Transit Workers Outraged By Mayor’s Streetcar Cash Grab

ATU 689 calls out Mayor and DDOT for attempting early closure of DC Streetcar in defiance of DC Council’s approved budget and without a plan for replacement.

Earlier this year, DC Council passed a budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year which included funding for DC Streetcar for the next two years. Outrageously, yesterday Local 689 learned that DDOT informed contractor RATP Dev to begin winding down operations of the Streetcar in January 2026 and prepare for complete shutdown in March 2026. As we said at the outset of the budget season, DC Streetcar workers have moved thousands of people up and down H Street with dedication and professionalism. It was the potential expansion of the Streetcar network and reliable transit service for an overlooked community that inspired our members. 

Furthermore, as we said then, the botched Circulator wind-down must not be repeated by Mayor Bowser and DDOT. It is the height of hypocrisy to defend the District in Congressional hearings by citing “world-class transit” while arbitrarily and illegally ending transit services and imposing mass layoffs at transit services that have already been funded by Council. To make this move during the national Week Without Driving only adds insult to injury. The Union will not abide the District, again, illegally pocket funds earmarked for Union workers, as it did with approximately $1.6 million of Circulator relief funds.

To be clear: neighborhoods along the H Street Corridor in Near Northeast deserve reliable, robust transit options. Especially in light of the recent passage of the RFK Stadium redevelopment, the neighborhoods along the current streetcar route deserve viable rapid transit. Mayor Bowser and DDOT promised a “next generation Streetcar.” All we see are more broken promises to residents, riders, and workers. We immediately call on the DC Council to reverse this arbitrary shutdown.

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