WMATA Resilience Program Development, Phase 2

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) system is one of the largest transit systems in the U.S. It is also a critical backbone of the National Capital Region, connecting millions of residents and visitors to jobs, housing, food, education, healthcare, essential services, and opportunities. However, WMATA isn’t alone in facing post-pandemic challenges. Its ridership is approximately half of what it was before 2020, leading to a multimillion-dollar project budget shortfall. Without transit system resiliency planning, it could potentially have had to cut services, further threatening ridership and revenue.

WMATA is taking action by developing a comprehensive resiliency program to address risks from both natural disasters and human-induced threats. Organized into three phases, this program will help WMATA withstand, respond to, and recover from disruptions, positively impacting operations, day-to-day maintenance, and capital program delivery. After an initial phase that included resiliency policy and initial program development, our team was selected to lead the next two phases:

• Phase 2: Facility-level risk assessments and program development recommendations.
• Phase 3: Resiliency factors for design criteria, standards, and specifications; resiliency strategies for operations and maintenance; and program implementation.

In Phase 2, we developed and implemented a comprehensive approach to assess risk across 11 different facility types. We evaluated natural hazards, such as climate change, extreme weather events, and human-induced threats, like cyber-attacks and active shooter incidents. Our approach focused on quantitative and economic-based risk assessments, allowing WMATA to prioritize the most impactful improvements.

This holistic approach provided a structured process, allowing WMATA stakeholders to better understand risks and make informed decisions about identifying, prioritizing, and analyzing needed resilience improvements. By translating complex risks into quantifiable data, our team provided the best strategies to safeguard WMATA’s transportation system.

In addition to this technical analysis, we offered key recommendations for program implementation, identifying leaders and stakeholders essential to the process. Our multidisciplinary approach leveraged in-house expertise in climate science, emergency response, asset management, data and economic analysis, and security while incorporating geographic information system (GIS) tools to precisely map risks. This collaborative effort provided WMATA with a universal view of its operations and helped it to prepare for future challenges.

The success of Phase 2 led to our selection for Phase 3, which focuses on incorporating system resilience into design standards and creating a long-term strategic transformational resilience plan. This ensures that WMATA is prepared to address evolving threats while continuing to provide safe, reliable transit services for years to come.