Audit Finds DC Area Transit Garages Filthy and Unsafe
Contract cleaners not doing the work they were paid to complete
January 15, 2020
An audit conducted by the Office of the Inspector General for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) found that Metrorail station garages were unsafe and filthy over a 20-month period, littered with human feces, bottles of urine, used condoms, and large amounts of trash, according to FOX 5 News.
Investigators said the unsanitary condition of the garages was due to contracted cleaning staff who were not performing their garage-cleaning duties 84% of the time. Although WMATA spent more than US$2.2 million for cleaning services, these tasks were routinely not completed, and some contract employees were not working their full eight-hour shifts.
Although WMATA paid for the garages to be cleaned daily, trash often remained in the garages for up to several months, ABC 7 news reports.
When the results of the audit were revealed, WMATA took immediate action, making sure that all trash was removed and all stairwells and landings were pressure washed. Garage decks will be pressure washed by the end of April, weather permitting.
Metro has begun phasing out the use of contractors and will hire in-house custodial workers to better manage and oversee the parking facility cleaning. Metro officials are currently investigating whether they can recoup any of the money paid for the cleaning contractors.
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