DDOT plans to end existing DC Streetcar operations in 2027; agency funds limited SOGR work and a study for alternatives

DDOT Director Sharon Kirschbaum told the Committee on Transportation and the Environment that the departments current plan is to end the existing DC streetcar operations in the summer of 2027, aligning the shutdown with contract expiration.

"The current plan is to end street car operations in the summer of 2027," Kirschbaum said. She described a two-year timeline that would ideally keep service "status quo through '27" while DDOT executes a study of alternatives.

Budget and near-term maintenance The FY26 capital program reduces funding for the streetcar project substantially. Kirschbaum said the proposal cuts the primary streetcar capital authorization from roughly $37.6 million across the CIP to about $6.0 million, with $3.0 million budgeted in each FY26 and FY27 to preserve state-of-good-repair (SOGR) work needed to operate the remaining vehicles until contract termination. Kirschbaum described continued SOGR spending as required to keep a small fleet operable: "We have of the 6 cars, 3 of them are really beyond their useful life now. And to keep them running even for 2 years, we're going to have to provide just enough maintenance so they can keep running."

Kirschbaum also said purchasing new replacement streetcars would be expensive; she cited an approximate vehicle replacement cost of $11,000,000 per vehicle as a reference point when discussing trade-offs between overhauling or replacing cars.

Study of alternatives and RFK transportation funding The committee pressed Kirschbaum about the future use of the streetcars right-of-way and other infrastructure, including how to treat exposed tracks. Kirschbaum said DDOT will evaluate whether elements can be repurposed or need removal as part of a broader transportation study.

She told the committee that a separate $2,000,000 transportation study funded through DMPED (the deputy mayors office for planning and economic development) tied to the RFK campus planning will be used in part to examine East-West transit alternatives and that DDOT will coordinate with that effort. Kirschbaum said the same study money will be used cooperatively with WMATA to examine transit options and connectivity into and across the RFK corridor.

Council concerns and next steps Members raised operational concerns based on past experience with the Circulators shutdown, including staffing and service reliability as an operator pool shrinks. Chair Charles Allen asked DDOT to provide a detailed breakdown of what the $3,000,000 annual SOGR allotment would purchase; Kirschbaum agreed to provide the committee that breakdown.

The committee requested follow-up information on decommissioning plans for track infrastructure and how DDOT intends to make the corridor safe for bicyclists and other users if vehicles stop running on it. Kirschbaum said DDOT has not yet decided whether infrastructure will be removed or repurposed and that decisions will be informed by the planned East-West study.

Ending: Kirschbaum emphasized the study and coordination work to determine whether to repurpose or remove streetcar infrastructure and committed to providing a more detailed SOGR breakdown to the committee.