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Metro: Show me the money
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The Metro transit agency is surely pleased that Congress appears ready to finally approve a long-term funding package for the bus and rail system. An effort to have a dedicated funding source for WMATA has been in the works for at least five years now, and finally, the good folks on Capitol Hill seem to be ready to buy what Metro is selling.
The U.S. Senate recently approved transportation legislation that includes about 150-million dollars for Metro capital improvement needs. Of course, it’s not the first time the agency has received a nice chunk of change from the federal government. What makes this deal so different is that the 150-million would be just the first installment of hundreds of millions of dollars over a ten year period, just as long as the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland governments kick in their share, too. The U.S. House approved its version of the legislation earlier this year, so all that needs to happen is for both sides to come to one final agreement. True, that’s easier said than done. But this session of Congress saw first hand what can happen when a major malfunction occurs in the Metrorail system. And in the days following the June 22 crash on the Red Line, members of Congress heard first hand how critical it was the transit agency receive more funds so that similar incidents could be prevented in the future. That certainly begs the question: Could the crash have been prevented on current capital improvement funding levels? Probably. But Metro General Manager John Catoe, who has been much criticized for having the crash happen on his watch, smacked a home-run when he testified before Congress.
John Catoe, who is still relatively new to the job, also deserves credit for weathering the storm of a number of public relations catastrophes over the summer. I spoke with Metro transit spokesman Steve Taub this week about what Catoe has meant to the organization over the last three months, and what he has meant to the agency’s efforts to get much needed federal funding. “Mr. Catoe was very eloquent. His words have opened the eyes of many on Capitol Hill that the Metro system is critical to the nation’s capital,” Taub told me. You’d think they were talking about Moses, Ben-Hur or the president of the NRA or somebody. But John Catoe is no Charlton Heston. He’s more like Forest Whitaker: a big, threatening, soft-spoken teddy bear. When Catoe testified on Capitol Hill, he was able to convince lawmakers to fork over the dough, all while using the worst accident in Metro transit history as a backdrop. Catoe and his front office employees have been able to drive home that message over the last few months. As Steve Taub put it, “This is a system that needs assistance.”
Federal lawmakers have every right to feel a little obligated to help Metro. “Half the people who use it are people who go to Capitol Hill,” said Taub. Metro is also one of the only transit systems in the country that operates without a dedicated funding source. “Every year we have to put in a request,” Taub told me, with a slice of guilt on the side. “I don’t think anybody would want to think about what this area would be like if there wasn’t a Metro transit system,” he said. But don’t think there isn’t also a bit of guilt being thrown in the face of Metro. The Senate bill providing that much needed money includes language that Metro make it a high priority to use the funds toward safety improvements, not just capital improvements. Let’s not forget that in the months leading up to the worst accident in Metro transit history, there were memos straight from the National Transportation Safety Board suggesting that Metro replace some of its older rail cars -- the type of rail cars that aren’t able to withstand collisions -- the same type of rail cars that were involved in the June 22 crash.
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