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Last week, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board discussed a preliminary fiscal-year 2011 budget. Although the lingering soft economy likely will mean lower ridership and revenue, service reductions and fare increases will be considered the last options to close a $175.4 million operating budget gap in FY2011, board members said in a prepared statement.

They plan to consider a combination of fare increases, service reductions, administrative cuts and more preventive maintenance funding from the capital budget. Service reductions might include fewer rail and bus trips on some holidays and holiday-related days, longer headways between trains, station mezzanine and station closures during low ridership periods, and later-starting rail service weekday mornings.

Board members project FY2011 revenue to decline 7.9 percent and ridership to increase 2 percent compared with FY2009 levels. So far in FY2010, Metrorail revenue has declined 6 percent, according to WMATA.

FY2011 expenses are projected to rise 7.5 percent primarily because of rising health care costs, the fluctuating stock market and Red Line collision that occurred in June 2009. Salaries and wages would go up only 1 percent, and non-union employees would receive no pay increase in FY2011, according to WMATA.