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Secretary Miller updates lawmakers on WMATA funding dispute, ridership trends and cost pressures
Summary
Shep Miller told the subcommittee the governor’s budget would fund Virginia’s full share of WMATA expenses but that the enacted second‑year placeholder requires correction; he also said rail ridership remains about two‑thirds of pre‑pandemic levels while bus ridership has returned.
Shep Miller, secretary of transportation, briefed the subcommittee on Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) funding, ridership and cost‑containment work.
Miller said last year’s addition for the Commonwealth’s share of WMATA costs included a true‑up for the first year but left a second‑year placeholder unchanged in the enacted language; department calculations showed a second‑year reduction of roughly $8–11 million and the governor’s proposed budget amendment would reconcile the correct second‑year figure. “I have no skin in the game. I want it to be the right number, is all I care about,” Miller said.
On ridership, Miller said rail remains about 67% of 2019 levels while bus ridership has largely returned to pre‑pandemic volumes. He told the panel the Federal Transit Administration shows WMATA’s cost per trip and other operating metrics remain at the high end compared with peer systems, and that the department is working with WMATA leadership on an operational analysis to identify cost and non‑revenue fare opportunities. Miller and the department are continuing to press WMATA on labor and long‑term infrastructure cost drivers.
Members questioned benchmarks for measuring WMATA performance and asked what success would look like in the coming years. Miller said the department has asked WMATA to submit cost comparisons to peers and to include additional benchmarks and that the agency has accepted the operational analysis request and is cooperating.
The presentation recorded no formal committee motion or vote on funding amounts; Miller said the administration remains committed to funding Virginia’s full legal share once the accounting is reconciled.
