Alexandria City Council has unanimously endorsed a regional plan that would increase annual Metro funding by $460 million.
The “DMVMoves” plan from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) would require an estimated $136 million from Virginia, $152 million from Maryland and $173 million from D.C. before fiscal year 2029, with a 3% annual escalation, to support Metro’s capital needs.
It also calls for $65 million to $80 million annually to improve local bus services, while encouraging collaboration between regional transit operators.
The funding initiative was started by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
“Metro faces a serious and permanent capital funding gap starting in FY2029,” according to a DMVMoves presentation. “State and local systems also have funding shortfalls.”
Alexandria joins other localities to endorse the plan, including Arlington, Fairfax and Loudon counties. DMVMoves has also received support from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Clark Mercer, COG executive director, presented the plan to City Council on Tuesday night.
Metro’s capital funding sources are not indexed to grow, according to DMVMoves. Its capital buying power has been reduced by inflation, its debt capacity is expected to be exhausted by 2029 and the system faces reducing its annual capital investments.
“We want to be able to provide a level of funding that’s predictable for the folks paying the bills,” Mercer told Council, so that Metro “can manage from one year to the next, so that we don’t have to come back every five years and ask the region for more money.”
Virginia, Maryland and D.C. each have the power to decide how to raise the funding, per previous reporting. The Virginia General Assembly is considering whether, and how, to pay the state’s share.
Alexandria, in its 2026-2035 Capital Improvement Program, has dedicated $186.4 million to support WMATA’s regional public transit system’s capital program.
Also Tuesday night, the council approved providing WMATA an additional $35 million to close out the now-$385 million Potomac Yard Metro station project.
