STUDIES & REPORTS

Review of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors Membership

Description

The 2018 Virginia General Assembly directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a review of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors membership provisions, whether the criteria used to determine membership eligibility serves the Commonwealth’s best interests, and whether any changes to such representation can be made without an amendment to the WMATA Compact. DRPT assisted in crafting this report.

Full Report

A photographic image of a light rail train traveling along a bridge with a city background.

Process

In order to comprehensively address the request made by the General Assembly, DRPT reviewed the WMATA Compact; the Review of Operating, Governance, and Financial Conditions at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority conducted by former United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; Chapter 377 of the 2012 Virginia Acts of Assembly; Chapters 854 and 856 of the 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly and subsequent Commonwealth Transportation Board and Northern Virginia Transportation Commission implementation actions; and legislation enacted by the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.

Outcome

The criteria used to determine eligibility to represent the Commonwealth on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the current representation criteria serve the best interests of the Commonwealth. The General Assembly has taken proactive steps over the past six years to ensure that this remains true.