Next week: Metro Board to host four virtual public hearings on FY22 budget
The Metro Board of Directors' ongoing public comment period for the proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget will feature four virtual public hearings next week.
Metro is facing a significant budget shortfall due to a decrease in ridership caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with ridership down about 90 percent and 60 percent on Metrorail and Metrobus, respectively. Metro is working with its Congressional delegation to secure additional funding to continue providing service as the region comes back to work. But service cuts remain a looming threat, and Metro must plan accordingly.
Information about the proposed service changes is available at wmata.com/budget.
To provide oral testimony at a hearing, participants must call toll-free 512-580-8850 and enter the four-digit meeting code, shown below, for the Public Hearing you'd like to attend. The public may watch or listen to the hearings live at wmata.com/budget, on YouTube.com/MetroForward, or by calling toll-free 512-580-8850 and entering in the four-digit meeting code shown below.
Monday, March 8, 2021, 11 a.m.
- Host: Board Member Paul Smedberg
- Meeting Code: 9476
Monday, March 8, 2021, 6 p.m.
- Hearing will focus on proposed changes in DC, but is open to everyone.
- Host: Board Member Stephanie Gidigbi-Jenkins
- Meeting Code: 3811
Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 6 p.m.
- Hearing will focus on proposed changes in Maryland, but is open to everyone.
- Host: Board Member Michael Goldman
- Meeting Code: 9131
Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 6 p.m.
- Hearing will focus on proposed changes in Virginia, but is open to everyone.
- Hosts: Board Members Paul Smedberg and Walter Alcorn
- Meeting Code: 9141
The public comment period ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16. In addition to the virtual hearings, feedback can be provided:
- Online: Take the survey and submit written comments here (en Español)
- By phone: Call toll-free 844-468-5748. Language support is provided in Arabic, Amharic, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese), Farsi, Korean, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Public feedback will be provided to Metro's Board of Directors in April 2021 as part of the final decision-making process. Any Board-approved changes will begin after Board approval in April 2021.
Public outreach
Metro is notifying customers and lapsed riders about the opportunity to provide feedback in a variety of ways. Signs in English and Spanish are posted in rail stations, Metrobus and MetroAccess vehicles, and at bus stops across the region. In addition to English and Spanish language materials, information about the proposed service changes is available at wmata.com/budget in multiple languages – Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Somali, and Vietnamese.
Customer outreach teams have also been deployed to all Metrorail stations to increase awareness and encourage feedback. The systemwide in-person outreach effort is designed to help ensure feedback is collected from minority, low income, and limited English proficiency riders who continue to use the bus and rail system during the ongoing pandemic.