The D.C. Metro System’s mediocre safety culture, poor reliability, and ethics lapses are taking a toll on the system’s ridership, as metro area residents are increasingly opting for the ride-sharing alternatives. Unable to meet the demand for late night service, the agency is planning to partner with Uber and Lyft by subsidizing Metro riders’ late night ride-sharing trips by $3.

It is a move rich with irony. Just a year ago, WMATA persuaded the D.C. Council to raise taxes on ride-sharing to fund Metro. So now they're robbing Peter to pay Paul, to pay Peter to do Paul’s job?

As crazy as it sounds, maybe WMATA is on to something. Maybe Metro should get out of the business of transportation and hand the reins to someone who can deliver reliable, efficient, and quality service.

It’s high time to privatize Metro because the transit agency is facing an existential crisis. In WMATA’s latest report, it reported the lowest ridership data in almost two decades. During the second half of 2018, Metro recorded an average weekday ridership of 595,000, the lowest since 2000 when the region’s population was 1.4 million smaller than today.

Low ridership means lower farebox revenue. Metro expects to lose about $23 million next year, despite massive cash infusions from the District and neighboring jurisdictions.

Metro suffers from chronic problem of safety and reliability and the riders know it. Only 85 percent of customers arrived on time by using the Metro during the first quarter of 2019, which is below the target rate of 88 percent. In addition, the number of rail collisions increased by 67 percent from the first quarter of 2018. In 2017, Metro also had to fire 21 staff for falsifying safety records between late 2016 and January 2017.

Meanwhile, WMATA continues to get entangled in corruption scandals. This month, the D.C. Council unanimously voted to reprimand Councilman Jack Evans, the chairman of the Metro board, for using his public position for private gain. WMATA is currently investigating Evans for violating Metro’s code of ethics.

Amid this chaos, a few brave souls have offered a real solution: privatization. Matt Letourneau, chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments board, argues that the system should outsource some of its core operations to keep costs and fares low to regain ridership.

Metro has already made moves toward privatization. In 2018, it signed an $89 million contract with French transportation company Transdev to operate and maintain bus lines in Northern Virginia. Metro already outsourced many of its custodial services and shuttle bus operations during system shutdowns. At least half of the Metro SafeTrack maintenance surge in 2017 was handled by private partners.

WMATA is also finalizing its review of proposals from private contractors to operate and maintain the extended Silver Line, scheduled to open in 2020. Metro publicly acknowledged it knows private sector companies can do the job better, stating, “WMATA is seeking one or more partners that can utilize their experience, creativity and market-driven operating structures to provide an improved level of service on the Silver Line at a reduced cost to the public.”

These partnerships may pave the way toward full WMATA privatization. Various cities around the world, including Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Stockholm, have used privatization to improve the efficiency and affordability of their subways.

Predictably, privatization is opposed by Metro’s largest union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, whose members fear losing their jobs. But with plummeting ridership, their jobs are under threat either way. These workers would likely be better off working for successful private contractors.

Privatization of the Metro system would properly realign the incentives for better maintenance and safety inspections, as private contractors would be legally and financially liable for ensuring high quality services. In order for such partnerships to be successful, contractors will need to be constantly scrutinized and evaluated on their performance and financially penalized for failing to meet such standards.

Of course, sometimes privatization fails. But if the metro area were to set high standards for a private operator, privatization could help Metro to overcome its existential crisis and become a system that can proudly serve the riders of the world’s capital.

Carol Park is a senior policy analyst at the Maryland Public Policy Institute (www.mdpolicy.org).