D.C.-area leaders continue to find common ground elusive when it comes to increased collaboration between the region’s bus systems.
While the possibility of merging all local bus systems has already been taken off the table, the DMV Moves task force is still searching for the sweet spot where systems could work better among themselves and with Metrobus.
“We are trying our best to build consensus … [but] dealing with these issues is difficult,” acknowledged Nick Donohue. He is facilitating the regional DMV Moves initiative aimed at finding a long-term plan to improve financing and operations of the metro area’s transit network, both bus and rail.
Composed of elected and appointed government leaders, DMV Moves is a joint effort of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It launched last year to identify sustainable operational and funding models for transit in the region.
At its most recent meeting on May 16, the task force considered a proposed regional bus priority fund that would centralize funding for use in developing and maintaining high-frequency bus lines that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
As outlined by Donohue, a panel would first develop a 10-year plan, then use promised local funding to issue bonds. Views on that approach were mixed.
“It gives me pause,” said Charles Allen, a D.C. City Council member and co-chair of the DMV Moves panel.
Allen liked the idea of regional cooperation on planning and procurement, but seemed disinclined to give a new body authority over final decision-making.
Sharon Kershbaum, D.C.’s transportation director, agreed coordination is good, but said “taking it beyond that is not really a value-add.”
The goal of transportation planners is to expand the amount of high-use bus routes across the region — defined as routes where buses run at frequencies of 12 minutes or less in order to meet passenger demand.
Locally, high-frequency lines include Metrobus service along Route 1, Route 7 and Columbia Pike.
Traffic conditions often pose challenges and create bottlenecks. It is not uncommon to see one bus right behind another on the high-frequency 28A route between Tysons and Alexandria, even though they’re supposed to be more spaced out to catch the most riders.
When buses get stuck in traffic, riders are less likely to use them, said Tom Webster, executive vice president and chief planning and performance officer for WMATA.
Transportation planners also hope to find ways to provide high-frequency bus service that crosses jurisdictions and the Potomac River. Increasing cross-jurisdictional service with more frequent and reliable service is a way to bring new riders in, several DMV Moves members said.
“A safe, reliable and a more seamless network is essential,” Allen said.
There are some efforts in that realm underway. Last year, Fairfax Connector launched service between Tysons and Bethesda ahead of the expected late-2025 opening of extended toll lanes on I-495. But without dedicated bus lanes, trip times are subject to the whim of traffic conditions approaching and on the American Legion Bridge.
How much creating such a regionwide network would cost is an open question; one estimate tossed out during the discussion was $70 million annually on top of existing funding. Webster said benefits over the long term would outweigh the costs involved.
“There’s really an opportunity here to invest,” he said.
The push for greater collaboration comes as localities press forward on bus rapid transit (BRT) projects, which often involve dedicated lanes and other features.
It is not an inexpensive proposition. The planned BRT effort on Route 7 from Tysons to Alexandria is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, with a proposal for BRT along the Route 1 corridor projected to cost nearly a billion.
In Virginia, planners aim to connect the Route 7 and Route 1 BRT lines across local borders via the West End Transitway in Alexandria and Metroway in Alexandria and Arlington, but projects that have to cross between Maryland and Virginia or Virginia and D.C. become more complicated.
“We [currently] just don’t have the mechanisms in place to deliver the priority network we need at the speed at which we need it,” said Sarah Kline, a transportation research consultant who represents the federal government on the WMATA board of directors.
At the same time, Kline voiced concerns about whether giving some new panel sweeping powers over planning and finances was the best route.
“I share the questions about who manages it, where the money is allocated,” she said.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said regional leaders need to “break down the silos” that exist between jurisdictions.
“We absolutely need to come up with a system,” he said. “When it comes to bus priority, we’ve got to come up with a common policy that works across all of those jurisdictional boundaries.”
But McKay has been wary of giving up autonomy over Fairfax Connector, which is run for the county government by the private contractor Transdev. It is, by far, Northern Virginia’s largest local bus network.
Tracy Hadden Loh, who represents D.C. on the WMATA board, said any collaboration needs to be “right-sized” to mitigate opposition from individual jurisdictions, but she supported the effort’s overall thrust.
Improvements “are not going to get done as long as each jurisdiction is acting on its own,” she said.
Several task force members suggested further action might best be deferred until a broader discussion of financing transit upgrades is completed later in the year.
“I think that’s a January discussion, not a ‘now’ discussion,” said Matt de Ferranti, a member of the Arlington County Board.
Allen suggested turning the issue over, temporarily, to COG’s regional Transportation Planning Board to flesh out mechanics of any regional coordinating body.
The discussion came as local leaders continue to grapple with the implications of a potential economic slowdown and uncertainty about the Trump administration’s commitment to transit funding.
“We have no idea what we’re going to be looking at in the next 5 to 10 to 20 years,” Loudoun County Board Chair Randall said. “The federal money right now is not always reliable.”
So far, however, there have been no disruptions to federal funding streams, according to WMATA general manager Randy Clarke.
“We’ve seen no impacts yet,” he said. “Not to say we could not have problems, but we have not seen them yet.”
