Northeast transit agencies slowly recovering following 'Snowzilla'
With Winter Storm Jonas dropping more than 25 inches of snow throughout several areas in the Northeast, WMATA, Maryland Transit and New York MTA all began some form of service for the Monday morning commute.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In addition to the limited service already in place Sunday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority began severely limited aboveground service on Monday following Winter Storm Jonas, the Washington Post reports.
With federal, states and local governments shut down, as well as school systems and universities, authorities urged drivers who had been snowbound since Friday to avoid unnecessary trips so that plows could continue their work. For the full story, click here.
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Meanwhile, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is offering free transit rides on Monday to accommodate riders faced with reduced service and schedule changes due to road, track and weather conditions. The MTA, which is gradually resuming service, expects to have all services fully operating by Tuesday, Jan. 26, no later than Wednesday, Jan. 27.
“To show our customers we care, the MTA will offer free transit rides tomorrow across each of our modes,” said MTA Administrator/CEO Paul Comfort. “As the Baltimore-Washington region recovers from the largest snowstorm in our area’s history, the MTA is working around the clock to get services back up and running as soon as possible — all while ensuring the safety of our customers and employees. Tomorrow, we’ll resume limited service on most of our transit modes from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Unfortunately, we won’t operate on our normal schedule due to track and road conditions. But, we’ll do what we can to get our customers where they need to go. The men and women of the MTA are working tirelessly to restore normal service as soon as possible.”
Lastly, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced it would operate almost all mass transit services in time for the Monday morning rush hour, after much of the MTA network was suspended during this weekend’s blizzard. This includes restoring service for nearly 80% of MTA Long Island Rail Road customers, as well as restoring service on the Metro-North Railroad and outdoor subway lines in New York City.
Winter Storm Jonas dropped more than 25 inches of snow throughout several areas in the Northeast, the Weather Channel reports. For more on the storm and its aftermath, click here.
The region’s fixed-route system finished out the year with a total of 373.5 million rides. Adding 12.3 million rides over 2024 represents an increase that is equal to the annual transit ridership of Kansas City.
The service is a flexible, reservation-based transit service designed to close the first- and last-mile gaps and connect riders to employment for just $5 per day.
The upgraded system, which went live earlier this month, supports METRO’s METRONow vision to enhance the customer experience, improve service reliability, and strengthen long-term regional mobility.
The agreement provides competitive wages and reflects strong labor-management collaboration, positive working relationships, and a shared commitment to building a world-class transit system for the community, said RTA CEO Lona Edwards Hankins.
The priorities are outlined in the 2026 Board and CEO Initiatives and Action Plan, which serves as a roadmap to guide the agency’s work throughout the year and ensure continued progress and accountability on voter-approved transportation investments and essential mobility services.
