Action needed on WMATA Riders Advisory Council

Douglas Stewart of Fairfax, Va., reads a paper Thursday under a sign that warns of heightened security at the Metro Center subway station in Washington, D.C.(Baltimore Sun photo by David Hobby) Jul 7, 2005

From the Sierra Club --

Would you like to see an influential voice advocating on behalf of Metro riders with the agency's policy makers and staff?

We can turn this proposed idea into a reality if enough of us write by Tuesday, August 16th, to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which runs Metro.

A group of riders who are active members of Sierra Club volunteered for months to develop with WMATA a proposal for a strong Riders Advisory Council. Sierra Club supports a safe, convenient and well-run public transportation system. The more we empower riders to actually improve local transit, the more likely we can depend less on cars and more on Metro – reducing traffic congestion and pollution, and protecting the environment.

WMATA has since weakened the Riders Advisory Council proposal, but has asked for public comment until August 16th. Afterwards, Metro's board of directors will finalize its plans.

The message below explains what's at stake for us. You can send it to WMATA. We will maximize our voice if we each: 1) write something in our own words, and 2) forward this email (especially one-on-one!) to people you know.

Sample Message
____________________________________________________________
I ride Metro. Sometimes, service is good. Sometimes, it isn't. I'm glad Metro's board of directors has proposed creating a Riders Advisory Council. I think a respected council would make excellent suggestions on how to improve service.

The Advisory Council will be valuable if it challenges Metro to improve. It's helpful that Metro will provide staff to assist the council. But staff who are hired by Metro's General Manager will sometimes fear that if they carry out the council's work, they may be putting their job in jeopardy. The Metro board should make it clear in the by-laws that the Advisory Council will lead the staff selection process. It is important that the staff for the council work loyally on behalf of riders.

A strong riders council can help improve Metro, and hopefully result in more support for Metro funding. Thank you for drafting this proposal and asking for public comment.
___________________________________________________________

By August 16th, send comments, name and address to: RacComments@WMATA.com
or to:
Debra Johnson, Director of Project Communications
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 5th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

More Information:
For more details on the Sierra Club's Metro Accountability campaign, click here.

Send a copy of your email to: DennisJaffeDC@aol.com to help us tally the response.