Transparency
Enhancing Transparency, Accountability, and Public Confidence
As a transit agency, Metro needs to ensure safe and reliable service, and work to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Metro’s commitment to full transparency and accountability to the public covers all aspects of the system’s operations, including safety and service standards, fair labor and bidding practices, anti-discrimination laws, and internal policies.
Regulatory oversight
Metro undergoes systematic regulatory audits, including by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC), which conducts audits of parts of Metro’s operations on a rolling three-year cycle.
The WMSC was created in 2017 by the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to oversee and enforce safe operations of Metrorail, and took over safety oversight from the former Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC).
We’re also subject to audits and reviews by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and other federal and state agencies.
Creating action plans
Periodically, we or a regulatory agency will identify an issue in our operations that needs to be corrected. Some issues arise from regulatory audits, inspections, or safety investigations of Metrorail or other parts of our operations. Others arise from internal reviews, or investigations requested by Metro’s General Manager or Board of Directors.
To ensure the issue is corrected, we develop an action plan. There are two categories of action plans, which are similar:
- CAPs (Corrective Action Plans) for concerns identified by regulators
- iCAPAs (Internal Corrective and Preventive Action plans) for concerns we identify ourselves
Action plans always include a description of the issue to be resolved, the steps to be taken to resolve it, the specific stakeholders who will carry out each step, and a schedule for taking the steps.
As we are carrying out each action plan, our employees work together with regulatory agencies, department managers, and the WMATA leadership team to make sure that we carry out the steps we have committed to and that they effectively address the issue that was identified.
Progress Trackers
Metro diligently monitors and promptly addresses any issues or areas of concern that require action. This oversight promotes accountability and transparency in Metro's efforts to make the system as safe, reliable, and effective as possible. The progress of these efforts are tracked in publicly available Progress Trackers.
Issues identified by regulators (CAPs)
Issues we identified (iCAPAs)
Key reporting and monitoring compliance documents are all publicly available here: