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COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES RICHMOND rm Hus0. commrres assroNMENTS MAJORITY CAUCUS CHAIRMAN mance «ier cnainuan Priviceoes ano ELECTIONS ‘CENTREVILLE, VIRGINIA 20122 gene Conmence AnD LABOR ‘The Honorable Jack Evans Chairman Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 600 Sth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Dear Chairman Evans: We are writing to share our thoughts on the financial problems facing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the steps being taken to address safety concerns. The Metro is a valuable aspect of Northen Virginia’s transportation network. Many of our constituents rely on the Metro to commute to work, and we are ‘committed to representing their interests. We appreciate the efforts made in recent weeks to address critical safety needs, Virginians deserve to know the Metro is safe and reliable. We support you, the WMATA Board, and General Manager Wiedefeld in taking the necessary steps to fix safety problems and establish a culture of safety in all of WMATA’s operations, which is necessary to restoring public confidence. We also understand that Virginia is currently working with Maryland and Washington D.C. to establish a “Metro Safety Commission.” This commission, which is mandated by the federal government, would be responsible for the safety oversight of WMATA. We are willing to work collaboratively with Governor Terry McAuliffe’s administration on the Virginia legislation necessary to create this important commission by the 2017 deadline. However, some are suggesting the commission may be used as a vehicle to call for a “dedicated revenue source” or new taxes for Metro. This is not a new idea. You and others have suggested that a tax increase should be imposed on the people of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland to establish such a dedicated source ‘of revenue to support WMATA’s operations. We want to be abundantly clear that the Metro Safety Commission should not be used as a vehicle to propose or recommend a new dedicated funding stream or tax increases to support Metro. In our view, this is a non-starter in light of WMATA’s grossly inefficient operations. The public should not be left holding the bag for years of mismanagement by your predecessors. The primary source of additional revenue should come from an increasing number of safe and satisfied customers. DISTRICT: (709) 615-1201 * RICHMOND: (80.4) 698-1040 * EMAIL: DELTHUGO@HOUSE VIRGINIA.GOV Page 2 of 3 Virginia has more than met its funding commitments to WMATA. In 2007, Virginia committed $50 million per ‘year for 10 years to fund capital improvements for Metro. In 2013, the General Assembly passed legislation to increase funding for transportation, providing $300 million for the construction of the Silver Line and generating about $80 million per year for the Commonwealth's Mass Transit Fund, The General Assembly also provides an annual operating subsidy to WMATA of about $100 million, Virginia has delivered over and over again. ‘The solution to funding Metro’s safety needs and on-going operations lies intemally. WMATA’s financial problems are, in our view, largely self-inflicted. Metro must get labor and operations costs under control. WMATA’ labor cost increases in recent years have exceeded ridership increases, and as discussed at the most recent Northern Virginia Transportation Commission meeting, benefits for WMATA employees are significantly higher than the norm among big city transit agencies. WMATA also has a $2.5 billion unfunded pension liability. According to data reported by regional transit agencies to Federal Transit Administration, WMATA’s operating costs are considerably higher than its four closest comparable transit systems in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, Specifically, in the most recent reporting year, WMATA’ expenses per vehicle operating mile, vehicle operating hour, and passenger mile are 24 percent, 43 percent, and 51 percent higher, respectively, than the average of these four comparable systems. We strongly encourage Metro to negotiate a more fiscally-responsible labor contract and take other immediate actions to lower operating costs. We believe the current negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union offer an excellent opportunity to bring WMATA’s costs into line with reality. In addition, we support revising the WMATA Compact to eliminate binding arbitration and other aspects of the Compact that are inconsistent with irginia’s right-to-work traditions. We look forward to working with you to improve WMATA and on legislation related to the Safety Commis At the same time, we emphatically and unequivocally oppose any effort to create a new, dedicated revenue stream, re-purpose non-transit transportation state resources, or raise taxes on hardworking Virginians to provide additional funding to Metro when many alternatives exist to make WMATA’s operations more efficient. We cannot in good conscience ask Virginia taxpayers to bail out years of mismanagement, negligence and wasteful spending. Respectfully, loss Timothy D. Hugo’ Jackson H. Miller House Majority Caucus Chairman House Majority Whip eoCNe aS David B. Albo James M. LeMunyon House Courts of Justice, Chairman Delegate, 67" District cc: Page 3 of 3 J. Randy Minchew Richard L. Anderson Delegate, 10" District House Science & Technology, Chairman <_< Bob Wwotert BeOS Robert G. Marshall L. Scott Lingamfelter Delegate, 13" District House Militia, Police & Public Safety, Chairman ge HG TY ok ‘Thomas A. “Tag” Greason Mark Dudenhefer Delegate, 32™ District Delegate, 2™ District Dawe eleorte David A. LaRock Delegate, 33" District ‘The Honorable Aubrey Layne, Secretary of Transportation ‘The Honorable William J. Howell, Speaker, Virginia House of Delegates ‘The Honorable Thomas K. Norment, Jr, Majority Leader, Senate of Virginia ‘The Honorable S. Chris Jones, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee ‘The Honorable Ronald A. Villanueva ‘The Honorable Charles W. Carrico ‘The Honorable Gregory D. Habeeb ‘The Honorable George L. Barker ‘The Honorable Martin E. Nohe, Chairman, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority ‘The Honorable Jay Fisette, Chairman, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Mr. Jim Corcoran, Second Vice Chair, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Ms. Jennifer Mitchell, Director, Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation Mr. Paul J. Wiedefeld, General Manager, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,

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