OmniRide to seek funds for new Dulles corridor service

OmniRide has its sights set on the Route 28 Dulles corridor.

The transit agency will apply for Commuter Choice funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission — that’s money generated by the toll lanes on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, that is owned and operated by the state — for a new park and ride program in the Dulles corridor.

Funding applications are due in January, and Executive Director Bob Schneider can’t say how much a new commuter bus service will cost.

If buses roll, it would be the first time OmniRide provides service in Fairfax County. Last month, OmniRide expanded and added a new service in Stafford County, marking the first time the transit agency has provided service outside of Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park since its founding in the early 1990s.

It could take up to a year and a half for service to begin, most likely from commuter lots in Prince William County to employment centers along the Route 28 corridor near Dulles Airport. By then, new tolled E-ZPass Express Lanes on I-66 will be nearing completion.

“We’re doing a study to see what services Fairfax County is already providing,” said Schneider. “We don’t want to duplicate them.”

The transit agency will use location data from cellphones of participants in its vanpool programs to determine commuter patterns, and what commuter lots the busses should serve.

Currently, Fairfax Connector offers bus service along in the Route 28 corridor, however, those routes do not serve Prince Willam County. Residents have urged transit providers to offer new services that provide suburb-to-suburb connections vs. suburb-to-Downtown Washington.

Schneider unveiled the plan to pursue service in the Dulles Corridor on Monday at a joint, annual legislative briefing held by OmniRide and NVTC in Newington.