It is hard to blame the FTA. There have been several accidents, some of which resulted in death and injuries in recent years. Beyond that there has also been a demonstrated pattern of safety lapses involving metrorail, as the FTA noted in its letter.

That said, the drop in funding is bound to be met with dismay by local officials, developers who are building projects around metro stops and of course, the system's beleaguered passengers.

Metro's Problems Have Become A Trendlines Megatrend

Just a handful of days before the FTA made its decision, Delta Associates debuted its latest Trendlines report. One of the mega trends it identified was the Washington Metro System, which was “once the District's jewel” but now is the area's 'dilemma', according to the report.

In short the system has problems, not the least of which has been its declining ridership and poor service quality and reliability, Trendlines bluntly stated.

In FY16 metrorail's total ridership was 9% below budget and 7% lower than what it was in FY15. Its weekday daily ridership peaked at 750,000 in FY08 and now is 639,000. In FY15 on time performance was 84% — not the 91% goal WMATA set for itself.

Metro has the second highest fares in the nation, following San Francisco, and a complex governance structure, but above all, Metro's biggest problem is lack of consistent funding, Trendlines found.

Fares are the main non-subsidy revenue source for the operating budget, while the annual budget relies on negotiations between Virginia, Maryland and the District. The federal government makes a $150 million capital commitment each year, Trendlines noted “but the current agreement expires in 2019.”

And that, as noted above, comes with caveats.

“There isn't a dedicated source of funding and that has become a real problem,” William Rich, Delta Associates' new CEO tells GlobeSt.com.

And because the system has not been funded properly there has been a lot of deferred maintenance, Rich continues. The situation came to a head last year when WMATA made the decision to implement 'Safe Track' — an arduous schedule of repairs in which three years worth of deferred work will be completed in one. There will be a lot of down time for certain parts of metro and riders have been encouraged to find alternative modes of transportation during those periods.

Needless to say, “this is taking a toll on mobility for the region,” Rich says.

If Metro Has a Problem, Then Developers Have a Problem

Metro's problems also become, by extension, real estate developers' problems. The area has been steadily shifting to transit-friendly development for both office and apartments and valuations are now based in large part on proximity to a metro station.

Reduced commuting time gives a nice boost to property values for buildings within walking distance of a metro station, for example. Specifically, studies have shown that District property prices decrease by about $2.30 per square foot for every 1,000 square feet of distance from a metro station. [see Trendlines' charts below].

“I don't think Metro's problems are dissuading the development community from building transit-oriented projects, Rich says. “But it is a factor that may have to be considered down the road for new project planning if the funding problem isn't solved.”

WASHINGTON, DC–On Friday, the Federal Transit Administration notified [PDF] Virginia Gov. McAuliffe, Maryland Gov. Hogan and DC Mayor Bower that effective immediately it will withhold 5% of Fiscal Year 2017 transit formula funds from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

That comes to $8.9 million.

Last year the three jurisdictions were advised that they needed to establish a new State Safety Oversight Program certified by the FTA by Feb. 9, 2017. Apparently that did not happen and thus FTA is now withholding the full 5% until a certificated SSOP is in place for metrorail.

That will require legislation and currently, the FTA noted, only the District has passed the necessary law. “Even after Maryland and Virginia enact legislation substantial work will remain in developing a federally-compliant SSOP,” the FTA said.

It is hard to blame the FTA. There have been several accidents, some of which resulted in death and injuries in recent years. Beyond that there has also been a demonstrated pattern of safety lapses involving metrorail, as the FTA noted in its letter.

That said, the drop in funding is bound to be met with dismay by local officials, developers who are building projects around metro stops and of course, the system's beleaguered passengers.

Metro's Problems Have Become A Trendlines Megatrend

Just a handful of days before the FTA made its decision, Delta Associates debuted its latest Trendlines report. One of the mega trends it identified was the Washington Metro System, which was “once the District's jewel” but now is the area's 'dilemma', according to the report.

In short the system has problems, not the least of which has been its declining ridership and poor service quality and reliability, Trendlines bluntly stated.

In FY16 metrorail's total ridership was 9% below budget and 7% lower than what it was in FY15. Its weekday daily ridership peaked at 750,000 in FY08 and now is 639,000. In FY15 on time performance was 84% — not the 91% goal WMATA set for itself.

Metro has the second highest fares in the nation, following San Francisco, and a complex governance structure, but above all, Metro's biggest problem is lack of consistent funding, Trendlines found.

Fares are the main non-subsidy revenue source for the operating budget, while the annual budget relies on negotiations between Virginia, Maryland and the District. The federal government makes a $150 million capital commitment each year, Trendlines noted “but the current agreement expires in 2019.”

And that, as noted above, comes with caveats.

“There isn't a dedicated source of funding and that has become a real problem,” William Rich, Delta Associates' new CEO tells GlobeSt.com.

And because the system has not been funded properly there has been a lot of deferred maintenance, Rich continues. The situation came to a head last year when WMATA made the decision to implement 'Safe Track' — an arduous schedule of repairs in which three years worth of deferred work will be completed in one. There will be a lot of down time for certain parts of metro and riders have been encouraged to find alternative modes of transportation during those periods.

Needless to say, “this is taking a toll on mobility for the region,” Rich says.

If Metro Has a Problem, Then Developers Have a Problem

Metro's problems also become, by extension, real estate developers' problems. The area has been steadily shifting to transit-friendly development for both office and apartments and valuations are now based in large part on proximity to a metro station.

Reduced commuting time gives a nice boost to property values for buildings within walking distance of a metro station, for example. Specifically, studies have shown that District property prices decrease by about $2.30 per square foot for every 1,000 square feet of distance from a metro station. [see Trendlines' charts below].

“I don't think Metro's problems are dissuading the development community from building transit-oriented projects, Rich says. “But it is a factor that may have to be considered down the road for new project planning if the funding problem isn't solved.”