WMATA FACTS

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the second largest rail transit system and the fifth largest bus network in the United States. Safe, clean and reliable, “America’s Transit System” transports more than a third of the federal government to work and millions of tourists to the landmarks in the Nation’s Capital.

Background
The Authority was created in 1967 by an Interstate Compact to plan, develop, build, finance and operate a balanced regional transportation system in the National Capital area. Construction of the Metrorail system began in 1969. Four area bus systems were acquired in 1973. The first phase of Metrorail began operation in 1976. The final leg of the original 103-mile rail network was completed in early 2001. Today, there are 86 Metro stations in service within a 106.3 mile network. These are divided into five lines: Blue, Green, Orange, Red and Yellow.

Service area
Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.5 million within a 1,500 square-mile area. The transit zone consists of the District of Columbia, the suburban Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Overall, 42 percent of those working in the center core—Washington and parts of Arlington County—use mass transit.

Revenue
Metro and the federal government are partners in transportation. Thirty-five Metrorail stations serve federal facilities and nearly half of Metro’s peak period commuters are federal employees. Since WMATA’s inception, the federal government has contributed 65 percent of the capital costs. Fares and other revenue fund 57.6 percent of the daily operations while state and local governments fund the remaining 42.4 percent. Metro increased fares in FY04 and FY05.

Ridership
In 2006, 337 million riders rode the subway and rail combined. 206 million of these went by rail; the remaining 131 million took the bus.

Metrorail Communication and security
Metrorail takes its security and communications seriously. Digital signs in the stations show the next train arrival times, system status and time of day, and two-way radios facilitate communication between train operators and the operations control center. There are also hotlines from operations control center to police and fire departments. Fire extinguishers can be found on platforms and inside rail cars, and there is an automated electronic fire protection system in stations and tunnels. Additionally, call boxes are spaced every 800 feet (244 meters) along the tracks.

Video monitoring of stations, elevators and some station parking lots also contributes to public safety.

Interesting Metro Facts
There are 588 escalators in the operating system, 230 elevators in stations and 30 in support shops and facilities. Interestingly, the longest escalator in the Western
Hemisphere—508 feet--is located in Wheaton station. The deepest station is Forest Glen at 21 stories or 196 feet. Despite the depth, high-speed elevators take less than 20
seconds to travel from street to platform.