The

Washington

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

’s (

WMATA

)

b

oard

has

adopted a

$4.8 billion

operating and capital budget for

f

iscal

-y

ear 2027

that calls for service improvements

without raising fares.

Bus service improvements will

be implemented

in June,

with

additional

bus and rail

service

changes

to be instituted

in D

ecember.

"

The budget that we adopted balances today's service needs with the budget realities of our local funding partners

,” said WMATA Chair Valerie Santos.

WMATA plans to

increase weekday off-peak service on the

Orange, Silver

and Blue

passenger-

rail

lines and

offer

additional

late-night frequency on the Red Line. The capital budget includes fund

s

for the first steps of rail modernization

work

on the Red Line,

WMATA

’s original line that opened more than 50 years ago.

Under a $913 million plan, the authority plans to fully automate the Red Line.

“

[We have]

led the country in ridership growth in recent years, and this additional service will help meet the growing demand on bus an

d rail,” said

WMATA

General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke. “We remain committed to running safe,

frequent

and

reliable service for our customers and planning for future rail modernization that would make Metro Rail even safer and more efficient.”

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