In addition to voting for a temporary fare increase, the Metro board this afternoon also confirmed a handful of new members and positions. Chief among them: Jim Graham's most recent term as board chair has come to an end, and he's been replaced by veteran WMATA man Peter Benjamin. Benjamin (Maryland) will now serve as chair for the next year, with members Catherine Hudgins (Virginia) as First Vice Chair and Neil Albert (D.C.) as Second Vice Chair. Two new members were also sworn-in today: Mortimer Downey and Marcel Acosta have joined the board as the Federal government’s first representatives to the body. You can read a little more about them here. more ›

The Metro board has voted to approve a temporary 10-cent, across the board fare hike. more ›

Metro board members Peter Benjamin, Jim Graham and Chris Zimmerman appeared on WTOP today and told reporter Mark Segraves they expect a search for a new General Manager will take six to nine months. John Catoe announced his sudden resignation last week, and the board admitted that they were taken by surprise. more ›

Metro General Manager John Catoe has released this lengthy statement on the future of the transit agency's safety standards, which he delivered to the WMATA board of directors today. In it, he declares a "war" to make sure the transit system is as safe as it can possibly be. more ›

Metro's board of directors voted to renew General Manager John Catoe's contract for another three years at their meeting today, the Post is reporting. Presumably they managed to come to that decision before board chairman Jim Graham was pulled out of the meeting to deal with the fact that his chief of staff had been arrested. WTOP says the only vote against Catoe came from City Administrator Neil Albert. Catoe's annual salary of $315,000 will remain the same, according to WTOP. more ›

"Aaaaauuuuuugggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!," writes NBC Washington's Asha Beh, vocalizing an emotion familiar to the District: that wretched howl of frustration you scream from the far corner of your soul when you miss a train because some jerk tourist couldn't figure out how to do the SmarTrip machine. Time is money, and the minutes of your life lost behind bumbling tourists examining those fare-trip charts would buy a lot of tchotchkes. Metro, it would seem, is not unsympathetic. Officials are considering an alternative to Metro and SmarTrip cards that would draw the money directly from a rider's debit or credit card. more ›

Metro's board today caved to mounting pressure to avoid massive Metrobus service cuts and voted to make only $2.5 million worth of cuts instead of $13.6 million, reports Lena Sun in the Post. In order to make up for a predicted budget shortfall, the board voted 5-1 to dip into the agency's so-called rainy day fund, which currently holds $13.3 million. more ›

No big surprise here, but Metro has sent out a release announcing the election of Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham as Chairman of WMATA's Board of Directors. Graham will serve a year-long term effective immediately, succeeding Christopher Zimmerman, whose term ended today. Graham has been on the Metro Board since 1999 and previously served as Board Chairman in 2003. Also elected today were Peter Benjamin, representing Maryland, as First Vice Chairman and Catherine Hudgins, representing Virginia, as Second Vice Chairman. more ›

Good morning, Washington. We'll be standing by for a good chunk of the day to see what the Metro Board decides to do about the proposed fare hike - the Board is meeting at 11 a.m. for a session that is expected to produce a final vote on the fare hikes, which could go into effect as soon as January. Board members have indicated they would likely pass a fare hike that is slightly less than the current proposal. more ›

Welcome to Friday, Washington. More reactions to the Metro Board's proposed fare hikes this morning, as The Examiner quotes the chairman of Metro's Riders Advisory Board claiming he'll be switching to driving from Rockville to Rosslyn at least two days a week if the increases go into effect. Do the proposed fare hikes make you think you'll change your commuting habits? Operator Error Blamed in Track Deaths: Another report about a terrible Metro accident from... more ›

Good morning, Washington. The weather-related headlines today are all generally pretty disappointing -- The Post proclaims that "Rain Likely to Dampen Area But Not Douse the Drought", and others have followed suit. But waving like a lone reed in the pessimistic sands of weather prognostication is CapitalWeather.com, who just minutes ago put up a prediction, based on a brand new model, suggesting that "several factors are finally lining up to bring the potential for... more ›

While we sit here tap-tapping our fingers, eagerly awaiting the Metro Board’s next move on our collective fare fate, we will distract ourselves with other traffic and metro related tidbits: metro savings, the ICC goes on and weekend delays. Photo by philliefan_99... more ›

UPDATE: The Metro Board has put the proposed fare hikes on hold, saying they would like more details about the proposals before they would approve public hearings. They voted to hold a special informational committee meeting on Sept. 27. More than a year ago, then interim Metro Chief Dan Tangherlini began uttering those two little words no transit rider likes to hear: fare increase. At the time though, our favorite transit official was reassuring... more ›

There's nothing like a little good old waste, fraud, and abuse, to get Washington all riled up! The world of transit in the nation's Capital was rocked by two reports this week, which point to several examples of all three. Let the fallout begin! Also this week: Metro parking goes high-tech and low-frustration. Finally, brace yourself, Washington... The much ballyhooed Metro performers - songsters, dancers, and jugglers galore - are coming to a station... more ›

As Metro emerges from yesterday's deep freeze, it's getting mixed reviews on its transportation response. Mayor Fenty is also under the microscope for his response to the snow according to local media. But with a power outage reported to have knocked out traffic lights throughout downtown earlier today, we're clearly not out of the woods yet. Meanwhile, the big news at Metro is the roll out of brand spankin' new information display screens outside... more ›

On the campaign trail, Adrian Fenty garnered both praise and criticism for his ambitious personality. Depending on who you asked, he was either in over his head, or just the man the city needed to kick progress begun under Tony Williams into high gear. Well, like it or not, so far Mayor Fenty is living up tothe expectations. Seriously, who else would have the audacity to set 200 goals for their first 100 days? Like... more ›

If you're from D.C., like me, the one great thing about the holidays is that you never have to travel, and all your old friends come to you for a week or two, and that week or two turn into dozens of debaucherous, memory-filled nights, telling stories about the times you used to hang out at Amphora Diner in Vienna (anyone else? Anyone?). Unfortunately, I had one of those nights last night, so you're... more ›

Contrary to Timothy 6:10, Cicero, Emerson, and Pink Floyd, George Bernard Shaw claimed that the lack of money is the root of all evil. Despite Washington's occasional tendency toward idealism, if you are a Metro rider, it's getting harder to disagree with Mr. Shaw these days. Our city's transit system is facing its biggest budget shortfall ever, and in order to close the $116 million gap, Metro officials have proposed the first fare increase... more ›

If you follow the comments on this site at all, you've probably noticed that one of the topics that stirs up much digital debate is Metro. Be they lovers or haters, DCist readers love to complain about it, compare it to systems in other cities (especially New York), suggest ways to improve it, etc., etc. Well, here's your chance to take your comments offline and address them to someone who can actually do something about... more ›

Hey there, D.C. It's another bright, sunny day in our fair city, with an expected high of 89 degrees. While it's certainly not as hot as it was earlier this month, we feel sure George Allen is feeling the heat this this morning, as he struggles to explain what was one of the most blogged-about topics on the Internet yesterday. Who else might be feeling the heat this morning? Anyone trying to sell their homes... more ›

The Purple Line transit link between New Carrollton and Bethesda has been the subject of quite a few shenanigans lately. Last Friday, The Washington Post ran an editorial arguing that now that plans for the Intercounty Connector are finalized, the Purple Line must be the next priority. The following Thursday, we questioned just how committed to the Purple Line Maryland and the Ehrlich administration really are. However, neither piece offered quite as much insight into... more ›

The Washington Examiner's Steve Eldridge, who writes the paper's daily Sprawl and Crawl feature, kicked off yesterday's column with some pretty bold claims about the D.C. government's motivations when it comes to Metro. In no uncertain terms, Mr. Eldridge accuses the District of attempting to systematically usurp control of our regional transit system. Could it be that D.C. is actually on such a Pinky-and-the-Brain-esque mission to take over WMATA? DCist takes a look at Eldridge's... more ›

We know that Earth Day is still two days away, but today we focus on greening our transportation system in the D.C. Metro area. Over the next several decades, the D.C. metro area is expected to grow by 2 million new residents and add 1.6 million new jobs. How we decide to develop our transportation network to accommodate this growth will have a major impact on the region, shaping the urban landscape and quality... more ›

On Sundays, DCist publishes opinion pieces about life in D.C. We're keeping it in the family today, as the following column was written by my cousin, Rajiv Shah. If you have an opinion to share, please email us. more ›

During those desperate times on late weekend nights (see: peeternity), have you ever wondered where are the restrooms in metrorail stations? Or why they don't have any? Turns out they do, though they are hidden in the depths of the stations next to the mechanical nitty-gritties, and it seems station managers are rather selective as to who uses them. Selective, about bathroom usage? The Washington Examiner looks at the issue in today's paper. According to... more ›

Good morning, Washington. In general we steer clear from too many photos of the monuments, but we couldn't resist dropping in this gorgeous photo of the Jefferson Memorial at dawn posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user guy_incognito. Today it will remain sunny yet temperatures will drop significantly and highs today will only reach the low 60s. More Stadium Intrigue: In yet another twist in the already complex story of of the new D.C. baseball... more ›

Today's installment of Transit on Thursday focuses on the soon-to-be-reality Riders Advisory Council, whose application process ends Monday afternoon. The council -- which will include six seats for people from each of the three jurisdictions served by Metro, two at-large seats, and a seat held by the head of Metro's Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee -- will afford ordinary Metro riders the opportunity to offer insights and opinions on the transit agency's operations.... more ›

Maybe it was just the desolate path we walked to work, but it really feels like D.C. is a ghost town this week. Appreciate it while it lasts - inauguration festivities will be starting up in not too long, and they'll be as elaborate and crazy as it gets. For example:"The Ritz-Carlton plans to give its guests white chocolate cowboy boots, yellow roses and red, white and blue cocktails with a special 'handmade' Texas vodka."... more ›

High winds yesterday caused some power outages, and caused this house under construction near Howard University to collapse. Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the 50s. (The photo is Courtesy of D.C. Fire and EMS, via the AP.) Metro Board Doesn't Ride Metro: Following up on an issue raised during last month's first-ever town hall meeting, the Post has investigated just how much each member of the WMATA Board of Directors used... more ›