I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4466 

To provide funding flexibility to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority, to grant authority to amend the Washington Metropolitan 

Area Transit Authority Compact, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 28, 2017 

Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself and Mr. RASKIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide funding flexibility to the Washington Metropolitan 

Area Transit Authority, to grant authority to amend 

the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 

Compact, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘WMATA Flexible 

5 Funding and Safety Improvement Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—OPERATING 

2 ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 101. FEDERAL OPERATING ASSISTANCE. 

4 Section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary may make 

7 grants under this section to finance the operating cost of 

8 equipment and facilities for use in an urbanized area with 

9 a population of not fewer than 200,000 individuals, as de10 termined by the Bureau of the Census, for a public trans11 portation system that— 

12 ‘‘(1) operates as an interstate compact agency 

13 by the terms of its enabling legislation; and 

14 ‘‘(2) is an agency and instrumentality of 3 sig15 natories, which have enacted legislation— 

16 ‘‘(A) to provide a dedicated source of rev17 enue to finance the operating costs of equip18 ment and facilities for use in public transpor19 tation; and 

20 ‘‘(B) that results in the collection of local 

21 and State funds that cover at least 50 percent 

22 of such operating costs.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—WASHINGTON METRO2 POLITAN AREA TRANSIT AU3 THORITY COMPACT 

4 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

6 (1) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘Compact’’ means 

7 title III of the Washington Metropolitan Area Tran8 sit Regulation Compact, known as the Washington 

9 Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact, con10 sented to by Congress under Public Law 89–774 (80 

11 Stat. 1324 et seq.). 

12 (2) DEADHEAD MILES.—The term ‘‘deadhead 

13 miles’’ means the movement of a transit vehicle 

14 without passengers aboard, which often occurs to 

15 and from a garage or to and from 1 route to an16 other. 

17 (3) METROACCESS.—The term ‘‘MetroAccess’’ 

18 means the paratransit service of the Transit Author19 ity for individuals whose disability prevents them 

20 from using a bus or rail facility. 

21 (4) SUPER-LATE TRIPS.—The term ‘‘super-late 

22 trips’’ means MetroAccess trips extending at least 

23 20 minutes past the delivery window. 


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1 (5) TRANSIT AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Transit 

2 Authority’’ means the Washington Metropolitan 

3 Area Transit Authority. 

4 SEC. 202. AUTHORITY FOR COMPACT AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The consent of Congress is hereby 

6 granted for the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of 

7 Virginia, and the District of Columbia to amend the Com8 pact for the purposes described in this section. 

9 (b) SAFETY TASK FORCES.—The Compact may be 

10 amended to authorize the Transit Authority to establish 

11 and maintain— 

12 (1) the Jeanice McMillan Washington Metro13 politan Area Transit Authority Track Safety Task 

14 Force for the development of on-track safety stand15 ards for the Transit Authority, as provided by sec16 tion 203; and 

17 (2) the Thomasine Maria Smith Washington 

18 Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Bus Safety 

19 Task Force for the development of bus safety stand20 ards for the Transit Authority, as provided by sec21 tion 204. 

22 (c) METROACCESS REVIEW.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Compact may be 

24 amended— 


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1 (A) to direct the Inspector General for the 

2 Transit Authority, prior to the renewal of any 

3 private MetroAccess contract by the Transit 

4 Authority for the provision of demand response 

5 services, to conduct a review of the MetroAccess 

6 program and submit a report on the results of 

7 the review in accordance with this subsection; 

8 and 

9 (B) to include the prohibition set forth in 

10 paragraph (5). 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—In conducting the review, the 

12 Inspector General shall compare paratransit services 

13 provided under the MetroAccess program to similar 

14 programs carried out by at least 30 peer transit 

15 agencies across the United States, including systems 

16 that directly operate such services and systems that 

17 purchase transportation for such services. 

18 (3) SCOPE.—The Inspector General shall en19 sure that the scope of the review includes an exam20 ination of— 

21 (A) percentage of deadhead miles; 

22 (B) percentage of deadhead hours; 

23 (C) passengers per revenue mile; 

24 (D) average trip length; 

25 (E) cost per revenue mile; 


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1 (F) cost per revenue hour; 

2 (G) cost per unlinked trip; 

3 (H) unlinked passenger trips per vehicle 

4 revenue hour; 

5 (I) unlinked passenger trips per vehicle 

6 revenue mile; 

7 (J) late trips; 

8 (K) super-late trips; and 

9 (L) additional related matters. 

10 (4) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Upon completion 

11 of the review, the Inspector General shall submit a 

12 report on the results of the review to the Governor 

13 of Maryland, the Governor of Virginia, the Mayor of 

14 the District of Columbia, the President of the Mary15 land Senate, the President of the Virginia Senate, 

16 the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, 

17 the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and 

18 the Chairman of the Council of the District of Co19 lumbia. 

20 (5) PROHIBITION.—If the results of the review 

21 indicate that the Transit Authority ranks in the bot22 tom half of transit systems with respect to a major23 ity of categories within the scope of the review, the 

24 Transit Authority— 


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1 (A) shall not renew the MetroAccess con2 tract that triggered the review; and 

3 (B) shall arrange to perform such services 

4 directly. 

5 (d) FLAT FARE, FREE TRANSFER PILOT PROGRAM; 

6 ABILITY-BASED FARES PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Compact may be 

8 amended to provide for, in accordance with the re9 quirements of this subsection— 

10 (A) a flat fare, free transfer pilot program; 

11 and 

12 (B) an ability-based fares program. 

13 (2) FLAT FARE, FREE TRANSFER PILOT PRO14 GRAM.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the flat fare, 

16 free transfer pilot program authorized by para17 graph (1), not later than 90 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Transit Authority 

19 shall institute at each participating Metrorail 

20 station, and widely publicize, a 1-year flat fare 

21 consisting of— 

22 (i) a flat fare of $2.50 for all Metro23 rail trips originating from the participating 

24 Metrorail station; and 


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1 (ii) free transfers at the participating 

2 Metrorail station between Metrorail and 

3 Metrobus. 

4 (B) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING MET5 RORAIL STATIONS.—The Transit Authority 

6 shall select 3 Metrorail stations for participa7 tion in the pilot program, one of which shall be 

8 located in Maryland, one of which shall be lo9 cated in Virginia, and one of which shall be lo10 cated in the District of Columbia. 

11 (C) REPORT.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Transit Au13 thority shall develop a report on the results 

14 of the pilot program. 

15 (ii) CONTENTS.—In developing the re16 port, the Transit Authority shall exam17 ine— 

18 (I) bus and rail ridership at Met19 rorail stations participating in the 

20 pilot program, comparing data from 

21 the period of the pilot program to the 

22 2 previous years; and 

23 (II) ridership patterns at other 

24 nearby Metrorail stations compared to 

25 the 2 previous years. 


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1 (iii) SUBMISSION.—Not later that 90 

2 days after the termination of the pilot pro3 gram, the Transit Authority shall submit 

4 the report to the Governor of Maryland, 

5 the Governor of Virginia, the Mayor of the 

6 District of Columbia, the President of the 

7 Maryland Senate, the President of the Vir8 ginia Senate, the Speaker of the Maryland 

9 House of Delegates, the Speaker of the 

10 Virginia House of Delegates, and the 

11 Chairman of the Council of the District of 

12 Columbia. 

13 (iv) CONSIDERATION OF REPORT RE14 SULTS.—If the report indicates that there 

15 was significant ridership growth at partici16 pating Metrorail stations as a result of the 

17 pilot program, the Transit Authority shall 

18 consider system-wide implementation of a 

19 successor program that is based on the 

20 pilot program. 

21 (3) ABILITY-BASED FARES PROGRAM.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the ability-based 

23 fares program authorized by paragraph (1), not 

24 later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Transit Authority shall impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Nov 29, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4466.IH H4466

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1 ment a fare system, to be known as the lifeline 

2 fare system, that takes into account the ability 

3 of a passenger to pay. 

4 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—The lifeline fare system 

5 shall provide a 50-percent discount for residents 

6 whose incomes are at least 200 percent below 

7 the Federal poverty level. 

8 SEC. 203. JEANICE MCMILLAN WASHINGTON METROPOLI9 TAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY TRACK SAFE10 TY TASK FORCE. 

11 The amendments to the Compact referred to in sec12 tion 202(b)(1) are substantially as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRACK SAFETY TASK

14 FORCE.—There is established the Jeanice McMillan 

15 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Track 

16 Safety Task Force. 

17 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Task force shall be responsible 

18 for reviewing the on-track safety program of the Transit 

19 Authority, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) training and qualifications of employees of 

21 the Transit Authority affected by the program; 

22 ‘‘(2) appropriate procedures for protecting em23 ployees of the Transit Authority engaged in work 

24 along the track right-of-way, including good faith 

25 challenge procedures; 


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1 ‘‘(3) instructions to train operators; 

2 ‘‘(4) relevant rules of the Transit Authority; 

3 ‘‘(5) third rail safety; 

4 ‘‘(6) illuminations; and 

5 ‘‘(7) any additional related safety matters. 

6 ‘‘(c) STANDARDS.—The Task Fore shall conduct the 

7 review in accordance with— 

8 ‘‘(1) the best principles and practices found in 

9 Safety Management Systems and High Reliability 

10 Organizations identified in the report of the Transit 

11 Rail Advisory Committee entitled ‘Implementing 

12 Safety Management System Principles in Rail Tran13 sit Agencies’, dated May 20, 2011; and 

14 ‘‘(2) recommendations detailing how processes, 

15 practices, tasks, and individual employee responsibil16 ities can support a strong safety culture, as reported 

17 in the report of the Transit Rail Advisory Com18 mittee entitled ‘Building Toward a Strong Safety 

19 Culture Within the Bus and Rail Transit Industry’, 

20 dated February 27, 2017. 

21 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall be 

23 composed of 4 members as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The Chairman of the Washington 

2 Metrorail Safety Commission (or the Chair3 man’s designee). 

4 ‘‘(B) The Chief Safety Officer of the 

5 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author6 ity (or the Chief Safety Officer’s designee). 

7 ‘‘(C) The Deputy Chief of Rail Safety and 

8 Facilities of the Washington Metropolitan Area 

9 Transit Authority (or the Deputy Chief’s des10 ignee). 

11 ‘‘(D) The President of Amalgamated Tran12 sit Union, Local 689 (or the President’s des13 ignee). 

14 ‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Chairman of the Washington 

15 Metrorail Safety Commission (or the Chairman’s 

16 designee) shall be the Chair of the Task Force. 

17 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet 

18 at the call of the Chair, but in no event less than 

19 4 times per year. Any member of the Task Force 

20 may call a meeting of the Task Force if the member 

21 provides not fewer than 10 days written notice of 

22 the meeting to the other members. 

23 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.—The mem24 bers of the Task Force shall receive no salary or 

25 other compensation for their services, but the memVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Nov 29, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4466.IH H4466

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1 bers shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual 

2 and necessary expenses incurred in the performance 

3 of their duties. 

4 ‘‘(e) ON-TRACK SAFETY PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of the WMATA Flexible Funding 

7 and Safety Improvement Act, the Task Force shall 

8 issue one or more reports setting forth the recom9 mendations of the Task Force with respect to the 

10 on-track safety program. 

11 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The Task Force shall sub12 mit each report issued under this subsection to the 

13 Governor of Maryland, the Governor of Virginia, the 

14 Mayor of the District of Columbia, the President of 

15 the Maryland Senate, the President of the Virginia 

16 Senate, the Speaker of the Maryland House of Dele17 gates, the Speaker of the Virginia House of Dele18 gates, and the Chairman of the Council of the Dis19 trict of Columbia. 

20 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF MATERIAL MODI21 FICATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the imple23 mentation of any material modification to the 

24 on-track safety program, the Transit Authority 


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1 shall provide written notice of the material 

2 modification to the Task Force. 

3 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Upon receipt of written 

4 notice of a material modification under sub5 paragraph (A), the Task Force shall review the 

6 modification at the next meeting of the Task 

7 Force. 

8 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CON9 STRUCTION.—Nothing in this paragraph may 

10 be construed to preclude or limit the right of 

11 the Transit Authority to implement a modifica12 tion to the on-track safety program that the 

13 Transit Authority determines is appropriate to 

14 enhance the safety of its employees, customers, 

15 or third parties. 

16 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL INSPECTION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) conduct an annual inspection of the 

19 compliance by the Transit Authority with the 

20 on-track safety program; and 

21 ‘‘(B) on or before July 1, 2019, and each 

22 year thereafter, issue to the Transit Authority 

23 a report detailing its findings. 

24 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE.—Not later than 90 days after 

25 the date of receipt of a report under paragraph (1), 


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1 the Transit Authority shall provide written notice to 

2 the Task Force of the actions of the Task Force, if 

3 any, implemented or to be implemented in response 

4 to the report. 

5 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

6 definitions apply: 

7 ‘‘(1) ON-TRACK SAFETY PROGRAM.—The term 

8 ‘on-track safety program’ means the on-track safety 

9 program of the Transit Authority. 

10 ‘‘(2) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

11 means the Jeanice McMillan Washington Metropoli12 tan Area Transit Authority Track Safety Task 

13 Force established under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(3) TRANSIT AUTHORITY.—The term ‘Transit 

15 Authority’ means the Washington Metropolitan Area 

16 Transit Authority.’’. 

17 SEC. 204. THOMASINE MARIA SMITH WASHINGTON METRO18 POLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY BUS 

19 SAFETY TASK FORCE. 

20 The amendments to the Compact referred to in sec21 tion 202(b)(2) are substantially as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUS SAFETY TASK

23 FORCE.—There is established the Thomasine Maria Smith 

24 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Bus 

25 Safety Task Force. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall be responsible 

2 for reviewing the bus safety program of the Transit Au3 thority, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) training and qualifications of employees of 

5 the Transit Authority affected by the program; 

6 ‘‘(2) appropriate procedures for protecting em7 ployees of the Transit Authority engaged in bus op8 erations; 

9 ‘‘(3) instructions to bus operators; 

10 ‘‘(4) relevant rules of the Transit Authority; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(5) strategies to eliminate or minimize the ex13 posure of the public, personnel, and property to haz14 ards and unsafe conditions by, among other meas15 ures— 

16 ‘‘(A) scheduling fixed route bus service 

17 with adequate time and access for operators to 

18 use restroom facilities; 

19 ‘‘(B) protecting bus operators from the 

20 risk of assault; 

21 ‘‘(C) eliminating blind spots; and 

22 ‘‘(D) any additional related safety matters. 

23 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall be 

25 composed of 3 members as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The Chief Safety Officer of the 

2 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author3 ity (or the Chief Safety Officer’s designee). 

4 ‘‘(B) The Deputy Chief of Bus and 

5 MetroAccess of the Washington Metropolitan 

6 Area Transit Authority (or the Deputy Chief’s 

7 designee). 

8 ‘‘(C) The President of Amalgamated Tran9 sit Union, Local 689 (or the President’s des10 ignee). 

11 ‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The Chief Safety Officer of the 

12 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (or 

13 the Chief Safety Officer’s designee) shall be the 

14 Chair of the Task Force. 

15 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet 

16 at the call of the Chair, but in no event less than 

17 4 times per year. Any member of the Task Force 

18 may call a meeting of the Task Force if the member 

19 provides not fewer than 10 days written notice of 

20 the meeting to the other members. 

21 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.—The mem22 bers of the Task Force shall receive no salary or 

23 other compensation for their services, but the mem24 bers shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual 


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1 and necessary expenses incurred in the performance 

2 of their duties. 

3 ‘‘(d) BUS SAFETY PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of the WMATA Flexible Funding 

6 and Safety Improvement Act, the Task Force shall 

7 issue one or more reports setting forth the recom8 mendations of the Task Force with respect to the 

9 bus safety program. 

10 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The Task Force shall sub11 mit each report issued under this subsection to the 

12 Governor of Maryland, the Governor of Virginia, the 

13 Mayor of the District of Columbia, the President of 

14 the Maryland Senate, the President of the Virginia 

15 Senate, the Speaker of the Maryland House of Dele16 gates, the Speaker of the Virginia House of Dele17 gates, and the Chairman of the Council of the Dis18 trict of Columbia. 

19 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF MATERIAL MODI20 FICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the imple22 mentation of any material modification to the 

23 bus safety program, the Transit Authority shall 

24 provide written notice of the material modifica25 tion to the Task Force. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Upon receipt of written 

2 notice of a material modification under sub3 paragraph (A), the Task Force shall review the 

4 modification at the next meeting of the Task 

5 Force. 

6 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CON7 STRUCTION.—Nothing in this paragraph may 

8 be construed to preclude or limit the right of 

9 the Transit Authority to implement a modifica10 tion to the bus safety program that the Transit 

11 Authority determines is appropriate to enhance 

12 the safety of its employees, customers, or third 

13 parties. 

14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL INSPECTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) conduct an annual inspection of the 

17 compliance by the Transit Authority with the 

18 bus safety program; and 

19 ‘‘(B) on or before July 1, 2019, and each 

20 year thereafter, issue to the Transit Authority 

21 a report detailing its findings. 

22 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of receipt of a report under paragraph (1), 

24 the Transit Authority shall provide written notice to 

25 the Task Force of the actions of the Task Force, if 


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1 any, implemented or to be implemented in response 

2 to the report. 

3 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

4 definitions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) BUS SAFETY PROGRAM.—The term ‘bus 

6 safety program’ means the bus safety program of 

7 the Transit Authority. 

8 ‘‘(2) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

9 means the Thomasine Maria Smith Washington 

10 Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Bus Safety 

11 Task Force established under subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(3) TRANSIT AUTHORITY.—The term ‘Transit 

13 Authority’ means the Washington Metropolitan Area 

14 Transit Authority.’’. 

Æ 


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