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Washington D.C. Eyes Mass Transit Cuts As Ridership Plummets

With a $500M deficit, Washington Metro is considering closing 19 stations, cutting buses, and ending weekend service.
Posted at 2:39 PM, Dec 01, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-01 14:39:32-05

Washington D.C.'s Metro transit authority is proposing drastic measures to stay afloat financially.

That includes ending weekend service, cutting half of bus routes and closing 19 stations. 

Metro is facing a $500 million deficit because there just aren't as many people using the system as there were before the pandemic. 

Bus usage last week was between 16% and 55% below pre-pandemic levels, while weekday rail trips were down between 77 percent and 86 percent, the Washington Post reported.