Metro Funding Derailed by Obama

METRORAIL IS nicknamed "America's subway," and with good cause: Forty percent of its rush hour riders are government employees. You wouldn't know it, though, by the way the federal government persists in starving the agency of money. The latest slight: The Obama administration didn't include funding for Metro in its budget proposal released Thursday. The omission wasn't necessarily a surprise -- the District didn't approve its share of funding until the last minute, and President Obama was intent on presenting as lean a budget as possible -- but it's disappointing that an administration so supportive of public transit couldn't even scrounge up a pittance for the cash-strapped agency. Riders have to hope that Congress comes through with the money.

The administration's decision not to appropriate up to $150 million for fiscal 2010 is a setback that could delay a long-elusive goal: securing a steady stream of revenue for Metro. Last fall Congress approved legislation authorizing $1.5 billion for the agency over the next 10 years, to be matched by $500 million each from Virginia, Maryland and the District. The funding fell short of the $12 billion in capital funding needed over the next 10 years to replace aging equipment and maintain services, but it was a start for the only major transit agency without dedicated funding.

The legislation required Virginia, Maryland and the District to amend the compact that governs Metro to allow federal appointees on the agency's board. Some Metro officials were reluctant to make the change without a guarantee that federal officials would deliver their share of funding. Ultimately, though, they put aside their egos and approved the changes, hoping that the good-faith gesture would sway federal officials. Fortunately, the Washington region has a powerful -- and united -- congressional delegation still working to secure the $150 million.

Lawmakers considering whether to appropriate the money should remember that even with gas prices low, more and more commuters are passing through Metro's turnstiles. Perversely, as the system gains riders, it can barely keep up with the most basic costs: Metro's board of directors had to borrow from the agency's rainy-day fund this year to avert deep cuts to bus service, and millions of dollars' worth of maintenance has been deferred. Riders are already frustrated with long waits between trains and out-of-work elevators; without a major infusion of dollars, the situation will only get worse.