In a letter to the incoming Biden administration, the region’s leaders are asking the federal government to provide operational funding to Metro.

In non-pandemic times, federal workers made up about 40% of Metro’s peak morning ridership, the letter said.

“While (Metro) has been a lifeline for essential workers, a large number of federal employees have been working remotely throughout 2020, leaving the transit system that serves our nation’s capital facing severe financial pressure,” the politicians wrote.

Thanks to low ridership, Metro is facing an operating budget shortfall of $176.5 million through June and a nearly $500 million shortfall for fiscal year 2022 that starts in July. It’s proposing service cuts that include no weekend train service, closing 19 stations, trains every 30 minutes and slashing bus routes. It’s also poised to lay off nearly a third of its workforce.

More than half of Metro’s budget comes in the form of $1.2 billion in subsidies from governments. Last fiscal year, Maryland contributed $455 million, D.C. $432 million and Virginia $296 million. Each year, their contributions can only be raised by 3% after a 2018 reform to Metro funding. So far, states and localities have not stepped up and said they would provide more funding during the crisis as local governments are also strapped during the pandemic.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser did not ask for a specified amount from the feds.

The federal government does contribute about $500 million in capital funds through various grants and formulas that pay for things like new buses, big projects and other capital costs.

“Without federal support, WMATA faces major budget shortfalls that will force layoffs and additional service interruptions, further hindering our region’s economic recovery,” the letter said. “…we are all experiencing significant budget challenges and significant new costs resulting from the pandemic.

“We encourage the Biden-Harris administration to renew the federal government’s commitment to Metro’s future and strongly consider joining the three jurisdictions as our fourth partner in a WMATA funding agreement.”

They say “maintaining a safe and reliable transit system for the nation’s capital is a national priority and should be treated in that way.”

The federal government did step up with about $800 million in operating funds from the CARES Act for WMATA. Other transit agencies also got the federal relief funds, but the regional leaders say none are positioned like Metro.

“The Metro system was built to accommodate the needs of our nation’s capital and the various private and public sector agencies that support our federal government,” they wrote. “WMATA serves as a linchpin to federal government operations, yet the lack of a federal contribution for operating WMATA fails to reflect this fact.”