During a joint board meeting hosted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), officials from the two organizations announced a historic regional planning initiative called “DMVMoves, Moving our region forward, together,” which will set the vision for comprehensive regional transit planning in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

DMVMoves will be guided by a 20-person task force, including a federal government representative and leaders appointed by COG and WMATA.

The DMVMoves Task Force

The DMVMoves Task Force will be supported by two nationally recognized transportation leaders, Nuria Fernandez, who served as the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, and Nick Donohue, principal at Capitol Transportation Consulting, who previously oversaw transformative projects for the Commonwealth of Virginia, including Long Bridge expansion plans.

In addition, two advisory groups will inform the task force’s work: the Government Partners Advisory Group and the Community Partners Advisory Group, representing area jurisdictions; transit service providers and agencies; and business, labor, and community organizations.

The task force, which will hold its inaugural meeting in June, will focus on securing consensus on and commitment to implementing the following:

• Transit plans and service standards for regional and local systems.

• Opportunities for enhanced efficiency through coordination and sharing of resources.

• Sources of revenue for dedicated capital and operations funding for regional and local transit.

• Enhanced governance of the entire transit network.

"This new initiative will shape the plan for the region’s larger transportation, economic and sustainability goals," said WMATA GM/CEO Randy Clarke. "We are on the precipice of a huge opportunity to fully align our regional vision by working together to address these very important priorities. I cannot think of a better way to serve our customers and residents for generations to come."