Metro is paying $252,000 in commuters’ fares and taxpayer dollars to a group of undercover riders to assess the transit system, but the agency will not disclose their findings.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority denied a public-records request this week that The Washington Examiner made in June for the findings of Metro’s “mystery rider” program. The program, intended to systematically evaluate the agency’s customer service on its buses and trains, has been running since February.