Plans for the nearly billion-dollar planned bus rapid transit (BRT) project in the Richmond Highway corridor took another step forward at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 22.
The supervisors formally accepted $47.7 million in grant funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) in support of the project, which is currently estimated to cost $979 million. The money will come from the Commonwealth’s “Smart Scale” funding pool.
A task force empaneled to look at strategies for making transit service in the D.C. region sustainable long-term might not, in the end, deliver specific recommendations on a funding mechanism.
“It is, at this time, I think, still up in the air,” Nick Donohue, a staff facilitator for the DMV Moves task force, told the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Board of Directors last Thursday (April 3).
Finding better ways for bus networks across Northern Virginia to better collaborate seems to be a priority for local representatives on the DMV Moves task force.
However, the possibility of consolidating the disparate systems into one appeared to be a non-starter, especially for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay.
Metro is following through on plans to prohibit people alleged to have committed serious infractions on its property from returning.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors voted 8-0 yesterday (Thursday) to approve a new policy allowing the transit agency to issue citations banning individuals arrested for assault or sex-related crimes from its system.
For the immediate future at least, further expansion of rail lines across the D.C. region is likely to take a back seat to more modest upgrades to transit service moving forward.
That seemed to be a consensus, albeit not a unanimous one, as members of the regional DMV Moves task force met Monday (March 24) to narrow options for improving the area’s transit — and paying for a Metro system that’s now estimated to cost between $450 million and $600 million more per year.
A modern fire station to serve the growing Tysons area won the approval of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday (March 18).
“This is really an incredible facility. It’s beautiful,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said after the 9-0 vote that ended a lengthy process getting to the approval stage.
By the end of this month, local residents should have a better idea of options on the table, as regional leaders attempt to find dedicated funding streams for transit service in the D.C. area.
“We do expect information to be shared” at the next meeting of the DMV Moves task force, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Executive Director Kate Mattice told the commission’s board at a meeting last Thursday (March 6).
The D.C. region’s upcoming cherry-blossom season is expected to give Metro another boost as it continues a post-Covid rebound.
“If all goes to plan, we’re hoping for our first combined one-million-trip day since the onset of the pandemic,” Paul Smedberg, first vice president of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), said on Thursday (March 6).
A ridership revival has led to a $20 million increase in projected revenue from Metro passengers in the coming fiscal year.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) released new budget forecasts last week that now anticipate $464 million in passenger revenue for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.
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.
