The Capital Region at a Transportation Crossroad
Building a Modern Mobility System for the Next Generation in the Washington, D.C. Metro Region
The Washington, D.C. metro region is one of the most dynamic and educated metropolitan areas in the world. It is home to global institutions, world class universities, and an economy that has shifted from a government dependent core to a diversified engine of technology, research, security, health, and professional services.
Yet for all our strengths, the region is being held back by one persistent challenge: transportation.
Earlier in the year, I attended the Capital Region Transportation Forum hosted by the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Greater Washington Partnership at The George Washington University. The event brought together leaders from across the DMV how a region of more than six million people build a transportation system that can support the next fifty years of growth.
Presidents, executives, general managers, consultants, and public policy leaders spoke candidly about the progress we have made and the threats we still face. The conversations highlighted the realities of transit finance, the potential of new technology, the changing nature of work, and the urgent need for regional alignment.
We are at an inflection point. Our transportation future can be world class or it can be fragile. It depends entirely on the decisions we make right now.
A Region Defined by Congestion
GWU President Ellen Granberg opened the forum with a light-hearted but alarming comment that Washington, D.C. has now surpassed Los Angeles for the worst commute times in the country. People laughed, but not because it was funny. They laughed because it was true and painfully so.
The Capital Region carries a unique identity: we are the seat of a global superpower, but we’re also a region where countless residents lose hours of their lives each week sitting in traffic on the Beltway, the GW Parkway, and countless other roads. Congestion is not a minor inconvenience. It is a tax on productivity, an erosion of family time, and a threat to long term regional competitiveness.
Transportation is not a technical concern. It is a foundation of economic and social life. A world class region needs a world class mobility network.
WMATA: A System Healing, Modernizing, and Fighting for the Future
Few leaders face more pressure than Randy Clarke, General Manager of WMATA. Half the region depends on the system he runs. Every conversation about the future of the DMV eventually circles back to Metro. Yet, when Randy speaks, he offers optimism.
First, 92% of rail customers are satisfied with their rail experiences, the highest in Metro’s history. Ridership in FY25 reached 265 million trips. Crime is down 55% year over year. There have been zero collisions or derailments this year.
WMATA is now the safest major transit system in the country. These are not small accomplishments. Safety and reliability are the bedrock of public trust.
Clarke also highlighted WMATA’s financial discipline. The agency saved five hundred million dollars in the last three fiscal years. In FY24 alone, it saved $120M. Ninety two million of that was reinvested into modernizations and capital upgrades without requiring new taxpayer dollars.
Metro is also modernizing the way riders interact with the system. Contactless credit card payment is now active on all buses and at all fare gates. More than six million trips have already been taken through credit and debit tap to pay.
Riders can simply tap, ride, and go.
Clarke noted a counterintuitive detail about the bus system. WMATA is running one hundred fewer buses than before, yet service frequency is up. Moreover, Metro retired several cars in its older 2000 and 3000 rail series cars, and instead of stretching thin capital assets, it reinvested in reliability and efficient routing. This approach reflects a broader trend in modern transit planning. High frequency service is more important than high inventory fleets.
The largest and most necessary investment ahead is rail modernization. Metro must replace an aging signaling system, upgrade escalators before they fail, and install new trespassing prevention gates at stations to reduce dangerous track intrusions. These projects are not glamorous, but they are essential. A world class city cannot operate a system dependent on late twentieth century signaling logic.
Metro is in good shape. For now. It can move toward a world class future or it can backslide. Progress depends not on technical feasibility but on political will.
The Rising Role of Private Mobility: Uber and the Accessibility Gap
During the sponsor remarks, Jonathan Kuehn of Uber framed his company’s mission through a simple lens. Uber fills the gaps where public transportation cannot go. Public transit is built around fixed lines, dense corridors, and heavy commuter flows. Yet millions of trips in the region take place outside those constraints.
In 2025 alone, Uber completed six hundred thousand mobility and accessibility rides across the region. These include services for people with disabilities, individuals in transit deserts, and riders whose schedules do not align with traditional peak patterns. These rides provide a safety net and expand the accessible reach of the regional mobility system.
The future of transportation in the region will not be a public versus private debate. It will be an integrated ecosystem. Bus, rail, autonomous shuttles, ride hail, bikeshare, and active mobility will all serve different purposes for different populations.
Regional Governance: A Fragmented System Trying to Sing in Harmony
Clark Mercer, Executive Director of the Washington Council of Governments, opened the first panel by highlighting the DMV Moves task force. This initiative aligned all governments and agencies across the Capital Region. Our transportation governance is fragmented across jurisdictions, modes, agencies, funding models, and political realities.
The District runs its own streets, buses, and policy framework. Maryland faces a deep debate about revenue, infrastructure priorities, and statewide equity. Virginia, especially Northern Virginia, operates in a complex relationship between counties, the Commonwealth, and regional bodies. Local leaders often understand the problems well, but their jurisdictions do not always have the resources to act.
The task force was not a silver bullet; however, it did provide an important shift toward coordination. The region cannot continue to plan mobility in pieces. The economic gravity of the area demands a unified vision.
Getting Our House in Order Before We Grow
Nicholas Donohue, Principal at Capitol Transportation Consulting, made a point that resonated across the room. The first priority of DMV Moves has been to get the house back in order. Before we talk about big expansions, we must fix what is already broken.
A mobility network cannot support growth if its foundation is unstable. Reliability must come before expansion. Safety must come before celebration. Public confidence must come before long term investment.
This mindset reflects a mature approach to regional transportation planning. It acknowledges that the region has expansive ambitions but recognizes that ambitions fail if the basics do not work.
The Funding Question: A Complex and Uneven Landscape
One of the most valuable contributions came from Bryan Hill, County Executive of Fairfax County. Hill spoke honestly about the challenge of funding Metro in Virginia. When WMATA requested additional funding, Fairfax County asked to see the books. Metro allowed them full access. Hill appreciated the transparency. It gave the county confidence that Randy Clarke’s ask was based on legitimate operational need.
However, Hill underscored a difficult reality. He must persuade local municipalities to expand bonding capacity for Metro. This is easy when the Commonwealth has a budget surplus, but it is far harder when the state faces economic constraints. Without predictable funding, long term planning becomes a guessing game.
Metro cannot be world class without stable, predictable, and multiyear funding. Throughout the forum, leaders from both the public and private sector acknowledged this. The question is how.
Jack McDougle, President of the Washington Board of Trade, noted that the task force meetings revealed a strong consensus. The region wants a world class transit system. Businesses want it. The workforce wants it. The competitive future of the region depends on it. Yet McDougle expressed concern about what comes next. The consensus is here today, but consensus does not last unless it is converted into policy.
Every region in the world with an exceptional transit system has two things. High political alignment and long term financial stability. The DC region has neither in a consistent form. Without them, we risk drifting into mediocrity.
A Transportation System Reshaped by the Changing Nature of Work
Panel two expanded the conversation into future oriented territory. Patrick M., President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, framed the discussion around new technologies, the design of future networks, and the integration of mobility data. McKenna’s perspective is important. Technology will not replace transit. It will enhance it, optimize it, and reshape it.
One of the most interesting insights came from Laura Schewel, Founder and CEO of StreetLight Data. She explained that we are in phase three of the region’s pandemic recovery, from a transportation standpoint. Vehicle miles traveled are climbing while commute patterns are leveling. The classic nine to five peak is slowly dissolving, though it is still the dominant form of vehicle traffic. People now move about in far more flexible patterns.
This has enormous implications for transit planning. A system designed for two narrow peaks cannot serve a region where workers commute at eleven different times throughout the day. If we continue planning for yesterday’s commuter, we will fail tomorrow’s.
Schewel’s data shows that the region must rethink frequency, routing, and cross modal coordination. Transit needs to support parents who commute after school drop off, service workers with midday shifts, gig workers who move unpredictably, and hybrid employees who come in two days a week. The nine to five city is evolving and the region must adapt.
The Fundamental Shift Toward Autonomous Mobility
Matthew Walsh of Waymo delivered one of the most forward looking segments. Waymo is now operating in six U.S. cities and plans to operate in Washington, D.C. in 2026. Half of all states have established regulatory frameworks for autonomous vehicles. The DMV region has an opportunity to be a national leader in this space if it chooses.
Walsh emphasized the importance of early and consistent conversations with local governments. Autonomous vehicles cannot simply appear on the roads. They require regulatory clarity, public education, cross agency coordination, and safety planning. He encouraged the DMV to approach AV adoption as a regional initiative, not as a set of isolated city or county pilots.
The presence of autonomous vehicles will not eliminate congestion, but it will shift travel patterns, improve safety, and change the economics of mobility. The region must prepare for these changes now rather than react when the vehicles arrive.
Lessons From the Forum: What the Region Must Do Next
Across the entire event, several themes emerged that suggest a clear path forward.
1. The Capital Region must invest in Metro with consistency and courage
Metro is recovering, but recovery is not the goal. Excellence is. Without long term funding, Metro will never be able to plan, modernize, or compete with global peer systems. Funding Metro is not a bailout. It is an investment in economic competitiveness.
2. Regional coordination is no longer optional
The region needs deeper levels of cooperation. This includes unified procurement, shared data standards, coordinated service planning, and joint advocacy for federal and state funds. Three jurisdictions cannot plan three independent futures. Their mobility ecosystems are intertwined.
3. Transit must support nontraditional commutes
The region has started shifting away from the predictable morning and evening peaks that defined twentieth century planning. Service frequency, coverage, and system integration must adapt to this. Otherwise transit will continue losing riders to private vehicles.
4. Technology must be integrated into planning, not treated as an accessory
Autonomous vehicles, mobility data platforms, and integrated payment systems will reshape the region. These technologies must be embedded into planning frameworks, zoning codes, safety regulations, and service models.
5. Land use and transportation are inseparable
Randy Clarke’s comments about real estate development around stations point to a larger truth. Transit oriented development is one of the most effective tools for reducing congestion, increasing ridership, and supporting walkable communities. Local jurisdictions must align zoning and permitting frameworks with regional transportation goals.
6. The future of transportation is multimodal, not transit only
Uber, Waymo, bikeshare networks, scooters, and AV shuttles are not competitors. They are essential components of a seamless mobility ecosystem. The region must plan for integration, not separation.
7. The region must communicate a compelling narrative to its residents
Public trust is often the missing variable. People support what they understand. Leadership across the region must communicate clearly and consistently about why investments are needed and how they improve daily life.
A Vision for the Future
Imagine a Capital Region where a student living in Tysons can reach a class in Foggy Bottom in twenty minutes. Imagine a senior citizen in Hyattsville who can access medical care in Shaw through a reliable, affordable mobility service. Imagine a workforce that can commute safely at any hour. Imagine tourists who choose Metro over cars. Imagine a region where technology, transit, and land use operate in coherence rather than conflict.
This is not fantasy. It is a matter of planning, coordination, and courage. Our region has the talent. It has the resources. It has the knowledge. What it needs now is commitment.
As someone who works every day at the intersection of planning, operations, and long term strategy, I left the forum with a renewed sense of urgency. The Washington region has a choice. We can continue to treat transportation as a technical problem, addressed piecemeal and debated endlessly. Or we can view it as the backbone of our economic future and invest in it with seriousness.
A world class region deserves a world class transportation system. The path forward is not mysterious. It is simply difficult. It requires collaboration, clarity, and the courage to act before the consequences of inaction become irreversible.
If the region can embrace these principles, it will not only fix the problems of today. It will build a transportation network worthy of the next century.