Norton to Hold Roundtable on ‘Metro in Transition for 21st Century Riders: What is Needed and What to Expect’

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, March 11, 2014, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ranking Member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, will hold a roundtable discussion on issues facing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), entitled Metro in Transition for 21st Century Riders: What is Needed and What to Expect.

WHO: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Richard Sarles, General Manager and CEO of WMATA

Klara Baryshev, Chair of the Tri-State Oversight Committee

Jackie L. Jeter, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689

David Alpert, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington

WHAT: WMATA roundtable discussion

WHEN: Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE:441 4th St. NW, Washington, D.C. - One Judiciary Square,in the Old Council Chambers on the first floor

BACKGROUND: The roundtable discussion will focus on longer-term issues facing WMATA, and will help Norton in her new lead role on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, which is writing a surface transportation reauthorization bill this year. Norton’s office will select questions submitted by D.C. residents, which will be addressed at the roundtable. Residents should submit questions, along with their name and address, to NortonMetroRoundtable@mail.house.gov. Among the issues the roundtable will take up are progress and timeframes concerning the transformation Metro is now undergoing, rider stability and methods for calculating and ensuring ridership, future financing for the system, the fare vs. subsidy ratio, the effect of federal and non-federal funding on capital improvement needs, the challenges WMATA faces with Metrobus and MetroAccess, and the effect, if any, of WMATA ridership on funding of local transit operations, such as the Circulator.

Published: March 11, 2014