transit

Countywide

Fairfax County school board voices support for sales tax referendum to fund construction projects

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
An electronic voting ballot marking device for people with disabilities (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County School Board recently passed a resolution affirming its support for a possible 1% sales tax to fund its $400 million backlog of maintenance and capital improvement projects.

In light of the new state budget adopted by the Virginia General Assembly late last month allowing local jurisdictions to increase their sales tax rate up to 1% to support education and transportation, the school board voted unanimously on July 9 to ask the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to place the issue before voters as a referendum during a general election.

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News

McKay: Route 1 BRT remains on track despite less-than-requested regional funding

By Scott McCaffrey
Residents attend an in-person update on the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project at the Gerry South Hyland Government Center on Jan. 15, 2025 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County will receive less regional funding than desired for its planned Richmond Highway (Route 1) Bus Rapid Transit system, but a top elected official says that won’t derail the nearly billion-dollar effort.

The county government submitted a request for $463 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) to support the proposal.

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News

Route 7 bus riders want to retain curbside stops when rapid transit arrives

By Scott McCaffrey
Overview of Envision Route 7 project (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Most bus riders along portions of Route 7 seem skeptical of placing future transit stops in the center of the busy roadway, but local leaders at least want the option considered before being discarded.

A recent survey of riders along the portion of the bus rapid transit (BRT) line proposed to connect Tysons to Alexandria found 60% preferred retaining curbside stops. The remainder were split between moving to center-of-the-road stops or having no opinion.

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Countywide

N. Va. gains authority to increase sales tax, but leaders wary of pursuing referendums

By Scott McCaffrey
Shoppers walking through Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia leaders are treading cautiously with newly granted power to increase the sales tax in local jurisdictions.

Under the biennial state budget adopted in Richmond late last month, Northern Virginia localities now have the power to hold voter referendums to increase sales taxes by up to 1%, with the extra funding going to transportation, education or a combination.

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Countywide

Lawmakers weigh merging Northern Virginia transit agencies to cut costs

By Nathaniel Cline / Virginia Mercury
A Fairfax Connector bus in Reston Station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia lawmakers want to examine consolidating Northern Virginia’s transit agencies to assess potential cost savings and service improvements.

The proposal, which is included in the two-year budget lawmakers passed Monday, directs the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to include in its report not only the cost savings and long-term financial impacts of merging multiple systems, but also how potential changes would affect riders through fare structures, service reliability and accessibility.

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Countywide

NVTA: Local buy-in needed to turn vision of N. Va. bus rapid transit network into reality

By Scott McCaffrey
Alexandria City Council member Canek Aguirre discusses proposed Route 7 bus rapid transit at June 2026 open house (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A network of about two dozen bus rapid transit (BRT) systems could be running through the local region in coming decades.

But the effort won’t succeed without buy-in from local governments, a top transit leader told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on June 16.

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News

More input sought on planned bus rapid transit service in Route 7 corridor

By Scott McCaffrey
Participants at 2025 community forum in Culmore discuss potential Route 7 transit upgrades (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has embarked on a new round of community engagement in its Envision Route 7 effort to upgrade transit options.

NVTC has opened an online feedback form, asking a host of questions about how bus riders in the Route 7 corridor between Seven Corners and Alexandria’s Mark Center/Southern Towers areas currently interact with the system, and what they would like to see in the future.

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Countywide

County leaders vote reluctantly to trim Fairfax Connector bus service

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax Connector bus for Route 463 heading into Vienna on Chain Bridge Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the elimination of two Fairfax Connector bus routes and reduced schedules on more than a dozen others to trim $7.3 million in budget costs.

The vote on Tuesday (May 5) was unanimous but, in several cases, unenthusiastic.

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News

FlixBus adds Tysons stop as part of N. Va. service expansion

By Angela Woolsey
A FlixBus on the road (courtesy FlixBus)

The intercity bus service FlixBus is expanding its presence in the D.C. region with new stops in Tysons and Fredericksburg.

Launching today (Thursday), the Tysons stop on Gosnell Road at Leesburg Pike (Route 7) will provide service to Richmond and the corridor from Bethesda to New York City.

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News

NOVA Parks rejects call for transit along W&OD Trail right-of-way

By Scott McCaffrey
Walkers and bicyclists on the W&OD Trail in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Recent proposals to use part or all of the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Regional Park for future transit options are non-starters, the body controlling the right-of-way says.

“Similar proposals have been discussed previously and have been determined to not be viable,” NOVA Parks officials said in a March 11 posting on the regional body’s website.

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