing — for now. Customers are making only essential trips to protect the health of everyone in the region. Planning for recovery from the covid-19 shutdown isn’t like reopening after a blizzard. This is not a “start your engines” moment. This principle guides our plans to implement phased recovery over the next 12 months.

 

Metro is utilizing about half of our front-line workforce as employees self-quarantine, nurse sick relatives, and provide child care and home-schooling. We have 81 confirmed covid-19 cases among our 12,000-member workforce, with two colleagues hospitalized. Twenty-six have already recovered. Partnering with union leaders has kept us at the forefront of our industry in safeguarding employees, who live in communities in the national capital region disproportionately impacted by the virus.

 

SNIP

 

Our recovery plan, first and foremost, considers how to protect employees and customers. It complies with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and supports guidelines from regional leaders — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser — that are based on science and public health. Finally, it relies on ridership and economic projections analyzing several models of covid-19 peaks, testing availability, supply chains for cleaning products and protective equipment, and other variables beyond Metro’s control.

 

The plan also considers customers’ expectations. Our April survey of SmarTrip Cardholders found preferences for all passengers to wear masks, and for visible and frequent disinfecting of rail cars, buses and stations. Customers want plenty of room for social distancing when riding. These measures require fundamental changes to old practices. Until a vaccine is available, our customer experience can’t be what it was before the pandemic.

 

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post 5/11/20

Metro’s coronavirus recovery plan shows full service not likely to resume until next spring

 

 

 

Metro’s coronavirus recovery plan doesn’t anticipate a return to pre-pandemic levels of service until next spring. Instead, the transit agency plans to slowly ramp up service and will ask the region’s employers to limit daily commuters by staggering work schedules and encouraging telework.

 

The plan, to be presented to the agency’s board Thursday, outlines how public transit will look once state and local officials begin lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. Service levels will gradually increase over the course of a year and the plan relies heavily on elected leaders, federal officials, military brass and chief executives to keep passenger numbers low so rail cars and buses don’t become dangerously crowded and worsen the spread of infection.

 

Customers shouldn’t expect any major service improvements over what is available now until at least fall; Metro plans to keep the same reduced-service schedule until the start of the school year.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 5/11/20
 

Metro executive details phased plan to return to full service

 

 

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said in an op-ed that the D.C.-area’s transportation system will open in three planned phases that may take as long as two months to implement.

 

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Wiedefeld said Metro trains will run every 20 minutes as local leaders begin to initiate the first phases of reopening.

 

SNIP

 

“Metro ridership has plummeted to historic lows and that’s a good thing — for now,” Wiedefeld wrote.

 

More here w/audio report.

[CNJRoss]

WMATA press release

 

For immediate release: May 11, 2020

  Metro’s gradual recovery plan promotes safety first, while ramping up regional mobility

 

 

Metro today released preliminary details of its covid-19 pandemic recovery plan, outlining a flexible blueprint for ramping up service, while protecting customers and employees, as the region prepares for recovery from the public health crisis. The recovery strategy will be discussed at Metro’s Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, May 14. 

 

Metro’s plan is closely aligned with steps planned by local governments and employers, including the federal government. Its success depends on a sustained downward trajectory in infections and a gradual ramp-up in service and ridership. The phases of the plan coincide with the relaxing of stay-at-home policies, return to workplaces, and the widespread availability of testing, treatment and a vaccine, among other variables.

 

  Protecting Customers and Employees

 

Metro’s priority continues to be protecting the health and safety of its customers and employees while providing transportation for essential trips throughout the region. Efforts to reduce exposure to the virus will continue until treatments and /or a vaccine are developed to lessen the public health risk. Metro’s Pandemic Task Force is monitoring infection and ridership trends as well as actions by local governments and employers, and will aim to increase service ahead of demand to allow for adequate social distancing. Modified work schedules and practices for Metro employees will continue for the foreseeable future, with adjustments possible, to limit risk to employees.

 

  Phases of recovery

 

Metro has been in a ‘crisis response’ posture since moving into stage 3 of its Pandemic Response Plan on March 13. (Metro activated its Pandemic Response Plan on January 29, 2020.) The next phase of Metro’s pandemic response includes:

• Stabilization: As stay-at-home orders are expected to be lifted this summer, Metro will continue to ask customers to use the system only for essential trips, and to protect themselves and others through hand hygiene and by wearing face masks or coverings when using the Metro system.
• Managed re-entry: As regional businesses and governments scale back teleworking and schools reopen, Metro will aim to ramp up service ahead of demand to allow for proper social distancing for those who need to travel. In this phase, all Metrorail stations currently closed as part of the covid-19 response will reopen. All Metrobus routes will operate, with some service limitations such as reduced intervals between bus departures. The tentative managed re-entry period is this fall when schools reopen.
• Recovery: When a treatment and /or vaccine is widely available, Metro will continue to ramp up service to meet ridership demand as economic activity increases. The system will return to post-pandemic hours of service.
• Resilience: Post-pandemic, Metro will analyze the response to COVID-19 to make the system safer and more resilient to future pandemics.  

  Summer track work

 

During the stabilization period this summer, Metro will take advantage of low ridership to reduce impacts to customers from critical state of good repair construction projects.  It’s recovery plan includes targeted week-long shutdowns of 3-5 stations at a time for track maintenance and upgrades. Bus bridges will be provided in the shutdown zones, and headways throughout the rest of the system will not be affected. Track work will be announced weeks in advance. The first track work shutdown is currently targeted for June 7-13 at L'Enfant Plaza, Waterfront, and Navy Yard stations.

 

Metro continues to encourage the public to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as all applicable executive orders and local guidance intended to limit travel. Metro should be used for essential travel only. All customers using the system should wear a cloth face covering or mask, as recommended by the CDC. For additional information, visit wmata.com/covid19.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

WMATA press release

 

For immediate release: May 12, 2020

  Metro balances budget with federal CARES funding

 

Federal relief funding of more than $767 million is helping Metro close out the current fiscal year with a balanced budget, following an unprecedented drop in fare revenue due to the pandemic crisis response. For the coming fiscal year, the CARES Act funding will also enable Metro to cover increased expenses driven by enhanced safety measures and manage the risk of lower than anticipated jurisdictional subsidies due to covid-constrained budgets.

 

“We are fortunate to have supporting jurisdictions and a congressional delegation that both understand and advocate for Metro’s role in the region’s mobility and economy, especially during a crisis,” said Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. “Thanks to CARES relief funding, we have been able to keep people working and continue to move essential workers as safely as possible during an unprecedented crisis.”

 

The Board passed a $2.07 billion FY21 operating budget in April after months of public input that supported service improvements and fare discounts. However, as the region grapples with covid economic impacts, the new budget defers those service and fare initiatives, instead funding Metro’s three-phase recovery plan.

 

“There are so many variables here that any one of these could put our ability to deliver service at risk,” said Wiedefeld. “While we are deeply grateful to Congress for their support, we will need additional help to get the nation’s capital moving again.”

 

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, the new budget proposal anticipates that CARES relief funding will replace $438 million in additional lost revenue while Metro ramps up gradually, aligned with requirements from the region’s governors and mayor. The revised budget safeguards employee and customer wellness by underwriting increased expenses from new safety measures, including personal protective equipment, disinfectant and cleaning increases, and additional labor expenses from modified work schedules. The proposal also provides $45 million in cost cuts through management actions such as deferred supplies purchasing, a hiring freeze and elimination of vacancies to take some pressure off funding jurisdictions with declining tax revenues. Wiedefeld is expected to tell the Board that no layoffs or furloughs are included in this proposal, subject to the jurisdictions’ ability to pay the lower subsidies.

 

The Board will play an important role with ongoing monitoring of the budget and potentially making revisions as necessary due to ongoing regional and national economic uncertainty, Wiedefeld noted.

 

Metro’s $1.82 billion capital program is largely unchanged.

 

 

 

Cross posted:  WMATA FY21 Budget; Late-night hours and rush-hour fare increases

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/13/20

Metro shifts budget, recommends deferring new initiatives to cover pandemic’s impact

 

 

Metro is suspending plans to extend night service hours, institute special weekend fares and discount bus-to-rail transfers this summer to reallocate funding toward keeping the transit system solvent and avoid layoffs or furloughs while the agency continues to weather the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The transit agency also will defer its first rail fare increase in three years.

 

In a revised budget proposal to be presented for board approval Thursday, Metro officials say federal relief funding of more than $767 million will help the agency finish the current fiscal year with a balanced budget.

 

But with continued uncertainty about when the Washington region will reopen, the agency cannot afford to start many of the new initiatives it had planned to roll out July 1 as part of a push to attract new riders and sustain the ridership growth it had been experiencing for more than a year before the pandemic hit in March.

 

Continue here.

Cross-posted:   WMATA FY21 Budget; Late-night hours and rush-hour fare increases

 

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release

 

For immediate release: May 14, 2020

  Face coverings will be required on Metro trains, buses, and in stations

 

Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld today accepted a recommendation of the transit authority's Pandemic Task Force that face coverings or masks be required when traveling on Metro effective Monday, May 18. The move strengthens Metro's position on the matter, which has "strongly recommended" the use of face coverings since early April, in accordance with CDC guidance. While the overwhelming majority of riders already comply voluntarily, the requirement is viewed as a necessary step as Metro plans for an eventual recovery with more riders using the system.

 

"Every person who wears a face covering on Metro is helping to keep others safe, and this is especially important for Metro's frontline employees. In the age of Covid-19, we all share a responsibility for frontline worker safety, and that's what this is all about," Wiedefeld said.

 

Metro continues to emphasize that the policy will be applied to emphasize compliance while minimizing conflict. The requirement to wear face coverings applies in all Metro stations, trains, buses, and MetroAccess vehicles. Per the CDC, face coverings may include bandanas, scarves, neck gaiters or homemade coverings easily made from t-shirts or other materials at minimal cost. Medical-grade masks should be prioritized for first responders and hospitals and should not be used for this purpose.

 

Click here for guidance on how to make and wear cloth face coverings.

 

As a reminder, Metro is open for "essential travel only," and the public is encouraged to stay at home whenever possible, in accordance with current executive orders and guidance in effect throughout the region. For essential travelers, the Metrorail system is open from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Bus service on selected routes is provided daily until 11 p.m. Metro is performing enhanced cleaning and disinfecting in all trains, buses and stations, distributed hand sanitizer to all frontline employees without access to wash rooms, implemented rear-door boarding and waived fares on buses to protect bus operators, closed the first and last railcars to create a protective buffer for train operators and closed 19 stations to conserve limited cleaning supplies.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 5/14/20

 

Metro to make masks mandatory for riders, starting Monday

 

 

Until now it has been recommended, but Metro’s general manager said all passengers will be required to wear at least a cloth face covering on trains and buses, as of Monday, May 18, to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld on Thursday told the Metro Board of Directors that requiring a mask, which can be made of cloth or other materials, is consistent with what Maryland and the District have done.

 

“We think regionwide, from an operational standpoint, this needs to be done,” he said.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 5/20/20
 

Metro gets $876M in federal funding through coronavirus aid package

 

 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will be getting a boost to the tune of $876 million in federal funding, a Democratic delegation from Maryland announced Tuesday.

 

Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, along with Reps. Steny Hoyer, John Sarbanes, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone, say WMATA and its local transit partners will get the funds through the CARES Act. Of the federal funding, $41.1 million of that will go to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties’ local transit providers.

 

“Metro is an essential service, central to the success of our region and a safe reopening,” the lawmakers said in a news release. “While ridership and revenues have decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ensure that our national transit system — and the employees who keep it running — are able to weather this storm.”

 

Continue here.