Montgomery Community Media

In a year of disappointment, we have some hopeful news for 2020: you can finally use your iPhone and Apple Watch as your SmarTrip card when riding the Metro. WMATA officially launched a SmarTrip app on Apple devices, allowing riders a “touch-free” experience when paying for rides with Metro and regional transits providers. A news […]

Metro will nearly double rail capacity when service increases next month, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said at a board meeting July 23.  Metrobus will increase service as well, and Metro’s Riders Advisory Council Chair Andrew Kierig brought up concerns about physical distancing. He said there are transit agencies in other areas that collect ridership data […]

Desde principios de abril, Metro “recomienda encarecidamente” que los pasajeros usen cubiertas faciales, sin embargo, a partir del lunes será obligatorio. En un esfuerzo por ayudar a frenar la propagación de COVID-19, las cubiertas faciales o mascarillas serán obligatorias en los trenes, autobuses, estaciones y vehículos MetroAccess de Metro. El gerente general de Metro, Paul […]

Since early April Metro ‘strongly recommended’ that riders wear face coverings, however starting on Monday it will be required. In an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19, face coverings will be mandatory on Metro trains, buses, stations, and MetroAccess vehicles. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says this is a necessary step towards plans for an eventual […]

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority released its multi-phased COVID-19 recovery plan Monday, indicating it may not return to its normal operations until Spring 2021. On Saturday, Paul Wiedefeld, general manager and CEO of WMATA, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post, saying, “Until a vaccine is available, our customer experience can’t be what it was […]

The Washington, D.C. Metro elevated its coronavirus response to Phase 2 on Friday, one day after the first three cases were confirmed in Montgomery County, Maryland and Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency. On Sunday, Hogan announced two more cases, one in Montgomery County and another in Harford County. Metro has four response […]

The Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee will host a town hall at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, focusing on service improvements to Metro. It takes place in the Silver Spring Civic Building at 1 Veterans Plaza. Representatives of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will present an overview of a new […]

Update (Jan. 25, 3 p.m.): WMATA announced on twitter that the board has canceled its scheduled emergency vote that would offer free metro rides to furloughed workers. The announcement comes after President Trump agreed to temporarily re-open the government until Feb. 15. In light of this afternoon's White House announcement that the Federal Government will […]

Metro is losing about $400,000 for every business day that the government shutdown continues, Paul Wiedefeld told Democratic senators on Thursday. The shutdown has caused a 16 percent loss in subway ridership and an 8 percent loss in bus ridership, according to the letter from Wiedefeld, the general manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan […]

Montgomery County Council President Hans Riemer meets the media and discusses Metro, the threat to Walter Johnson High School, small cell towers and a proposed outdoor smoking ban.