US regional transit agencies ensnared in Metro penalty

Washington

WHEN federal officials imposed financial penalties on the region to force action on safety oversight of Metro, the impact was felt 200 miles (320 kilometres) away at a midsize transit agency in Southside Virginia.

Since the announcement, Brandon Singleton, chief financial officer for Hampton Roads Transit, has been poring over the agency's budget, trying to figure out how the agency can make temporary administrative cuts and delay capital projects to cover a short-term budget shortfall, without cutting bus, light-rail, ferry and paratransit services.