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Council hears regional transit updates, workforce center outcomes and workforce-support plans for federal workers
Summary
Council members received reports from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Workforce Development Center: WMATA ridership growth and better-bus rollout; workforce center served 7,700 people in FY25 and is coordinating supports for federal workers affected by workforce changes.
City Council members received separate briefings on regional transit matters and the Alexandria Workforce Development Center at the March 11 legislative meeting.
The updates matter because they touch transit connectivity, last-mile access and local workforce support, including recent activity to assist federal workers facing job uncertainty.
Vice Mayor Bagley reported on a March 6 Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) meeting and relayed several regional items: WMATA ridership has grown for 46 consecutive months with some stations exceeding pre-pandemic usage and the agency revised its budget to reflect about $20 million in increased revenue; a "better bus" implementation (route nomenclature and signage) has begun; regional discussion is underway on on-route charging and midday storage for trains, including a potential midday storage facility in Alexandria; and VRE-related regional coordination continues on rail purchases that could bolster local service and create midday storage capacity.
Council members McPike and El Newby reported on the Workforce Development Center subcommittee. Staff said the center has served about 7,700 individuals in FY25, coordinated with roughly 330 local businesses across 20 industries and helped about 327 people find work through the center's programs. The summer youth-employment program served 256 young people and connected them to 88 employers; staff plan to expand the program and offer additional training and transferable-skill workshops, particularly for federal workers seeking private-sector placement. The center is partnering with Arlington and others on hiring events and financial-education workshops for displaced federal workers.
Council members praised ongoing regional coordination and asked staff to continue outreach and prepare targeted briefings on license-plate readers and automated-enforcement guardrails discussed earlier in the legislative update.
Ending: Staff said regional coordination on transit electrification and storage and local workforce programs will continue; council members asked for follow-up briefings on specific technical policy items and on employer-targeted outreach for housing and workforce issues.
