If you think Metro is crowded now,
just wait.

This Web page and feedback form is adapted from a print version distributed in Metrorail stations.

Crowded train photo Does this sound familiar? You leave the house for work in the morning. You walk to a bus stop and climb aboard a standing-room-only bus. At the Metro station, you wait on a crowded platform and squeeze into a packed train.

You know it’s bad. We know it’s bad. But it’s only going to get worse, unless we all do something about it.

Adding more rail cars and buses.

Longer trains would help solve the crowding problem. But adding rail cars is not a cheap solution. It will take an added $625 million to get eight-car trains into service. That’s $625 million we simply don’t have.

More buses would help, too. They would not only alleviate the chronic crowding problems too many of our bus customers have to endure, but they also would allow us to serve new markets and serve existing routes better. The cost of adding buses is $171 million more than we have in the budget.

Maintaining our aging system.

Metro is facing the same problem that threatens the nation’s highway, water and electrical infrastructures: the ravages of time and continual use.

Over the next six years, it will take an additional $516 million just to keep our existing equipment in good working order. We’re talking about trains and buses. Escalators and elevators. Even parts of our system you never see but still depend on.

Safeguarding the system.

It’s been two years since the 9/11 attack, but safety and security are still our top priority and a costly challenge. We are determined to make our safe system even safer by eliminating potential vulnerabilities and improving our response and recovery during an emergency. The cost: an added $150 million over six years.

It’s time to address this crisis.

The total cost for these immediate, highest priority capital needs is $1.5 billion. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but it’s money well spent. Metro cost $9.4 billion to build and would cost $24 billion to build today. The region has too much invested in Metro to let it fall into disrepair or become so uncomfortable and unreliable that no one wants to use it. And that’s what we’re facing.

This is about taking care of what we have.

It’s not about paying for the operating costs of the Metro system or building new lines. The issue is preserving the assets of the Metro system that we have today. Metro fare increases can’t solve the problem. Fares pay only to operate the buses and trains—not to overhaul existing rail cars or invest in new ones. And customers shouldn’t have to foot all of the bill anyway. After all, Metro benefits you whether you use it or not. It generates jobs, reduces traffic congestion and improves air quality. Plus, Metro is a key partner to the federal government—47 percent of Metrorail’s peak period riders are federal employees. Can you imagine the region without it?

Once again, it’s time to work together.

In the 1960s, there was a broad commitment to build Metro and strong support to see it through. Our funding issue is a challenge we can meet if we all show the same strength, vision and determination that the last generation did.

Help save our Metro system. Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Urge your local officials to support Metro. If you think Metro is crowded now, don’t wait. Let everyone know that Metro matters.

Tell us why Metro Matters to you.

We appreciate your riding Metro and want to know what's important to you. Please take a moment to tell us why Metro matters to you. We will share the stories we receive with elected officials on this important issue. Note: Your comments entered here will go to Metro's Intergovernmental Relations Office.

If you think Metro is crowded now, just wait.