Fairfax County seeks public input for review of Connector bus service

Fairfax County is seeking community input to guide the future of its Fairfax Connector bus system.

The Transit Strategic Plan review will examine how service could be adapted to address community needs over the next 10 years.

A survey open to everyone, regardless of their current Fairfax Connector usage, launched on Tuesday (March 22). Responses will be accepted through April 16.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation will also hold online meetings on March 28 and 31.

Available in 10 different languages, the survey addresses existing routes — which could be tweaked with more frequent buses, for example — as well as potential new routes. The plan will also look at whether more bus stops are needed, why routes might be underperforming, and other considerations.

“Your input is crucial,” Michael Felschow, the county’s transit planning section chief, said during a public meeting on the plan in January 2021.

The final result will be a priority list of services and investments in capital and infrastructure projects that Fairfax County can try to implement over the next decade, he noted.

This is the second round of community engagement for the Transit Strategic Plan, which is required by state law for large public transportation agencies. FCDOT previously held public meetings and shared a survey during January and February 2021.

The plan will incorporate findings from more short-term studies that the county has been conducting over the past few years for specific parts of the bus system, including Herndon and Reston, Franconia and Springfield, and the Tysons and Chantilly areas.

Bus service in Huntington is being evaluated as part of the Richmond Highway bus rapid transit project, according to the news release.

Staff will eventually submit a plan to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for approval, possibly by the end of the year.