Efforts to upgrade bus service along the Route 7 corridor from Tysons to Alexandria continue to roll steadily forward, albeit with no recent headline-grabbing advances.
The $518 million initiative dubbed Envision Route 7 appears to be “moving along well,” Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) chair Matt de Ferranti said at the organization’s Nov. 7 meeting.
“It’s excellent work,” said de Ferranti, a Democrat serving on the Arlington County Board.
Regional transit leaders have a two-pronged approach to addressing the 14-mile stretch that incorporates portions of Fairfax County, Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria:
- Near-term, improvements are being made or considered to support Metrobus Route 28A, which travels the corridor.
- Longer term, efforts are being made to convert the stretch into a bus rapid transit (BRT) network through a host of infrastructure improvements along the way. The Route 7 effort is part of a broader regional initiative on BRT.
Connecting to a number of key Metrorail stations, the 28A corridor is “seeing a lot of ridership growth,” NVTC senior project manager Vikram Sinha said.
Using a $2 million federal grant, transit officials next will be evaluating the easternmost portion of the BRT route, running from Seven Corners to Mark Center. The study will “identify pain points” to be addressed, Sinha said.
NVTC’s board will be asked to authorize a request for proposals to conduct that next phase of the mobility study in December, according to a staff report. The Tysons portion of the route has already been approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Metrobus network redesign finalized
Also at last week’s meeting, NVTC officials received an update on the almost three-year-old effort to realign Metrobus routes to reflect modern ridership trends.
Launched by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in 2022, the “Better Bus 2025” initiative is the first major revamp of the regional bus network since it was created in the early 1970s.
Though still a work in progress, the new way of looking at bus service “absolutely seems so much more straightforward,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchick said. She termed it “an excellent step.”
At a meeting last Thursday, the WMATA Board of Directors got a look at a final 2025 Better Bus Network plan that will eliminate 510 bus stops, while adding new routes and aiming to provide more consistent and frequent service.
The proposed changes won’t get a vote until next Thursday, Nov. 21 or go into effect until next summer — assuming funding is approved in Metro’s fiscal year 2026 budget. But Metro staff is “already thinking about how this will play out,” Paul Smedberg, first vice chair of WMATA’s board, told NVTC.
Though the Better Bus Network focuses specifically on Metrobus, revisions are being crafted to support local bus systems such as Fairfax Connector. There was extensive engagement with local governments in development of the plan, Smedberg said.
More than 13,000 comments from the public were received on the draft plan, and many were incorporated into the version now headed for approval. That pleased Arlington County Board member Takis Karantonis, who serves on the NVTC board.
“When we listen to those who need transit, we get better transit,” he said.
In Fairfax County, changes made based on that input included the restoration of a connection between the West Falls Church Metro station and its surrounding development and the preservation of rush-hour service to the Fairview Park offices, according to a presentation given to WMATA’s board.
The Metrobus system covers 1,500 square miles and carries about 500,000 riders a day.
