The Center Square: “Taxpayers are picking up more of the higher costs of transit in the U.S. since the pandemic, according to the latest data released by the Federal Transit Administration.”
“Total operating expenses of all transit agencies have increased from $50.7 billion in 2019 to $53.7 billion in 2022, according to the FTA data. At the same time, passenger-paid fares plummeted during that time span, dropping from $15.3 billion in fare revenue in 2019 to $8.3 billion in 2022, a nearly 50% drop.”
OmniRide: “OmniRide invites families to join them for the Transit and Treats Halloween Bus on October 28 from noon-4 pm. The event includes giveaways, snacks, candy, fun activities, and a chance to learn more about OmniRide’s Family of Transit Services. The event is FREE and open to the public.”
“Transit and Treats will take place at two locations along the Route 1 corridor:”
- Triangle Plaza (near Rosie’s Casino), 18050 Triangle Shopping Plaza, Dumfries, VA 22026
- Prince William Plaza (near Americana grocery store), 14490 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge, VA 22191
With three new proposed bus routes, OmniRide aims to continue its push into Stafford County and the Fredericksburg region.
The following new routes are proposed to begin in mid-December 2023:
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OmniRide: “OmniRide held a ribbon cutting for new buses on August 23 at the OmniRide Western Facility in Manassas. Members of the Board of Commissioners were in attendance. Remarks were made by Board Chair Victor Angry, OmniRide Executive Director Bob Schneider, and Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Executive Director Kate Mattice.”
“Eight of the 15 commuter buses and one of the four local buses were purchased through NVTC’s Commuter Choice program. The commuter buses will be used to serve the Staffordboro Commuter Lot – with transportation to Washington, D.C, and the Pentagon. These buses include custom designed upholstery, passenger seatbelts, charging stations, brighter destination signs, and an on-board air purifier.”
OmniRide: “OmniRide will be adding Saturday Service to its list of mobility services starting August 26, 2023. Saturday service will include Local Manassas North (65N), Local Manassas to Manassas Park (67), OmniRide Connect microtransit in Manassas / Manassas Park, and OmniRide Access paratransit in Manassas / Manassas Park. It even includes the East-West Express (96) route that travels between Manassas and Woodbridge! Saturday timetables have been added to the new schedule brochures and they will be available from bus operators and online beginning Aug. 14.”
OmniRide: “OmniRide’s Service Change will take effect on Monday, August 21. Schedules for Express and Metro Express will change on that date. On August 26, 2023, OmniRide will add Saturday Service to Local mobility services in Manassas and Manassas Park.”
“OmniRide has added extended late evening Express service from D.C. to Prince William County. Three late evening trips will originate in DC on the Gainesville/L’Enfant Plaza/Navy Yard (612) route, and they will arrive at the Pentagon at 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm. Riders bound for eastern Prince William can transfer to buses to the Horner Road, Telegraph Road, 234 and OmniRide Commuter Lots. 612 buses will continue to the Balls Ford, University and Heathcote Commuter Lots.”
On Saturdays, OmniRide will expand its local bus and transit services in western Prince William County.
The OmniRide Commission voted unanimously on Thursday, July 13, 2023, to expand local services to the area for the first time. Those services include OmniRide local bus routes 65N and 67, which travel between Manassas Mall and the Northern Virginia Community College Manassas Campus.
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“The award recognizes an employer offering commuter benefits and incentives to encourage and reward their employees for using alternative means of transportation to and from work.”
“OmniRide and GMU partnered through the Employer Outreach arm of OmniRide’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program. The program assists employers to coordinate ridesharing and implement teleworking and commuter benefits programs for their employees.”
With the region’s elected officials gathering at their annual retreat this Friday and Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth continued to urge reform of the region’s transportation priorities.
A national poll of 2001 voters (90% of whom are drivers) released last week by Transportation for America revealed that two-thirds of Americans know highway expansions don’t cure traffic. Sixty-seven percent of American voters polled agreed that widening highways attract more people to drive, which creates more traffic in the long run, defeating the stated purpose for countless road expansion projects across the country.
In short, the public understands that “induced demand” is real, even if they are not aware of the term itself. Today, when officials in the DC region are planning for at least 900 more lane miles of highway and arterial road expansion and amid the ongoing debate over high-occupancy toll lanes for 495/270 in Maryland and 495 through Alexandria, the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) urged officials to reconsider these plans. “CSG’s Induced Demand fact sheet for local, regional, and state officials – released today – makes clear the failures of road expansion,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
“Induced demand is the widely documented phenomenon in which widening major roads and highways results in more driving (vehicle miles traveled) that generally cancels out any congestion-reduction benefits in as little as five to ten years,” said Bill Pugh, Senior Policy Fellow for CSG and author of the fact sheet which draws upon numerous national and international studies and includes local DC area examples.
“Unfortunately, elected officials in the DC region continue to propose over 900 lane miles of major road expansion and continue to ignore the reality that it won’t work,” said Schwartz. “They will end up wasting billions of tax dollars and make our quality of life worse, not better.”
The Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board is currently developing its Visualize 2050 regional “constrained” long-range transportation plan1 (the existing 2045 plan includes 900 lane miles in road expansion), and in Northern Virginia right now, counties and cities are submitting project applications for funding through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
CSG has previously shown in its “On the Wrong Road” report that the NVTAuthority’s “unconstrained” Transaction 2050 plan would add 1000 lane miles of roads in Northern Virginia alone and induce growth in driving at 1.5 to 3 times the rate of population growth in the outer suburbs. The NVTAuthority has allocated over half of its regional funding to road capacity expansion projects, even though the agency’s own Technology Strategic Plan acknowledges the reality of induced demand.
Stewart Schwartz
Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
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