A biker in D.C. pictured side by side with the College Park Station Bike & Ride.
Metro has spent nearly $20,000 per bike parking space at three bike facilities, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found.
Metro has spent over $5.9 million on the construction of 304 bike spaces at the three facilities, one of which is not yet open, according to the OIG's special report, which was published Oct. 16.
The OIG reviewed WMATA's Bike & Ride expense records from 2011 to 2020 to generate the findings at the request of a Senate oversight committee.
The three Bike & Ride facilities, located at the College Park, East Falls Church and Vienna Metro stations, have been under construction for several years as part of a wider initiative to boost bicycle and pedestrian connections at Metro stations.
The College Park bike station was completed in 2012 and the East Falls Church station just opened in August 2020, five years behind schedule. The Vienna Bike & Ride station is not yet completed.
The OIG's review says the "lack of project coordination and weaknesses in contract awards, record retention and communications" are in part responsible for the delays in construction and the extra costs to WMATA.
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"The mission of the WMATA OIG is to shed light on opportunities for WMATA to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely," WMATA Inspector General Geoff Cherrington said. "This report will help WMATA achieve those objectives.”
The College Park Bike & Ride location houses 120 bike parking spaces and has cost of $417,905. The East Falls Church location has 92 spaces, with a cost of $1,867,034. The Vienna Bike & Ride site also has 92 spaces and has cost $972,178 to date.
