Thread by @JWPascale

WMATA board meeting day talking budget, recovery service plan, Silver Line and more.

Live video:

Agenda: wmata.com/about/calendar…

WMATA says it's seeing small increases in ridership correlated with nicer weather.

WMATA on cleaning:
- Routine cleaning daily. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces -- fare gates, fare machines, handrails etc.
- Responsive cleaning if suspected of COVID
- Saw 197 responsive cleanings... guessing that's between 81 employees and passengers?

WMATA says its disinfected 48 rail cars when passenger suspected of having COVID-19.

Metro has used 100,000 gallons of disinfectants since the pandemic began

VA's Matt Letourneau asks if there has been any COVID spread on Metro.

WMATA says it has had positive riders. Called in responsive cleaning/disinfect.
Able to provide fare card data for contract tracing if it's asked for.

No awareness of clusters or outbreak from WMATA riders.

MD's Greg Slater asks about enforcing/maintaining social distancing.

WMATA says they're "trying to meet the needs of the region."
More on that later when they talk about service recovery plan.

Fed's McMillan asks how many times buses have skipped stops because buses are too full.

WMATA says there have been incidental crowding on some routes -- we've worked to bridge that gap. Will follow up with more granular data.

VA's Smedberg asks if there are different cleaning processes for buses and railcars.

WMATA says similar. Using hand wipes mostly. Also using electrostatic fogger.

multi-clean.com/wp-content/upl…

MD's Michael Goldman praises Metro for lower number of positive COVID cases at WMATA compared to NYC, London.

WMATA: 81 cases, 0 deaths
MTA: about 100 deaths since I last heard

DC's Gidigbi asks about temperature tests for riders.

WMATA says not the right solution for Metro at this point, but looking into technology that could make it more efficient.

Gidigbi asks about how cleaning has changed during pandemic.

WMATA says most of the processes are the same, but they're cleaning twice as much as they have in the past -- especially in stations.

MD's Goldman asks about mask policy for riders.

WMATA has long been recommended it. We are as part of our recovery process, we are going to strengthen that stance and require them. Can be cloth facial covering or more substantive mask. We don't plan extensive enforcement.

BREAK: WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says mandatory face covering requirement for riders is coming Monday.

Fed's Horner asks about facial covering has been "controversial" in some circles...

Wiedefeld says requirement is already in effect in MD and DC. Operationally, makes sense.
Customers overwhelmingly expect to see masks on system before consider using it. Calls it necessary.

Horner says workers are not required to police fare evasion, wouldn't want them to enforce face mask requirement so they aren't put into bad situations. Will Metro PD do so?

Wiedefeld -- tough to enforce. We've seen videos of how this goes bad. We want to see encourage it.

Wiedefeld says looking at mask supplies to see if Metro PD could hand out masks if needed. (Metro previously said they would not provide masks).

Not looking to write a ticket if you don't have a face mask, Wiedefeld says.

Now on to Silver Line presentation: wmata.com/about/board/me…

Dates when masks were required on public transit:

SEPTA (Philly): April 9*
MTA (NYC): April 17
BART (SF): April 22
MBTA (Boston): May 6
Metro (LA): May 13
WMATA (DC): May 18

*no longer enforced after incident

Goldman asking about Silver Line opening date with myriad of issues...

WMATA's Laura Mason says MWAA and contractors need to give us more info on their schedule.

(MWAA's most recent info says completion in March 2021)

Now on to the recovery plan, which we covered on Monday.

dcist.com/story/20/05/11…

Will tweet any updates/questions from board members.

Not much new in presentation... now on to questions.

Fed's McMillan asks if the specifics of plans will change given things outside WMATA control. This is a planning assumption based on best information?

Wiedefeld -- yes. Will come back to board monthly with updates.

McMillin asks about social distancing, capacity. What happens when ridership gets above the capacity while social distancing.

WMATA's Laura Mason says looking at protective barriers. We fundamentally will be limited on what we can provide. Will look to increase service if we can

WMATA's Lynn Bowersox says metering the workforce return will be key. Capacity limited and riders will make choices based on where they feel safe. So have to have help from employers

DC's Jeff Marootian wonders about collaboration w Feds/OPM.

Here's OPM's statement: OPM remains in continual communication w/ WMATA, and we will continue to monitor the situation in order to best position the Federal workforce to carry out its mission both effectively and safely

WMATA's Laura Mason says they told OPM about their capacity limitations -- proper social distancing limits capacity by 80%.

MD's Greg Slater praises Metro's recovery plan. Says being ahead of demand is important. Stresses WMATA needs to be agile (WMATA prev aid it would take two months to ramp up each level of service).

Slater says need to continue to protect workforce and make sure riders feel safe

VA's Paul Smedberg asks about collaboration with larger employers, other biz groups.

Wiedefeld says working with Board of Trade, doing webinar next week with biz group.

Smedberg asking about closing time --right now 9 p.m. Will that be adequate in the future?

Mason says plans are tentative. Will look for feedback about hours. See where and when demand is coming back and adjust.

Fed's Horner asking about getting ahead of demand. Currently can accommodate 85k bus trips. Data published by WMATA says above 130k. So what gives?

Joe Leader says problem with the workforce -- hard to move people around because of union collective bargaining agreement.

Leader says during the upcoming stabilization period, they will attempt to reorganize workforce and add service on those busy routes.

You can see popular routes here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

Metro survey asked what people would do if they had to go back to work next week.
Most said they would not take WMATA -- instead drive, bike etc.

Don't feel WMATA is safe.

Riders are listening to recommendations CDC, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Bowersox says most employers seem to think that telework has provided good productivity and aren't at the point of discussing a plan to bring everyone back to the office.

DC's Gidigbi asks about who is sitting on Metro's focus groups. Says, yes, many people working from home, but many still traveling, especially by bus.

Bowersox says riders who use bus and rail. Underrepresented so far: low income and minority bus riders.

Bowersox says they've sent postcards to those riders' homes and ask them to fill out online survey.

DC's Gidigbi asks about hospital workers and non-traditional schedules. How are they getting to work?

WMATA's Joe Leader said they have created shuttles using MetroAccess vehicles from hospitals in certain areas on weekends.

Gidigbi says 20-30 min headways are not ideal for many workers. Can we include more frequency on busy bus routes?

Leader says are plans to move more workers/buses to heavier routes in near future.

Gidigbi: How do we get a better headcount on the bus if people aren't using SmartTrip fare machine up front.

Leader says rear door does have sensors that counts riders.

Here’s an example of how busy the 70 bus is right now. It looks like this often.

You can’t social distance with this much rider demand. WMATA says they want to get ahead of demand, but so far isn’t on busy routes.

VA's Letourneau says WMATA needs to know if large businesses plan to return workers to the office.

Wiedefeld agrees, encourages board members to reach out to their communities as well to be aware of what's happening.

Smedberg asks what happens if schools come back in the fall?

Wiedefeld says he's on the Open DC task force. He says schools have talked about metering. WMATA working closely with District schools

Now on to the budget discussion, which we covered Tuesday: wamu.org/story/20/05/12…

Will tweet updates/questions, but take a look at that story for the bulk of it.

Smedberg asks what happens if there is a significant second wave in the fall? What is the worst case scenario? Has staff discussed it?

Wiedefeld says done some thinking around that, but this plan is something that needs to be revisited monthly. Things happening so quickly.

Fed's Rouse asks about supply chain issues.

Wiedefeld says they've placed orders -- masks, gloves, cleaning supplies -- and they don't show up on time.

Wiedefeld says they're not asking for approval of estimated budget (they expect that to change, will brief monthly), just deferring planned service improvements.

Board approves changes unanimously.

Full board approves continuing free bus fares/rear door boarding, free parking at West Falls Church doing Orange/Silver line shutdown and other items... Wraps up today's meeting.