Opinion: How to Save D.C. Transit

In an opinion piece published in Greater Greater Washington, DW Rowlands asserts that transit in the Washington, D.C. region has a “bright future,” if properly planned for.

The district certainly has transit challenges: the area still has one of the nation’s highest rates of remote work, and D.C. transit has historically relied on a heavy percentage of commuters. However, the distribution of ridership has also evened out over days and times, which, according to Rowlands, “actually has potential benefits for the system, because the extra service that transit agencies run to serve peak ridership is extremely inefficient compared to basic all-day service.”

Rowland adds, “Ridership changes since the start of the pandemic have also highlighted the importance of bus service. While Metrorail ridership first exceeded 50% of its pre-pandemic value in the first half of 2023, Metrobus ridership had returned to nearly 60% of its pre-pandemic value in the third quarter of 2021, and is now above 85% of pre-pandemic ridership.” Rowland attributes this in part to the fact that Metro bus routes serve more residential neighborhoods outside of downtown.

For Rowland, all this is to say that D.C. transit is still a key service for many of the region’s residents. “In the short term, finding the money to close the funding gap and prevent massive service cuts in next July is the most important part of making sure that Metro, and transit in our region generally, has a future.” Rowland also suggests long-term changes, such as fare reform, adapting schedules to match new travel patterns, and adding more bus lanes to improve reliability.