Fairfax County transportation planners are considering enabling more secondary schools to participate in a program giving students free Metrobus rides in Northern Virginia.
Five schools have been identified as potential expansion sites to the program, which already is in place at Justice, Annandale, Falls Church and George C. Marshall high schools and the Davis Center.
Since the student bus pass pilot program debuted at Justice in 2018, expanding in 2022, students at the participating schools have taken about 450,000 free Metrobus rides.
The free-ride initiative covers many, but not all, Metrobus routes in Northern Virginia. Free rides are available throughout the day, except between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ transportation committee yesterday (Tuesday), staffers identified Edison High School, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax Academy, and Robinson and Lake Braddock secondary schools as potential expansion areas for the program.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik asked staff to consider adding Oakton High School to the list.
Expansion of the free Metrobus passes would be another step in the county government’s efforts to reduce “barriers to transit because of cost,” said Gregg Stevenson, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT).
The proposal, which did not come with a price tag attached, won the support of Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez.
“It is helping the community. We need to continue to broaden [it],” Jimenez said.
Fairfax County already offers free Fairfax Connector bus rides to middle- and high-school students countywide. Free rides for Fairfax Connector and the City of Fairfax’s CUE transit system are available daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the year.
Since 2015, the Fairfax Connector program has provided 3.55 million free trips, including just under 33,000 this past January, said Saul Cieza, who coordinates it for FCDOT.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said providing additional opportunities for no-cost ridership was only part of the equation.
He urged transportation planners to determine what secondary schools currently are not close to transit options, where new service could be provided, and which schools have transit stops that lack shelter.
McKay said it’s necessary to “make it convenient for the students” to take the bus in order to keep up momentum of the programs.
The effort has proved a success, despite early naysayers, McKay said.
“Initially it was thought there wouldn’t be any demand,” he said, adding that a side benefit had been that the efforts are developing transit-ridership habits at a young age.
