Metro is fundamental to metropolitan Washington’s mobility, economy, and sustainability, and COG has a long history of helping ensure the system is in a strong position to serve the region.
DMVMOVES
Following the successful coordination to address Metro’s FY 2025 budget deficit, area officials called for a more comprehensive effort to focus on long-term transit needs and the longstanding, systemic funding challenges facing Metro and the region’s other transit systems. As a first step, the COG and Metro Boards of Directors held a historic joint meeting in May 2024 and agreed to partner on a new initiative, DMVMoves, to create a unified vision and sustainable funding model for the region’s transit network.
The DMVMoves Task Force, composed of officials appointed by COG and Metro, is guiding this initiative alongside two advisory groups representing area jurisdictions, transit service providers and agencies, and business, labor, and community organizations. This unprecedented collaboration is taking a holistic view of the transit network (which includes more than a dozen bus and rail systems) and working to forge consensus on how to best plan, coordinate, deliver, manage, and fund transit regionally. The task force is working toward developing policy recommendations and a final plan by the end of 2025.
To learn more, visit the DMVMoves website.
PAST INITIATIVES
After the debut of Metrorail and amid concerns about future construction costs, COG and the Transportation Planning Board carried out a major analysis in 1976 of the costs of completing the original 103-mile system. The Metrorail Alternatives Analysis concluded that finishing the rail system would be a sound investment and was the first of several major studies regional leaders asked COG to undertake, such as the reports of the Blue Ribbon Metro Funding Panel in 2005 and the Joint WMATA Governance Review Task Force in 2010.
COG helped the region forge consensus and lay the groundwork for the landmark Metro dedicated capital funding agreement in 2018 along with public, private, and civic sector partners. COG worked with Metro and area officials to address a major deficit Metro was facing for the system’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget due to federal transit relief expiring, costs rising with inflation, and shifts in commuting patterns since COVID. In addition, COG worked with state and federal partners to create the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission and has coordinated with Metro and area fire departments to develop new safety protocols and improved emergency communications.