During the shutdown, Metro ran six-car trains during rush hour instead of the usual eight-car configuration. Photograph by Flickr user Elvert Barnes.
Last month’s government shutdown cost Metro $5.5 million in lost revenue, the transit authority reported in its most recent quarterly report. Metro estimates that it lost out on 1.7 million passenger trips during the 16-day shutdown. Some of the lost revenue was also attributed to fewer cars parked at Metrorail stations.
Metro tried to stem the bleeding early on, when it cut eight-car trains to six. The agency reported on the shutdown’s second day that it was seeing ridership drop by 22 percent, with the greatest decline reported at stations around Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.
Although the figures released today are preliminary, they offset the positive results Metro had in the first quarter of its current fiscal year by nearly half. From July through September, Metro’s budget had a positive net position of $11.6 million.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Metro Lost $5.5 Million During Shutdown
The transit agency was hit hard by the 16-day shutdown.
Last month’s government shutdown cost Metro $5.5 million in lost revenue, the transit authority reported in its most recent quarterly report. Metro estimates that it lost out on 1.7 million passenger trips during the 16-day shutdown. Some of the lost revenue was also attributed to fewer cars parked at Metrorail stations.
Metro tried to stem the bleeding early on, when it cut eight-car trains to six. The agency reported on the shutdown’s second day that it was seeing ridership drop by 22 percent, with the greatest decline reported at stations around Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.
Although the figures released today are preliminary, they offset the positive results Metro had in the first quarter of its current fiscal year by nearly half. From July through September, Metro’s budget had a positive net position of $11.6 million.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
2022 Tech Titans
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2022: Fantastic Foodie Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol
LGBTQ Pioneer Barney Frank’s Story Is Now a Graphic Novel
Inside the Effort to Revamp the DC Archives
This DC Poet Was Once the USSR’s Biggest Kid Actor
More from News & Politics
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
Number of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Hits Record Low
The Lincoln Memorial Is 100 Years Old. Here’s How to Celebrate It.
The Hill’s Newsroom Petitions to Unionize
2022 Tech Titans
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol