The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) on Thursday (Nov. 6) gave its support to two transit-funding initiatives currently working their way through a complex review process.
With no dissents, the commission signaled its backing of recommendations of the DMV Moves task force and the General Assembly’s Northern Virginia Growing Needs of Public Transit Joint Subcommittee, also known as the SJ28 Subcommittee after the state Senate resolution that established it.
Last week, both groups finalized proposals for dedicated funding for Metro and, in the case of the legislative subcommittee, the Virginia Railway Express and Northern Virginia’s regional bus systems.
The efforts have been moving in tandem for more than a year. In Virginia, funding and any necessary enabling legislation will be sought during the 2026 General Assembly session.
“We are committed to getting something passed,” Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39), who chairs the legislative subcommittee, told NVTC board members at a briefing during their Nov. 6 meeting.
Del. Mark Sickles (D-17), who represents Fairfax County’s Franconia area, is taking the lead on getting proposed legislation prepared for submission.
“This is very complicated to draft,” he acknowledged.
Legislators have until early January to craft a bill ready for the Virginia General Assembly’s consideration. But some local leaders are hoping a measure could be hammered out before then.
“Sooner rather than later is better,” said Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, a member of the boards of both NVTC and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The SJ28 Subcommittee recommended $400 million in additional annual Northern Virginia transit funding starting July 2027. Potential funding streams still on the table include increases to the sales tax, motor vehicle sales tax, motor fuels tax, highway-use fee and transient-occupancy tax, and new taxes and fees on retail deliveries, paid parking and rideshare services.
Another Northern Virginia legislator — Arlington Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) — said she believes an agreement can be worked out in Richmond.
“I think we’ll be OK,” Favola told FFXnow while leading a community-feedback session with constituents in Arlington on Nov. 6.
At the NVTC meeting, board members heard generally good news about increases in transit ridership across the region. At the same time, there was concern about the impacts of the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
The shutdown “has impacted ridership,” but it’s too early to tell the extent of the impact, NVTC Data Visualization Manager Sophie Spiliotopoulos said.
Getting dedicated funding streams as envisioned in the subcommittee and DMV Moves plans would provide stability to a regional transit network that in many cases has surpassed pre-Covid ridership levels, she said.
“We’re not talking recovery any more; we’re talking growth,” Spiliotopoulos told the NVTC board. “The funding uncertainty that we’re facing right now does put all this hard work and all this progress at risk.”
While the full $400 million in additional annual revenue sought by Ebbin’s subcommittee wouldn’t be needed until mid-2027, about $153 million to support Metro’s operating fund would be required a year earlier, as a revenue stream from the state government that has helped the transit agency the past two years is being eliminated.
That looming financing issue drew concern from a number of local elected officials on the NVTC board, as the source of funding won’t become clear until a bill gets through the legislative session in the spring. By that time, local governments will be well on their way to finalizing their fiscal year 2027 budgets.
Some of the same local government officials on the NVTC panel seemed relieved to cede the responsibility for determining what kinds of tax and fee increases would be required to fund the additional spending in future years to state lawmakers.
“You guys will figure it out,” Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti told his counterparts in the state legislature, with something of a chuckle.
