D.C. Metro Will End Late-Night Rail Service for Two Years

"Metro’s board of directors voted Thursday to cut late-night service hours for a two-year period starting next summer," reports Martine Powers.

The changes to the schedule were enacted by a unanimous vote of the board, following an 11th-hour compromise, according to Powers. "Under a new amendment, Metro will be required to provide a progress report on its preventive maintenance program in May 2018." That report will address concerns by some on the board "that two years of automatic late-night service cuts would provide a 'carte blanche' to Metro management."

Late-night service on the WMATA system has been under siege for the better part of 2016. The SafeTrack maintenance program suspended late-night service in June, leading to concerns about drunk driving. The proposal for a longer-term suspension of late-night service came in July and was met with criticism and concern for the effects of the service reduction for low-income and minority riders.