White said Metro is the most heavily scrutinized transit system in the country because it serves so many jurisdictions -- and that assures its money is well spent. At the same time, he said he would welcome greater oversight.
White's ability to set spending priorities is complicated by the sometimes conflicting messages from his board of directors. Half hold elected office in Maryland, Virginia or the District and answer to constituents; the rest are private citizens appointed by local governments. Unlike some other boards across the country, Metro's has no member whose sole job is to speak for riders.
The board told White to hold down costs but then expanded subway hours and directed Metro to buy natural-gas powered buses rather than the cheaper diesel version. Those changes pleased constituencies such as bar owners and environmentalists but pushed up costs.
Board Chairman T. Dana Kauffman defended the board's performance. "Do we spend every penny perfectly? No," he said. "But I can say we have one of the best-run systems and that money is well spent."
Board members have benefited from Metro spending. Although most members have acknowledged that they are not daily riders of the system, several have spent tens of thousands of dollars attending transit conferences in other U.S. cities and European capitals, records show. The trips allow members to ride other transit systems and learn how they work, said Chris Zimmerman, who represents Arlington on the board and has traveled to Madrid, among other places.
The agency gave board member Gladys Mack access to 10 dedicated parking spaces on Metro property for a social service organization she heads, even as commuters across the region compete for space at increasingly crowded Metro parking lots, records show. Metro charges Mack's organization $1.30 a day for each space, or nearly half what commuters pay at some of Metro's public lots. Metro General Counsel Carol O'Keeffe defended the deal, saying it did not benefit Mack personally. Mack said other organizations with no connection to the board could get a similar lease.
The jurisdictions that pay for Metro are beginning to show signs of disapproval of the agency's spending.
In 2003, Maryland Secretary of Transportation Robert L. Flanagan accused Metro of unchecked spending that had created a "party atmosphere." The state of Virginia last year hired a private company to design and build a proposed Metro extension to Dulles International Airport, arguing that the private sector could do the job faster and cheaper. It would be the first subway line in the system not built by Metro.
And when Metro proposed building a $1.2 million pedestrian bridge at the Largo Town Center Station, Prince George's County rejected the plan and opted for a simpler $70,000 version.
Where the Money Goes
White said that over the past six years, he has returned $82 million to the jurisdictions that fund Metro by coming in under budget. And he said he has worked to control Metro's biggest expense: labor.
When White came to Metro in 1996, the agency's unionized workers were the highest-paid transit workers in the country, he said. After three contracts, they dropped to sixth. "We've made huge changes, huge progress," he said.
Still, Metro's failure to fill vacancies has led to high overtime costs, allowing more than 150 unionized workers to earn more than $100,000 last year, records show. One train operator worked 1,606 overtime hours, earning $131,358. That's more than 32 hours of overtime a week. The top-earning union employee, who sits in a tower above the rail yards and controls traffic, made $135,042 with overtime, records show.
