Thread by @annaksugg_

It has absolutely nothing to do with funding.

#WMATA gets money from both the federal government as well as dedicated funding from DC/MD/VA - on top of charging one of the most expensive fares in the country.

There are, however, some other items to consider here: /1

https://twitter.com/dimacdonald/status/1366880195060375557

Ridership has been steadily decreasing since 2009.

#WMATA points to an increase pre-pandemic (February 2020), but compared it to ridership in 2019...at about a 9% ridership increase. AKA: Nowhere near pre-2009 levels.

2009 marks a pivotal point in #WMATA history, in fact.

In June 2009, 9 riders died in the Red Line crash - which remains Metro's deadliest accident to date. /3

nbcwashington.com/news/local/10-…

In response to the accident, #WMATA introduced "Metro Forward" - a construction project overhauling the Red Line.

This project cost $5B and took 6 years to complete.

Only problem: The project made trains unreliable, more crowded, and ridership started to decrease.

Then, in 2016, #WMATA started "SafeTrack" - a multi billion dollar project to overhaul the entire metro system. /5

This created even more single tracking train lines, unreliable travel times, and longer waits between trains.

wamu.org/story/16/06/13…

Except, in addition to single tracking trains - there were also flat out station closures for platform improvement projects, leaving residents without service for months on end.

washingtonpost.com/local/traffica…

And, after YEARS of Metro improvements, closures/delays for safety, and BILLIONS of dollars in spending to "update the system" - fires still happen (this was in 2019):

wusa9.com/article/news/l…

And that's just the safety/construction project side of the #WMATADrama.

Then there's Jack Evans.

Former DC Councilman and former Chairman of the Metro's Board of Advisors.

He is (thankfully) a former member after being investigated by the FBI for corruption and ethics violations after accepting bribes related to DC transit.

washingtonpost.com/local/dc-polit…

After Evans corruption came to light, WMATA's finances came under scrutiny...except there wasn't much reported and oversight was slim.

So slim, in fact, that Gov Hogan of Maryland withheld the state's dedicated funding and demanded an audit.

baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md…

So, to end a MUCH longer thread than intended: WMATA's problems are more than funding.

This won't be solved with money (and, if the latest COVID relief is passed, they'll get about $800M). They've got to address the root of the problem: low ridership and low public trust.