This is a historical record of the successful 2018 campaign.
We Need Metro Dedicated Funding Now
In 2018, the Maryland General Assembly will consider legislation to provide multi-year, dedicated funding to Metro to support essential system updates and improvements. Because Metro is a regional responsibility, the additional funding would be conditioned on Virginia and DC joining hands with Maryland and enacting similar legislation. Passing this bill (HB 372 and SB 277) is one of the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter’s top priorities.
Why Metro is so important:
Metro (rail, bus, and MetroAccess) is a vital component of Maryland’s, and the DC region’s, transportation network. Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders rely on Metro to go to work, visit their medical providers, shop, travel to entertainment venues, and more. Overall, on an average weekday, about one million trips are taken on Metro in the DC metropolitan area.
Without Metro, hundreds of thousands of more cars would clog the roadways every day, polluting our air, heating our climate, causing accidents and injuries, and slowing difficult work commutes. Metro provides low-income households with an affordable transportation option. Metro also is a key driver of Maryland’s economy, connecting workers to jobs and making Maryland attractive to business.
Nationally, the transportation sector is the number one source of climate-warming greenhouse gases. Strengthening and expanding public transit is one of the key elements of a modern transportation policy for Maryland, along with supporting a full change-over to electric vehicles and growing more walkable/bikeable communities.
Why is action needed now?
It is clear that Metro is facing a crisis. Service is degrading, especially rail service. This leads to a downward spiral of fewer riders and worse service, which in turn leads to even fewer riders and even worse service, harming individuals, the environment, public health, and the economy.
A principal reason for this crisis is that Metro is both underfunded and not smartly, reliably funded. Metro needs a significant infusion of funds to modernize, upgrade, and repair the rail system. This additional funding must be dedicated, meaning that Metro must be guaranteed a constant, reliable amount of additional funding each year. Significant dedicated funding will enable Metro to leverage its resources to obtain billions of dollars in bond proceeds over the next decade. Currently, Metro is almost completely lacking in dedicated funding, making it unique (in a bad way) among large U.S. transit agencies serving populations of over one million people.
How you can help
- Contact your state legislators to urge them to support this legislation.
- Please consider volunteering to support the Sierra Club’s legislative efforts.
