The Metro is nothing but a jobs program for government union employees in the MD - DC - VA area. The fact that transportation is provided is incidental. And apparently they never accounted for maintenance costs.
No. Metro's management has been warning about deferred maintenance for decades. The problem is, the first priorities every budget cycle are higher pay and fringe benefits for unionized employees. This produces a happy union that kicks back money and manpower to elect Democrats. Running a safe, efficient transportation system is incidental. A similar problem exists in the public schools.