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WMATA To Expand Small Business Opportunities with Two New Certification Programs The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Congress as an interstate compact between the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia and is responsible for 91 Metrorail stations and 117 miles of track, along with managing 1,500 buses, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Building and maintaining the agency’s transit system is done with financial assistance from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and its three sponsoring government agencies. Through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, WMATA provides opportunities to small, women- and minority-owned businesses to participate in contracts receiving financial assistance from the FTA. The agency is now adding to these opportunities by creating a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program and a Small Business Preference Program (SBP) to also create greater opportunities on WMATA purchases made with funding from local government sources. WMATA Director of Small Business Program Meshelle Howard is leading the development of the new programs as one of her first initiatives since joining the agency in August 2020. Howard brought a wealth of experience to the agency after retiring from the Maryland Transportation Authority after 28 years of service, where she worked in procurement and DBE Program administration. Howard believes these two new programs will provide greater guidance and incentive to WMATA staff and will maximize opportunities for businesses in the agency’s small business programs. The new programs will allow businesses to compete on a level playing field for Metro’s
Artist rendering of the Hitachi 8000 Series Railcar. WMATA announced a $2.2 billion contract with Hitachi in March 2021 to provide a base order of 256 railcars, with options to build up to 800 in the fleet.
procurement opportunities – either directly as a prime contractor or indirectly through subcontracting. The contracting opportunities that will be subject to the MBE and SBP are funded with local dollars, and therefore are not subject to DBE Program requirements. “We created the programs to provide contracting opportunities for certified small, minorityand women-owned businesses in areas that weren’t covered by our DBE Program,” Howard said. The charge and encouragement to expand opportunities for small businesses is supported by WMATA’s Board of Directors and leadership team. “I have to say that the leadership here
at WMATA is extremely supportive of the Small Business Program,” Howard said. “Not only do I have direct access to leadership, but our board members also ask questions to see if we are meeting our goals, and to make sure we have the resources needed for the program.” The agency’s efforts to expand opportunities is happening just as the agency moves forward on a $2.2 billion contract with Hitachi Rail Washington, LLC to deliver new 8000 series railcars to replace its aging fleet. The contract includes a base order of 256 cars with options to build up to 800 cars in the fleet. Hitachi will complete the final assembly of the railcars in the Metro D.C. region and plans to offer new
/ spring 2021
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