Photo by Kevin H.

Photo by Kevin H.

Ahead of a Council oversight hearing, WMATA released a document detailing its performance in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Here are some parts that may be of interest.

  • WMATA hires very few D.C. residents: In fiscal year 2013, WMATA hired 1,425 people, but just 181 were D.C. residents. So far in fiscal year 2014, 115 D.C. residents were hired out of 841 people.

  • They aren’t tracking data on returning citizens: Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who serves on Metro’s board, recently held a roundtable on a resolution she’s proposed asking WMATA to “adopt a revised background screening policy and take additional steps to promote the hiring of returning citizens.” Metro defended their policy, which permanently disqualifies people with certain felony conviction from employment in certain positions, while Bowser called it “overly restrictive.”

    In the oversight document, WMATA says it does not track the percentage of employees that are returning citizens or if these types of employees are have been involved in “fraud, waste, abuse, criminal wrong-doing, accidents or injuries.”

    “WMATA has no programs in place to specifically identify and recruit individuals with a criminal history,” the oversight document states. “WMATA utilizes approved hiring standards and evaluates each applicant independently based on those guidelines.”

  • The worst performing escalators and elevators revealed: In fiscal year 2013, the worst performing escalators were found at Archives, Gallery Place, Woodley Park, Dupont Circle, Georgia Avenue, Friendship Heights, Metro Center, Federal Center, Stadium Armory and Waterfront SEU. The worst performing elevators were located at Benning Road, Deanwood, Brookland, Gallery Place, Woodley Park, Dupont Circle, Mt. Vernon Square, Archives, Takoma, and Congress Heights.

    For fiscal year 2014 that list for escalators is Smithsonian, Gallery Place, three at L’Enfant Plaza, Eastern Market, Van Ness, Farragut West, Columbia Heights and Federal Center SW. For elevators it’s Van Ness, Waterfront, Tenleytown, Gallery Place, Anacostia, Dupont Circle, Eastern Market, L’Enfant Plaza, Rhode Island Avenue, and Mt. Vernon Square.

  • Ridership numbers in FY2013 and 2014: April 2013 saw the biggest ridership numbers in FY2013.
    FY2013.

    For FY2014, July 2013 saw the biggest ridership, with 19,434,225 riders overall.

    FY2014.

  • Of the 11,320 Metrobus stops in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, 43.22 percent of “inaccessible”: Here’s the definition of an accessible bus stop:
  • The stop provides for a firm landing surface (preferably all-weather) for the
    pedestrian to step and walk upon;
  • The firm landing area is at least a 5-ft wide by 8-ft deep to facilitate entry/exit
    of the bus via lift or ramp;
  • The firm landing surface is continuous from the back of the curb and connects
    to a sidewalk (if available); and
  • An accessible curb ramp is available at the corner nearest to the bus stop
    with a matching curb ramp at a minimum of one adjacent corner to facilitate
    crossing the street.

    • Filed Under: escalators, metro, muriel bowser, returning citizens, wmata,