The centerpiece of the Kaine administration’s Northern Virginia transportation policy is financing construction of the Rail-to-Dulles extension of the Metro system. Not only will the heavy rail project cost an estimated $4 billion in capital costs, it will incur an ongoing subsidy of tens of millions of dollars yearly. It would make Gov. Kaine’s job a whole lot easier if Metro management could be trusted to run the trains efficiently and on time.
The Washington Post published a devastating series of articles about Metro inefficiencies last year. In an editorial today, Examiner.com credits Interim Manager Dan Tangherlini with making positive changes since taking the helm February, but chastises the bureaucratic organization for shameless spinning of its performance metrics. Stated the editorial:
Metro managers must think that nobody notices when they fudge statistics, cover-up problems and fail to communicate truthfully with the public. But people eventually find out they’re being scammed — and wonder what else the transit agency is hiding from them.
Metro is a critical piece of the Washington New Urban Region’s transportation infrastructure. But if Metro management wants that $4 billion extension to Dulles Airport — plus ongoing subsidies from now until… forever — it had better work harder to maintain its credibility.
