Letter to Mr. Paul J. Wiedefeld, General Manager and CEO, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority - Extend Yellow Line Rush Hour Service to Fort Totten While Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland Stations are Closed

Letter

Dear Mr. Wiedefeld:

We write to request detailed information about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA)'s announced shutdown of the Road Island Avenue and Brookland-CUA Metro rail stations from July 21, 2018 through September 2, 2018. We appreciate WMATA's continued efforts to address major structural issues throughout the rail system and agree that safety (of passengers and workers) should be our first priority. However, as Representatives of the two congressional districts primarily serviced by Metro's Red Line, we are naturally concerned about the implications of this shutdown on our constituents who rely on the system every day.

When WMATA suspended rail service between the Silver Spring and Takoma Park stations in November 2017, it told commuters that chartered shuttle bus service would be substituted along the closed route, to help them minimize delays and disruptions. Unfortunately, during this time period, passengers reported excessive wait times - up to sixty minutes in some cases -- to board buses and significant disruptions in traveling between the two stations during the fourteen-day closure. We are concerned that our constituents will face similar delays and disruptions during the upcoming Rhode Island Avenue/Brookland-CUA station closure, with shuttle bus service again supplementing rail service through some of the most heavily congested parts of the District of Columbia and Maryland, for forty-five days -- a much longer period of time.

WMATA often advises riders to seek alternative methods of transportation during system maintenance and station closures. While that may be feasible for some commuters, it is not a solution that is available to everyone. We urge WMATA to proactively take steps to mitigate the disruption and delays caused to our constituents during the upcoming closure. For example, we encourage WMATA to consider extending Yellow Line trains to and from Fort Totten station during the morning and evening rush hours from Monday, July 23rd through Friday, August 31st. This small change would help commuters save time and avoid additional station transfers that lengthen their daily commutes.

In an effort to address our constituents' concerns and provide the public with as much detailed information as possible about this planned closure, we would appreciate your response to the following:

What are WMATA's current plans for providing shuttle bus service to riders traveling between the Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland-CUA Metro stations during the planned shutdown this summer?
What information or data did WMATA rely on to plan the shuttle bus operation implemented during the 2017 closure of the Silver Spring and Takoma Park stations? What information or data is WMATA relying on as it prepares to meet the needs of riders this summer?
What reviews were conducted to assess WMATA's shuttle bus operation -- including delays and customer satisfaction during the Takoma Station shutdown in 2017?
Will WMATA commit to providing the public with an updated shuttle bus schedule and increased bus service for riders on the closed section of track this summer?
Thank you in advance for your response to these questions and for your efforts to make WMATA safe and reliable for everyone.

Very truly yours,

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