Our Virginia state Delegates and Senators are far from a deal to adequately fund Metro and local transit in our state’s two-year budget, which is being finalized this week! They need to hear from all of us ASAP that our Metrorail, Metrobus, local bus services statewide, and Virginia Railway Express need to be fully funded.
Funding frequent, affordable transit is more important than ever. Transportation is the second largest household expense, making transit a critical option as the prices of gas and cars go up and up.
We understand that because of inflation, tariffs, and now higher fuel costs, Virginia transit requires $211 million more per year in operating funding. This will have to come from the current General Fund budget negotiation because legislators haven’t yet landed on a long-term source for more dedicated funding for transit.
Join us in asking our state legislators for the following operating funding in the state budget:*
- $153 million per year for Metro (rail & bus) – 50% to come from the state and 50% from Northern Virginia jurisdictions.
- $48 million per year for 38 local transit services across the state (includes Fairfax Connector, DASH, ART, CUE, Loudoun Transit, and OmniRide in Northern VA).
- $10 million per year for Virginia Railway Express
Without this funding we will see fare hikes and service cuts during a time when frequent, reliable, and affordable transit is more important than ever.
* Note – Separately, negotiations are in flux over additional capital funding for Metro, specifically, the $136 million Virginia share of $460 million in annual new Metro capital funding identified by the DMVMoves Task Force. The Senate Finance Committee has proposed funding it by using a share of the funds generated by ending the sales tax exemption for data centers, while the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission has proposed a small increase in the sales tax in Northern Virginia. If we don’t win the new capital funding this session, CSG will continue to campaign for it throughout the coming year.