Update 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2:
Northern Virginia's congressional representation Tuesday emphasized the need for immediate federal funding for pandemic relief, including funding for the region's transportation system.
Citing the number of government workers, including workers for Senators and U.S. House members, who depend on Metro to get to work, Rep. Don Beyer said in a press release, “This catastrophe must not be allowed to happen, and Congress can prevent it by passing a new aid package."
Members of Congress earmarked $15 billion for transit in a $908 billion federal COVID-19 relief funding bill on Tuesday, some of which would go to WMATA, that would mitigate the need for some of the more drastic cuts. It is not clear whether or when a federal coronavirus relief bill will get enough votes.
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Original article, Tuesday, Dec. 1:
If Metro doesn't receive a huge influx of federal funding, or if bus and rail ridership doesn't bounce back in a big way — fast — two of Alexandria's Metro stations could close in 2021.
Citing a "historic operating budget crisis," Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) officials put forth a proposed budget that includes major cuts to services, hours and even locations.
WMATA reported on Monday it is facing a $494.5 million funding gap. A huge drop-off in ridership that started in March due to coronavirus concerns combined with "contractual obligations, inflation and additional Covid cost increases" to put WMATA in this situation.
In addition to service cuts and thousands of layoffs, the WMATA proposed budget includes eliminating weekend service on rail lines (somewhat making up for it with increased bus service) and closing 19 Metro rail stations.
The stations that could face closure include those that are within one mile of other stations and those that are seeing the lowest usage. In Alexandria, that means the Eisenhower Station and Van Dorn Street station are on the list.
Eisenhower Station is listed because of its proximity to the King Street Station, less than one mile away. Thousands of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employees are working from home, which has also reduced demand on the Eisenhower station.
Van Dorn station is listed due to low usage.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, Mayor Justin Wilson wrote, "This is what the worst case scenario looks like and should not happen. This will irreparably harm our region, our economy and those that live here. Supporting transit agencies and local governments must be a key component of future Federal stimulus."
The cuts would take starting with the new budget year on July 1, 2021 as part of the FY 2022 WMATA budget.
WMATA depends a lot on tourism for revenue from riders, which has been down significantly with museums closed and most major events canceled, including baseball games. In addition, with so many people working from home, daily commuter ridership remains much lower than normal (down by more than 75 percent, according to Metro, from pre-pandemic levels).
"The vaccine is the wildcard here; its acceptance, how well it works, and how people behave afterward," Wiedefeld said at a press conference Monday. "If people take the vaccine and they start to use the system again, that would obviously work in our benefit.”
