Metro’s countdown to fiasco is underway in the D.C. area

The countdown to a transit fiasco has begun in the Washington metropolitan area. Unless unresponsive regional leaders act soon, with significant additional aid from Congress, subway and bus commuting times will likely triple or quadruple, train and bus service would halt at 9:30 p.m. Three in 5 subway trains would be removed from service, as would nearly 7 of 10 bus lines. That would drive away transit passengers, worsen rush-hour traffic jams and strike a lethal blow to the downtown core’s hopes for post-pandemic revival and the region’s prospects for long-term prosperity.