Fairfax County is likely to receive most, but not all, of the funding it is seeking through a regional transit grant program.
The county’s request for just under $4.4 million in funding to support a new limited-stop Fairfax Connector service between the Tysons and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations has been removed from the list of projects being considered for the fiscal years 2027-2028 I-66 Commuter Choice funding cycle.
Transit advocates have dusted off a 60-year-old proposal to add transit operations along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Regional Park.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has received more than 60 requests in recent months to consider the concept, executive director Kate Mattice said at the body’s March 5 meeting.
Fairfax County officials are working on ways to reduce financial subsidies required to support Capital Bikeshare — with finding a countywide or regional sponsor as one potential option.
That would make the local rental bicycle and e-bike service more like Citi Bike in New York City, which is able to run without taxpayer subsidies thanks to high volume, somewhat higher rider costs and a financial partner in Citigroup.
Fairfax County officials sent mixed messages last Friday (Feb. 13) over General Assembly progress, or lack of it, toward dedicated transit funding for Northern Virginia.
Legislation to establish dedicated transit funding is unlikely to be acted on during the month remaining in the 2026 legislative session, county staff reported at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ Legislative Committee.
Fairfax County supervisors voiced cautious optimism last Tuesday (Feb. 3) about Metro’s proposed fiscal year 2027 operating and capital budgets.
“A financially stable and reliable transit network is essential to the economic vitality of Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the entire metropolitan region,” county leaders said in a letter to Valerie Santos, who chairs the Metro board of directors.
Lower-income Fairfax County residents rely more on their own vehicles to get to and from work, and are less likely to be able to telework throughout the week, than those at the top of the income spectrum.
Though not necessarily surprising, the data from the 164-page 2025 State of the Commute report recently issued by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) does have public policy implications.
Fairfax Connector will not provide any bus service during the upcoming Winter Storm Fern.
With heavy precipitation and ice accumulation expected, the county bus system announced this afternoon (Saturday) that it will suspend service starting at 9 p.m., continuing through Sunday (Jan. 25).
Post-pandemic commuting trends appear to be stabilizing in the D.C. region, with workers spending more days at the office, but remote work remains prevalent.
“We seem to be approaching a much more settled ‘new normal,'” Dan Sheehan, transportation operations program director for the Transportation Planning Board (TPB) said at a Jan. 21 meeting, where staff unveiled the new State of the Commute report.
Fairfax County elected officials seem in alignment on their top priority for the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session.
“Number one is always K-12 education funding,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at the annual legislative public hearing, held Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Fairfax County Government Center.
A key Tysons leader is working to ensure state leaders provide dedicated new funding for transit that she says will help the region thrive.
“Transit in Northern Virginia is cool again,” said Katie Cristol, CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance.
