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WMATA reports ridership gains, urges regional funding plan as Maryland readies FY26 grant
Summary
WMATA officials told Maryland’s House Appropriations subcommittee that ridership and customer satisfaction have rebounded strongly, cited safety improvements and fare‑recovery gains, and urged continued regional commitments while the DMV Moves task force seeks a sustainable funding model.
WMATA officials told the House Appropriations Committee Transportation and Environment Subcommittee on Friday that the system has posted strong ridership recovery and improved customer satisfaction while the region continues work on a long‑term funding plan.
Department of Legislative Services analysis presented to the panel showed the WMATA operating grant for Maryland would rise about $40 million (6.3%) for fiscal 2026, while modeling projects a large reduction in jurisdictional operating support in later forecast years if sustainable funding is not secured.
Randy Clark, general manager and CEO of WMATA, said ridership growth has been among the strongest nationally. "We actually led the country in rail ridership growth for actually two straight years," Clark said, and he noted that WMATA now reports some of its highest customer satisfaction ratings on record.
Clark and MDOT Deputy Secretary Samantha Biddle described operational improvements the agency expects in 2026, including additional bus routes under the Better Bus Network redesign and service changes on the Yellow, Silver and Red rail lines intended to extend hours and improve frequency. Steve McCullough of DLS said WMATA’s proposed 2026 budget anticipates personnel costs will continue to be the largest share of operations.
Committee members focused on WMATA’s ongoing efforts to reduce fare evasion and improve safety. Clark said gate sensors and enforcement changes contributed to a reported 82% reduction in rail fare evasion compared with earlier levels, and he said the agency is seeing higher passenger revenue from longer trips and returning riders. He described adjustments to enforcement algorithms and public‑education efforts as part of the decline in evasion.
Several members asked about DMV Moves, a joint task force convened by WMATA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to recommend a unified vision and a sustainable funding model for the region’s transit network. Clark and Deputy Secretary Biddle said the process aims to identify predictable, bondable revenue streams and restore purchasing power lost when earlier funding streams were not indexed.
Labor representatives and WMATA‑area unions appeared to support fuller regional revenue solutions. Matthew Gerardi, political and communications director for ATU Local 689, urged Maryland to work with regional partners to create an operations funding stream and warned against using preventive‑maintenance capital to cover operating shortfalls: "Trading safety for service should never be a consideration," he said.
WMATA emphasized it is continuing capital investments and has identified operating and capital savings internally; schedule and funding decisions remain subject to the authority’s upcoming board budget approval. DLS recommended concurrence with the governor’s allowance for WMATA in the FY26 budget materials the committee reviewed.
Why it matters: WMATA provides commuter rail and bus service relied upon by hundreds of thousands of regional riders. The agency’s fiscal trajectory and the DMV Moves deliberations bear on Maryland’s budget commitments and longer‑term regional transit reliability.
