Will WMATA takeover the regional bus systems?

[Chargerdodge9]

Is this possible? They already share a depot with Fairfax Connector as well as a CNG pipeline with Arlington Tranist.Ride On take over some WMATA routes on weekends. Can WMATA pull an MTA bus and takeover the surrounding TAs?

[Antozilla]

No these regional TAs exist because the drivers make way less than WMATA drivers

[Chargerdodge9]

Well, I'd didn't know that.

[WMAveteran]

It would take an act of Congress to authorize Metro to declare eminent domain and take over the other TAs because they are owned by state and local governments.   Frankly, IMHO, Metro is not qualified at present to operate a true regional TA without the taxing authority to pay for it and, rest assured, the other TAs in MD and VA won't give out the taxing authority. 

[Chargerdodge9]

I see.

[Sand Box John]

Chargerdodge9
Is this possible? They already share a depot with Fairfax Connector as well as a CNG pipeline with Arlington Tranist.Ride On take over some WMATA routes on weekends. Can WMATA pull an MTA bus and takeover the surrounding TAs?

A little history is in order here. When WMATA came into existence there were no local transit agencies. WMATA was chartered as an agency to provide public transit primarily to and from the urban core. The reason why they exist today is because the boarding on many of the routes operated by the local transit agencies fall below WMATA's formula used to justify the service and fall outside of WMATA's chartered purpose.

[Chargerdodge9]

So, in other words, WMATA is not interested?

[WMAveteran]

Chargerdodge9
Is this possible? They already share a depot with Fairfax Connector as well as a CNG pipeline with Arlington Tranist.Ride On take over some WMATA routes on weekends. Can WMATA pull an MTA bus and takeover the surrounding TAs?

A little history is in order here. When WMATA came into existence there were no local transit agencies. WMATA was chartered as an agency to provide public transit primarily to and from the urban core. The reason why they exist today is because the boarding on many of the routes operated by the local transit agencies fall below WMATA's formula used to justify the service and fall outside of WMATA's chartered purpose.

Actually before WMATA was created there were four (4) privately owned bus companies providing service in the Washington metropolitan area: DC Transit, WMA Transit, AB&W Transit and WV&M Transit. WMATA was created and given the power of eminent domain to buy the four privately owned companies and provide a unified metropolitan transportation service.   

[Sand Box John]

Chargerdodge
So, in other words, WMATA is not interested?

It's not that WMATA is uninterested, it's the fact that much of the service provide by the local transit agencies is outside of WMATA's chartered purpose.

WMAveteran

Actually before WMATA was created there were four (4) privately owned bus companies providing service in the Washington metropolitan area: DC Transit, WMA Transit, AB&W Transit and WV&M Transit. WMATA was created and given the power of eminent domain to buy the four privately owned companies and provide a unified metropolitan transportation service.

You will note that I used "transit agencies" not "privately owned companies" when referring what existed before WMATA.

[Chargerdodge9]

hmm, very interesting indeed.

[MarkD]

No these regional TAs exist because the drivers make way less than WMATA drivers

The primary reason the "satellite" transit agencies [Ride-On, FFC, ART, The Bus, CUE, DASH] exist is that the local governments want to control the costs of administration, and operation of transit within their borders.  The local agencies can respond much faster to route changes, plus if WMATA ran all these lines, many of them would have poor frequencies and many lines would not have 7 days a week service.  The local agencies can literally do the job better and cheaper than WMATA.  They leave WMATA to the long, interjurisdictional routes on major highway,  and the locals can do the neighborhood lines.

[Chargerdodge9]

That's true. Most Dash and ART bus routes have much better headways then most off-peak hour WMATA routes. Just look at the 25E bus route. 90 mintue headways? Come on! And on weekends? Forget about using the 25 line for the 25A and 25B services sucks even more on saturdays. The 25B don't even run on sundays, leaving Van Dorn street station, completely isolated from WMATA bus services.