Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will lead an independent review of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in an attempt to find solutions to numerous operations, governance and financial issues that increasingly have compromised service on the 118-mile Metrorail system.
The review, announced on March 23 by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), will benchmark WMATA’s condition and performance relative to peer systems across the U.S. The review will identify potential internal reforms that could improve the agency, as well as recommendations for executive and legislative actions.