On behalf of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), I am pleased to submit the 2025 Report on the Performance and Condition of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as directed by Virginia Code.

Just two years ago, WMATA faced an unparalleled budget deficit after the pandemic upended ridership patterns and brought historic levels of inflation to every industry. Understanding the importance of maintaining a robust public transit network to support Virginia’s economic competitiveness and quality of life, the Commonwealth partnered with Northern Virginia jurisdictions to craft a two-year, stopgap operating funding solution to avoid service cuts and sustain ridership recovery. As we approach the conclusion of this temporary funding solution in Virginia, WMATA now leads the nation in ridership growth, crime is at an eight-year low and the agency has generated over $500 million in cost savings and cost avoidance over the last three years.

Despite WMATA’s strong track record of performance, there remains a funding need that will enable WMATA to build on this recent success: a $153 million operating funding need in FY 2027 to permanently sustain Virginia’s two-year additional investment to support WMATA’s operating budget and a $136-150 million capital funding need beginning in FY 2028 to meet Virginia’s share of a regional solution to maintain and modernize the WMATA rail and bus systems, both then growing each year thereafter. These needs were developed by the DMVMoves initiative and the General Assembly’s Northern Virginia Growing Needs of Public Transit Joint Subcommittee and offer the region the ability to bend WMATA’s long-term operating cost curve. As these efforts just recently concluded, NVTC endorsed each body’s recommendation resolutions in preparation for the 2026 General Assembly session.

Now is the time to invest in a long-term, sustainable, dedicated funding solution for WMATA. This report documents NVTC’s support for meeting these needs and the processes by which these funding concepts were developed. The report also outlines expenditures of the Commonwealth’s WMATA Capital Fund and safety, reliability, financial performance and ridership data as required by code. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners in the Commonwealth to ensure a stable and accountable financial future for WMATA.

Sincerely,

/s/ David F. Snyder
Chair