i pronounce it wmata all the time jun utc for a short time announcements over the public address system would prounounce wmata to sound like ramada and then only when referring to the website wmata com this practice stopped thankfully when they obtained the metroopensdoors com domain perhaps this happened because unless you knew that metro was operated by the washington metropolitan area transit authority you'd have no idea how to spell wmata womatta wamada june utc