DC Metro panel approves late-night service cuts

A committee for Washington’s Metrorail system approved a proposal on Thursday to reduce late-night train service for two years.

{mosads}Under the proposal, Metro would close at 1 a.m. on weekends and 11:30 p.m. on weeknights starting next July. On Sundays, the subway would open up at 8:00 a.m. and close at 11 p.m.

Even though the plan includes a sunset provision so that the service cuts aren’t permanent, Board of Directors Chairman Jack Evans has threatened to veto the proposal. It will be considered by Metro’s full board in two weeks.

The subway has already been closing at midnight every night of the week while the transit agency implements its massive repair project, known as SafeTrack. Previously, the system was open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The beleaguered transit agency, which is also facing a nearly $300 million budget shortfall next year, has been weighing multiple options for late-night service cuts in an effort to give track workers more time to keep up with long-term maintenance and repairs.

Metro said after hearing an enormous amount of public feedback on the issue that 45 percent of people preferred closing at 1 a.m. over the options that were floated, such as keeping the system open until 3 a.m. on weekends but opening much later in the day.

Local businesses and community groups blasted the idea, arguing that ending late-night service would hurt local businesses and low-income residents who tend to work more late-night shifts.

“Our businesses have been very vocal about how the current reductions in service are cutting into their customer base and creating a hardship for their employees — those who work closing shifts have been found sleeping in their workplaces until Metro re-opens in the morning,” said Kristen Barden, executive director of the Adams Morgan Partnership BID. “Many employees who travel long distances to work can’t afford more expensive options to get them home safely.”