Metro officials are struggling to identify Metrobus stops that can accommodate private charter buses in the wake of a change in federal rules that are effectively taking the transit agency out of the shuttle bus business.
The rule, which is designed to ensure that publicly funded transit systems don’t infringe on the private charter bus industry, means that private companies will take over services that have long been provided by Metro, including running shuttle buses during Washington Redskins home games, Wolf Trap shows and other large regional events.
The transit agency receives about 150 requests a year for charter bus services and provides low-cost shuttles for the Washington Redskins and Wolf Trap, running as many as 270 buses at a time for events such as this year’s Andrews Air Force Base Air Show.
Metro collects about $2 million a year for the service.
“The revised regulations will significantly increase the number of private carriers seeking to access Metro bus bay facilities,” Metrobus operations chief
Milo Victoria wrote in an analysis scheduled to be presented to Metro’s board of directors Thursday.
But many Metrobus areas are already constrained by congestion, construction and a plethora of the agency’s own buses, officials said.
Only 17 of Metro’s 86 stations can handle private charter buses, according to Victoria’s analysis.
The arrangement also would tax the transit agency’s resources, requiring bus supervisors and other personnel to direct traffic at the sites and compelling the agency to buy liability insurance against potential safety hazards, officials said.
To help Metro cover the extra costs, the board of directors is set to consider Thursday whether to almost double the fees the agency charges companies and jurisdictions for shuttle buses in cases in which Metro is allowed to provide them.
The rate would jump from $83 an hour to $159 an hour.
Metro will continue to provide shuttles for Wolf Trap this summer because venue officials were unable to negotiate a contract for private service before the start of the season, according to a federal exemption form.
