Resolution of support

WHEREAS, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was created in 1967 as an interstate compact agency and, by the terms of its enabling legislation, is an agency and instrumentality of the District of Columbia, State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and

WHEREAS, the agency was created to plan, finance, construct and operate a comprehensive mass transit system for the National Capital Region,and

WHEREAS, WMATA has successfully completed and today operates a 103-mile Metrorail System and a 1500 bus Metrobus system, and

WHEREAS, more than $25 billion in economic development has occurred near the Metrorail stations, and

WHEREAS, the Metrorail and Metrobus system carry over a million trips on an average weekday, and

WHEREAS, the Metrorail system carries nearly 20 percent of all rush-hour trips in the metropolitan area and 40 percent of rush-hour trips to the downtown core and removes more than 325,000 vehicles from the roadways every weekday, and

WHEREAS, half of Metrorail peak period riders are federal employees and more than 50 federal agencies or employment centers are located adjacent to Metrorail stations, and

WHEREAS, the Metrorail system moves as many people each day as 1,400 miles of new traffic lanes, and

WHEREAS, the Washington metropolitan area is a “severe” non-attainment area for ozone and has consistently failed to meet EPA air quality standards, and

WHEREAS, continuing and expanded mass transit services are a critical part of the strategy to meet these air quality standards, and

WHEREAS, the Metrorail and Metrobus systems have reached a point where major investments are needed to keep the system maintained and respond to the needs of increasing ridership and demand for transit services, and

WHEREAS, the current value of the Metrorail system is $24 billion, and

WHEREAS, the WMATA system has a $1.5 billion critical need over the next six years to protect, leverage, and secure this investment which promotes economic development, relieves traffic congestion and contributes to improved air quality, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that (name of organization) recognizes the critical role that the WMATA Metrorail and Metrobus systems play on a daily basis in the economic well being of the National Capital Region and contribute to enhancing the quality of life for its citizens, and

BE IT RESOLVED that (name of organization) endorses the need for a renewed partnership between the federal, state and local governments to meet WMATA’s critical funding needs to preserve the WMATA mass transit system and allow for it to adequately meet the growing ridership needs in the National Capital Region and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the (name of organization) encourages 1) healthy federal surface transportation reauthorization legislation, 2) separate federal funding for WMATA and 3) committed state and local support to address WMATA’s urgent capital priorities.

Signed ________________________________

Date ________________________________