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As Metro touts performance, no plans to increase service

WASHINGTON — With about 90 percent of Metrorail rush hour riders arriving on time according to Metro’s metrics, the agency plans to maintain service cuts and fare increases implemented last summer.

There are no plans to significantly increase service at any point in the near future, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Thursday.

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“I think until we get this thing to the place where we’re confident that we can continue to deliver,” he said.

Metro Board Chair Jack Evans expects Wiedefeld’s budget proposal to be approved smoothly next month.

“It has no fare increases, no service cuts, I do not see that changing, and I believe we will move forward with our budget pretty much as it is,” Evans said.

Some tweaks on the table include additional bus service in the District and some additional rush-hour Red Line service to Shady Grove by extending some trains that currently turn back at Grosvenor-Strathmore.

“Of course we want to expand, that’s the business we’re in,” Wiedefeld said. “We want to provide more transit service, but that’s also a financial issue that has to be addressed. It also has to deal with the changing demographics and changing trip patterns, so I don’t think it’s just a simple equation of just adding more trains. I think you want to do it smartly, and same way with bus.”

Washington Manassas Airport cleared to offer commercial airline flights

Washington Manassas Airport, formerly known as Manassas Regional Airport, has taken a big step toward its goal of offering passenger service. The airport, which is owned by the city of Manassas, Virginia, received its FAA Part 139 Airport Operating Certificate, a designation required before commercial airlines can begin service. During a ceremony Monday, FAA Associate Administrator Dan Edwards presented a framed version of the certificate to airport leaders.  Edwards said it's "extremely rare" for an existing airport that caters to private flights to clear this hurdle. 
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