Human waste, used condoms, broken glass, and other trash in Metro garages? Say it ain’t so.

WMATA’s Office of the Inspector General studied garage conditions over a 20-month period, and the results aren’t pretty.

The OIG observed “unsafe and filthy conditions” at Metrorail station garages, according to a summary of the report.

“This filth was not cleaned daily as required by WMATA and remained in place for days, weeks, and even months,” the OIG summary reads. “WMATA’s reputation is jeopardized due to unsightly conditions.” The OIG contends that there was increased “risk of harm to the riding public.”

The office will present its audit of garage cleaning in the system to Metro’s Executive Committee on Thursday. Other Metro officials received the report late last month.

A spokesperson for Metro says the agency appreciates “the work of OIG to bring these issues to light.”

“When presented with the report’s findings, Metro immediately took action to correct unsafe and unclean conditions at parking facilities. All stairwells and landings have been pressure washed, and all garage decks will be pressure washed by the end of April, weather permitting. Metro is working to have a cleaning schedule posted at every garage by March 1.”

So why are the garages so dirty? According to the OIG, they aren’t being cleaned enough. Cleaners contracted by Metro weren’t cleaning the garages 84 percent of the time. Some contracted employees also weren’t completing their 8-hour shifts.

OIG concluded that Metro paid $2.2 million for cleaning services that weren’t completed over two years.

“The root cause of these issues was the lack of oversight by WMATA and contractor officials,” the summary continues. “There was also little to no implementation of controls over the garage cleaning process, or of the contract employee’s time and attendance.”

So, what now? Some major spring cleaning, for one thing. Metro will also hire in-house cleaning staff, who Metro says will “better manage and oversee the cleaning of parking facilities.”

This story originally appeared on WAMU. 

OIG Summary

OIG Report Metro_Jan. 2020 by wamu885 on Scribd