OmniRide needs 8 new buses for first-ever Stafford County service

WOODBRIDGE — OmniRide wants to know what you think about new service along the Interstate 95 and 395 corridor.

One of the proposed services — a new commuter bus that will pick up at the Staffordboro Commuter Lot in North Stafford, would be OmniRide’s first service ever offered in the county.

OmniRide has applied for $9.3 million of a fund of about $22 million $31 million to fund the new services. New service from the Staffordboro to both Downtown Washington and the Pentagon are antiquated to be the most costly due to the agency’s need to purchase new buses to operate the new services.

The funding for the new services will come from the I-95/395 Commuter Choice program, an agreement between the state and operator of the new 95/395 E-ZPass Express Lanes Transurban to provide at least $15 million per year to fund projects that take cars off the road during construction of the new lanes.

A total of 17 applicants will be funded.  Here are the OmniRide projects:

Enhanced Bus Service from Dale City to Ballston

OmniRide ($ 251,600)

This project adds two morning and two evening trips from eastern Prince William County to employment areas in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and the Pentagon. This route serves three commuter lots including Horner Road, Telegraph Road, and Dale City.

Enhanced Bus Service on Prince William Metro Express: OmniRide Transit Center to Franconia-Springfield Metro

OmniRide ($ 562,400)

This project increases rush-hour service frequency on OmniRide’s express route connecting the OmniRide Transit Center in Dale City, Potomac Mills Mall and the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station.

Enhanced Bus Service on Route 1 Local: Quantico to Woodbridge VRE OmniRide ($ 1,133,500) This project increases rush-hour service on OmniRide’s Route 1 local route between Woodbridge and Quantico. The project includes the purchase of a bus to provide the additional service.

New Bus Service from Staffordboro to Downtown D.C.

OmniRide ($ 3,569,200)

This project introduces OmniRide commuter express bus service between the Staffordboro Commuter Lot, which currently serves slugs and carpools, and major employment areas in downtown Washington D.C. including Metro Center, Archives, Smithsonian and L’Enfant Plaza. The project includes the purchase of four new motor coaches.

New Bus Service from Staffordboro to the Pentagon

OmniRide ($ 3,495,300)

This project introduces OmniRide commuter express bus service between the Staffordboro Commuter Lot, which currently only serves slugs and carpools, and the Pentagon. The project includes the purchase of four new motor coaches.

And here are two projects submitted by Prince William and Stafford counties, respectively.

New TDM Outreach to the I-395/95 Corridor

Prince William County ($300,000)

This project, led by Prince William County in partnership with OmniRide and Virginia Railway Express, establishes a transportation demand management program that will increase commuters’ awareness of mobility options. This project will build upon ongoing TDM efforts along the I-66 corridor which are funded by the I-66 Commuter Choice program.

Expanded Transit Access to Leeland Road VRE Station

Stafford County ($ 5,268,687)

This project expands and reconfigures Leeland Road south of the Leeland Road VRE station to include continuous bike lanes and sidewalks, as well as a continuous center two-way left-turn lane.

A total of 17 projects totaling about $31 million, to include the ones listed above, are being reviewed for funding by NVTC.

This is the first round of funding for projects in the I-95/395 corridor. A public comment period will be held from August to September 6.

A meeting of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission is set for September 5 at 7 p.m., to be held at the OmniRide Transit Center 14700 Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge.