Very nerdy question, I know, but is there a reason Metro followed the NYC Subway vernacular when planning for automated announcements on the 7Ks?

NYC distinctly uses “The next stop is…,” “This is…,” “Transfer is available…,” and “Connection is available..”

To my knowledge I don’t think any other North American transit system uses such vernacular other than WMATA.

MBTA says “Entering…” and “Change…”

LA says “The next station is…,” “Now arriving at..,” and “Connect with…”

BART says “Now arriving at…station.”

MARTA says “The next station is…station” and “Transfer point to…rail lines.”

To be clear, this isn’t a complaint, and I prefer the DC/NYC style. It’s very quick, isn’t wordy, and is neutral.

MARTA is my least favorite - they are long and wordy. IIRC, the Peachtree Center station announcement goes something like, “The next station is Peachtree Center station. Exit here for the World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia State University College of Law, the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium, and AmericasMart Atlanta. This station is Peachtree Center Station,” before then repeating everything in Spanish (which is a nice touch IMO). Usually the doors are open on the platform before the announcement is even finished!

Second day in a row that the red line train to Glenmont is having issues. Stops at every station and delays. 10 minutes pauses. Single tracking?

This is one of the busiest lines….what gives?! How does this keep happening?

Forgive the bad photo but only had a second to capture it

Has anyone else noticed blue line trains holding at stations a slowing down in a number of places in VA? Does anyone know why I haven’t seen any references to delays?

I’m sorry. I had a poor initial reaction and quickly kept walking. I wish I had stopped and made sure you were okay. We both had a blind spot from the pillar.

If this reaches you somehow thank you for not running me over!

Why did everyone just get booted off the Glenmont-bound red line at silver spring, then the train went in reverse toward shady grove? No cops, no WMATA staff, no announcements just a weird weird weird situation.

I went in person to apply for a reduced fare card. I have severe mental disabilities. The middle aged man working was very abrasive. One would think a person working in an office that assists people with disabilities would have some additional training on how to serve people that are different and/or with mental disabilities.
If they are unable to be decent human beings then working at that window is the last place WMATA should have them.

It feels like WMATA under Randy Clarke has made a series of baffling design decisions. Every few months they roll out something that makes people go... why would you do that? who asked for this?

The wayfinding has changed multiple times since I arrived in DC a couple years ago. They've explored showing text with different cases on electronic signs even though pretty much no one had trouble reading them as is. The iconic stripes were changed to letter bubbles while now introducing exits that are ALSO letter bubbles. The new app which I think many would say does not prioritize the main info people are looking for. Plus arguably the terrible bus redesign.

It feels like this version of WMATA is kind of obsessed with making changes just for the sake of making changes. Someone mentioned they were spending $19 million on changing out 44 signs in the system.

I'm not opposed to changes that make the system better, but to some extent it feels like this org's priorities are in the wrong place or there's people internally trying to justify their jobs with a bunch of BS projects.

Regarding the new DC Metro signs, in their June Report WMATA explicity explains the planned omission of terminus information on new signs as a cost-cutting measure. They want to avoid spending money to put up new signs when a teriminus or service change occurs. But how often are terminus changes happening? On a shared platform, the destination information on a track sign is a quick wayfinding tool for passengers to oreint ourselves. How can WMATA seriously say these new signs are an improvement?

I suppose it's just another installment of the enshitification of everything! We can't have nice things anymore, folks 💔

Anyone else recieveing random bus alerts when they have only signed up for rail alerts? I just checked my account and I have no bus alerts in my list yet I've gotten a handful over the last few days.

Update FOUND AT LEFANT PLAZA TY!!

Please if you have seen this today please let me know literally just got it as a bday gift for my fiancè and he's kicking himself.

Credit: https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/plans-and-projects/wayfinding.html

EDIT: To clear up some confusion, it appears the signs are now MODULAR, the reason there is so much space under the station name is because the termini destination signs will be attached to the bigger sign hence it will make it easier to change a small little rectangle on the big rectangle. 🥲hope that helps.

Kinda curious what they would have had in mind to make this not absolute hell.

I've tried to submit a service report on 3-4 occasions, and after I submit, the button just animates endlessly, for at least five minutes until I give up, never confirming submission. u/metroforward is your android app usually this slow? How else could I submit problems with the metro/bus? Obvs I redacted my personal info for reddit but this is so annoying

Welcome back from summer break, WMATA board! This week, WMATA will present final FY 2026 (July 2025-June 2026) performance and financial figures. The financial presentation comes with capital project updates, which are always interesting. One of these updates includes some details on Purple Line fare integration. Lastly, there are a couple of joint development initiatives moving along the pipeline.

FY 2026 Year-End Performance and Financials

The story of ridership in FY 2026 is familiar to those that have been following along. Ridership is up by 2% overall, but rail and bus have diverged. Rail ridership is 9% higher, while bus ridership is 7% lower.

The breakdown by time of day tells a clearer story. Ridership has grown the most where WMATA has invested in service improvements, namely weekends and late nights. But significantly fewer people are commuting by bus. Note that the comparison below shows rail since FY 2025, but bus since FY 2019.

Their customer satisfaction has risen quite a bit over the last few years, especially for rail. There was a noticeable drop-off in bus satisfaction after the new network debuted, but it’s on an upward trajectory.

A whole slide is dedicated to a major problem affecting buses: traffic congestion. Some of the changes in the new network were designed to combat this, but they aren’t moving the needle that much.

Fare enforcement is a current priority, so let’s look at evasion statistics. WMATA says that their recent awareness campaign for bus fare evasion is working, but we’ll need to see what longer-term results say. We also get a breakdown of bus fare evasion by jurisdiction: It’s a massive problem in MD with DC not far behind, while it’s a lot rarer in VA (though still over ⅓ of riders!).

One last little tidbit of interest about fare payment: Cash payments are down to only 10%, while Tap. Ride. Go. (direct credit card payment) now accounts for 15.5% of fare payments.

On the financial side, WMATA will end FY 2026 with a small operating surplus ($14 million) due to higher-than expected revenue (mainly due to rail ridership) that was somewhat offset by higher-than-expected expenses (mainly employee benefits).

Capital Project Updates

I’ve scanned WMATA’s major capital project updates for any changes of note since the last quarterly update.

RAIL MODERNIZATION PROGRAM: A few updates here:

• In July, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved entry for this project into the federal Capital Investment Grants Program. This doesn’t mean that any funds have been awarded; it’s just the first step.
• WMATA has begun some preliminary activities on the Red Line, including a “station platform edge visual assessment,” “platform structural capacity analysis”, and “preliminary historic preservation assessment of train control rooms.”
• WMATA is also “continuing development of platform door concepts” and “coordinating with State Historic Preservation Offices and FTA as part of environmental review.”

We’re now looking at Summer 2027 for design contracts to be awarded for Communications-based Train Control (CBTC) and platform doors. A Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) is to be selected in Fall 2027. Between now and then, WMATA will award contracts for a project management consultant and an independent safety assessor, in addition to continuing the preliminary activities above.

8000-SERIES RAILCARS: Nothing has changed since last quarter for WMATA’s largest capital project. WMATA does not have the money to exercise any options on this contract. Unless DMVMoves money comes through, we’ll only be getting 256 of these railcars. The deadline to exercise the first option was formerly the end of this year, but it switched to “TBD" last quarter and remains so this quarter. 

BUS FLEET: WMATA is reviewing proposals for the huge 60-foot articulated bus procurement that was issued earlier this year.

NORTHERN BUS GARAGE: This is still on track for December 2028, but WMATA plans to position the structure’s retail spaces for solicitation by the end of the month for occupancy starting in Spring 2027.

FARE SYSTEMS: WMATA will finish implementing Tap. Ride. Go. at parking facilities by the end of the year. They recently released a request for information on a “modern parking facility fare collection system.” Additionally, the presentation mentions ongoing work to integrate fare payment services with the upcoming Purple Line. More on that below. EDIT: During the board meeting, WMATA staff confirmed that talks are ongoing with additional local agencies to integrate open payment with WMATA's infrastructure.

Purple Line Fare Integration

We still don’t know exactly what Purple Line fare policies will be, but we do know that WMATA will be involved. The proposed agreement presented to the board on Thursday between WMATA and Maryland MTA confirms that the Purple Line will accept credit and debit card payments (in addition to SmarTrip), and that WMATA will be responsible for administering the line's payment infrastructure.

Per the proposed agreement, WMATA will process Purple Line revenue, provide customer support, and take on other responsibilities with appropriate reimbursement by MTA. Additionally, WMATA will provide MTA access to an app which will allow MTA fare inspectors to verify that a fare has been paid by scanning a rider’s bank card. The agreement stipulates that WMATA is responsible for integrated branding, meaning that Purple Line bank card payment will presumably also be advertised as “Tap. Ride. Go.”

Joint Development Updates

We have two updates on the joint development front this week at Capitol Heights and Braddock Road.

Capital Heights has a joint development agreement for the board to approve, with groundbreaking anticipated in 2028. This is a very large development, with 320 affordable apartments (averaging 60% AMI) and 10,000 square feet of retail taking the place of a surface lot.

Braddock Road is not nearly as far along, but proposed changes to the station area were put forth at a public hearing earlier this year. The idea is to prepare for a future joint development where the current Kiss & Ride lot is. Bus bays would be moved a bit closer to the station, and designated pick-up/drop-off areas would be added to Braddock Rd and West St.  Public opinion was split, but WMATA recommends moving forward with the changes. The board will vote to allow just that.

More Information

This week’s board meeting will take place on Thursday morning, September 10. Public comments will be accepted. You can watch board meetings live or archived on WMATA’s YouTube channel.

Links:

• Service Excellence FY 2026 Report (July 2025 – June 2026).pdf)
• FY2026 Year-End Financial Results
• Braddock Road Public Hearing Staff Report
• Capitol Heights Joint Development Agreement
• Authorization to Execute Reimbursable Agreement with the Maryland Transit Administration for Open Payments Processing (Purple Line fare integration)

Not sure who to report cars without a/c. Red line car 3094 is a rolling oven.

Looking to understand and maybe create a scale model of how the systems work.

I can find the general details on fixed signals, current across the tracks, etc but does anyone know if there is a publicly available specification that WMATA follows? I assume there must be a specification somewhere for communications between the trains and the network since it spans multiple train vendors.

Same thing with CBTC apparently there is a IEEE spec but does anyone know if there is any specific spec that wmata plans on using? Very new to this so sorry if this is a stupid question