The Board is slated to act on the FY2013 budget in June, and any fare changes they adopt would take effect July 2012.
The operating budget of $1.6 billion includes a proposed $53 million (8%) increase in funding from the jurisdictions and $66 million in increased revenue from fares. The fare adjustments also are designed to simplify Metro’s fare structure and encourage the use of SmarTrip cards. The proposed $904 million capital budget includes projects that will advance NTSB recommendations, including signal system upgrades and replacement of Metro’s oldest railcars, the 1000-series fleet, with new 7000-series cars, as well as track and infrastructure projects and rehabilitation, and replacement of escalators and elevators across the system.
Details and directions for transit travel to the public sessions are available on Metro’s website. Open forums begin at 6 p.m., followed by the public hearings at 7 p.m. The hearings will take place as follows:
Thursday, March 1
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church – Hearing 571
John H. Kearney, Sr. Fellowship Hall
2616 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE
Washington, DC
Tuesday, March 6
St. Columba’s Episcopal Church – Hearing 573
4201 Albemarle Street, NW
Washington, DC
How to register to speak at the public hearing
To establish a witness list for the public hearings, individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to be heard at the hearings are asked to provide in writing their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, requests to speak may befaxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to speak@wmata.com. Please submit only one speaker’s name per letter and reference the hearing number. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Others present at the hearing may be heard after people who have registered have spoken. Please note that this information may be releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy (PARP). The PARP can be viewed on WMATA’s website under the link marked “Legal Affairs.” Public officials will be heard first and will be allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All other speakers will be allowed three minutes each. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be permitted.
How to submit written comments
Written statements and exhibits may be sent to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, or e-mailed to writtentestimony@wmata.com. Statements also may be faxed to 202-962-1133. Please reference the hearing number. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 12. Please note that any personal information such as name, e-mail address, address, or telephone number you provide in the statement may be releasable to the public under the WMATA Public Access to Records Policy.
