HAND is pleased to announce that it recently joined leaders of regional civic and business organizations in signing onto a letter urging the signatories of the governing compact of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to reform our regional transit system. An excerpt from the letter reads:

“We reiterate our strong conviction that any reform effort must include reforms to WMATA’s governing, financial, and operational structures. Reform of any one structure alone will not be sufficient. For instance, additional funding for Metro will only be beneficial if it is accompanied by structural changes that give WMATA’s board the flexibility to effectively allocate resources and staff the flexibility to leverage additional resources to make operational improvements.”

The following groups have signed on:

Federal City Council
Greater Washington Board of Trade
The 2030 Group
The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA)
The Consortium of Universities
The DC Building Industry Association
DC Chamber of Commerce
The Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce
The Prince William Chamber of Commerce
Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce
Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce
Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce
Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Arlington County Chamber of Commerce
Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce
Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce
Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington
ULI Washington
Leadership Greater Washington
Washington Airports Task Force
Committee for Dulles
Enterprise Community Partners
Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance
The Housing Association of Non-profit Developers (HAND)

HAND encourages its members and partners to join us in supporting these reform efforts to ensure the sustainability of the Washington region’s transit system. If you are interested in signing, please contact Maura Brophy or Dana Gresham.To read the letter in full, click here. You can also find more information here.