ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The 8W and 21C and other Alexandria Metro bus lines are not funded in the next WMATA fiscal year budget. The transit agency is saying there is a $750 million budget gap.

Metro cutbacks could impact a dozen Alexandria Metrobus routes – ALXnow

I’m a daily rider, commuting from the West End to Pentagon to catch the Yellow Line. I have primarily commute by the 8W or 21C for over 10 years now. I was in the top 2% of Metro riders last year.

As it is now, there are 24 minutes headways on these routes, not great, but manageable and certainly better than nothing.

I don’t want to go back to driving or working from home. My decision to buy my home in the city of Alexandria was heavily influenced by the opportunity for this mobility.

Contact elected officials

State Delegates

These two delegates represent the areas served by the 8W and 21C. They vote on the commonwealth’s budget, so they have direct input on Virginia’s contribution to WMATA funding.

State Senator

Adam Ebbin
district30@senate.virginia.gov
571-384-8957

Sen. Ebbin has publicly tied support for the proposed Potomac Yard arena to Metro funding¹, though it’s unclear if he’s including buses. By the way, WMATA was caught off guard by this plan.

Alexandria City Council

The city council does not have direct funding of Metro under their purview, but they do have a voice and quite a bit of leverage. I personally told the mayor that this is quality life issue that is more important than an arena that wasn’t sought by Alexandria residents.

* announced he will not seek another term as mayor
** campaigning to replace Mayor Wilson in the fall election

Governor Glenn Youngkin

I don’t have any expectations on this, but as a matter of due diligence, I’m including his contact information.

1. I have a lot of thoughts on the proposed Potomac Yard arena plan like “why does a Maryland billionaire who nearly owns a centrally located arena in a great location need a favor?” ↩︎