The right idea but the prescription is only half right

The solution to problems with democracy is more and better (deliberative, empowered) democracy, not less democracy.

The Post has taken only a year to come to my position that the real problem with WMATA, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, is how it is led and the overall vision. See today's editorial, "What really derails Metro," for proof.

From the article (which starts out by talking about the safety-induced derailment of a train on Friday--note that the derailment was proof of a system that is working better than we think, not evidence of a failure of the "system" but definitely evidence of a failure of the operator):

The alarming incident is but the latest evidence of the deterioration of a system that is vital to Washington and its citizens. Events have so eroded confidence in Metro's safety and reliability that it's time the region's political, business and civic leaders address the crisis. ...

Those who have long observed the WMATA board say it is hard for members -- particularly elected officials -- to take off the parochial hats of their jurisdictions in favor of regional interests. ...

Six years ago, leaders from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the Federal City Council and the Greater Washington Board of Trade, alarmed about Metro's finances, put together a task force whose work led to a dedicated source of money for Metro. The crisis facing Metro today is every bit as serious. It is time to review, and ultimately to change, how Metro is governed.

The problem is that the Post looks to the traditional business powers such as the Greater Washington Board of Trade and their lockstep in thinking elected and appointed officials to solve the problem, even though in some respects it is by relying on the traditional business elites and their worldview that has gotten us to the point that we are at today--remember that it was not the business elite that pushed the subway as much as it was "the people."

I wrote this entry, "St. Louis regional transit planning process as a model for what needs to be done in the DC Metropolitan region" in November.

My prescription for dealing with loss of trust and the need for a new way forward for regional transportation planning and metropolitan transit services is to combine the process currently underway in St. Louis ("Moving Transit Forward") with the previous effort in the Chicago region ("Moving Beyond Congestion") -- a public process focused on laying out a broad concept, vision, and plan for the metropolitan area, renewing commitment to and in transit in the region, and recognizing its vital importance in maintaining the region's economic competitiveness and relevance within the multi-state region, the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast, and the global economy.

If people like James Dinegar from the Greater Washington Board of Trade lead the effor called for by the Post, there is no guarantee that the "new and improved" transit system will be any better managed and led than the current system.

Same old same old got us to where we are today.

From the November blog entry:

The DC region needs to embark on a wide ranging metropolitan transit (re)planning public process to restore trust in and a common understanding of the WMATA transit system

After the accident in June, which killed 9 people and injured many others, and the continuing problems with safety, financial problems, lack of a regularized funding system, lack of appropriate regulatory oversight, not to mention problems with how the organization is led from the top (both the Board of Directors and top management), it seems reasonable to have a similar kind of regional transit planning exercise here.

Not only would this restore trust in the WMATA system in the DC region, by building a sense that WMATA is accountable to riders, it would also rebuild a regional understanding of what the system is capable of and how it should expand.

It has been 40+ years since the WMATA Metrorail system was first conceived and 33 years since parts of the system began opening. It's time for an assessment/reassessment.

This ought to be preferred over the grab bag of extension proposals in Virginia and Maryland (with little consideration of the impact on the current system) that the system faces currently.

WMATA only sees the world in terms of subway and bus. So the planning process needs to be broader and deeper, focused on transit generally, not just on WMATA operations as they are set up now.

At the same time, such a process should consider truly regional transit planning (which means including railroad service as an option), and the scope of the study should be broad, rather than overly-circumscribed and limited.

WMATA, in conjunction with the Transportation Planning Board of the MWCOG and the local jurisdictions, as well as MARC and VRE and other appropriate state authorities in Maryland and Virginia as well as DC, should launch a planning process similar to that of St. Louis, to come up with a metropolitan transportation plan that allows for transit services to be delivered where they need to be, but one that uses the most appropriate means (heavy rail, light rail, street car, passenger railroad, different types of bus service) to do so.

It should look at funding issues as well as heavy rail expansion where appropriate. That means not just extending transit service outward, but intensifying transit service at the core as well.

Such a planning process should also consider questions of leadership, management, and oversight. As well as funding.

It's the only way to build a truly regional understanding and commitment to transit for the Washington metropolitan region. Without such a planning process, I think we're destined for a lot more of the same incremental and discoordinated transportation planning that we have today.

At the same time, the District of Columbia needs to understand the centrality of transit to the city's economic and competitive advantages, and plan accordingly.
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The entry then goes on to list 6 key points for a metropolitan transportation vision and plan:

1. Provide more capacity for Metrorail at the core.
2. Extend Metrorail?
3. Change regional land use development policies now, especially those of the federal government.
4. Isn't it time that counties develop complementary surface rail transit programs of their own?
5. Expand and extend passenger railroad services.
6. Continued improvements in bus transportation and customer service.

And since then I have been thinking more about the difference between transportation planning for the metropolitan region, setting metrics for service and quality and the breadth and depth of the network overall, versus who operates what transit service.

In many respects, people treat WMATA as the ultimate actor in this, but really they are the transit operator, and the metropolitan region needs to define the "terms of service," and come up with a way to pay for it, build it, extend it, maintain it, and operate it, regardless of who provides specific services within the metropolitan transit network.