OmniRide, the public transit agency operated by the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), is entering a new era of service expansion thanks to a newly passed state law.
The passage of Senate Bill 1317, unanimously approved by the Virginia General Assembly and currently awaiting the Governor’s signature, officially grants PRTC the authority to expand transit service beyond its founding jurisdictions. The move clears the path for the agency’s recent expansion into Front Royal, in Warren County, marking the first time PRTC has offered service outside its original member localities.
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The is experiencing a surge in ridership, with a 36% increase in February compared to January, despite one fewer service day. Early data from March indicates the trend is continuing, with ridership levels already outpacing previous weeks.
The boost in ridership was discussed at the March 6 Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) meeting and has been particularly strong on express routes, following a pattern seen across the region. Southern commuter routes, including Route 611 (Front Royal-Gainesville-Washington), Route 612 (Warrenton-Gainesville-Pentagon-L’Enfant Plaza-Navy Yard), and Route 622 (Haymarket-Rosslyn/Ballston), recorded their highest monthly ridership total yet, surpassing 11,000 trips combined.
However, this increased demand has created new challenges for commuters and transit agencies, particularly in parking availability at transit hubs.
With more passengers relying on OmniRide’s commuter services, the University Boulevard commuter lot has seen a significant increase in usage. Routes 611, 612, and 622 from the lot now carry over 1,700 passengers daily.
The 2,500-space parking facility was reported to be around 80% full even during off-peak hours, raising concerns about capacity as ridership continues to climb. Ongoing construction projects, including those related to data centers, have further reduced available parking spaces, making it harder for commuters to find spots.
As the demand for transit services grows, illegal parking has become an issue at the University Boulevard commuter lot. Law enforcement agencies, including Transurban Police and VDOT officials, have been involved in addressing parking violations.
The matter was discussed at a recent Sudley Road corridor meeting, where local authorities and transit agencies acknowledged the challenges and began exploring potential solutions. Despite the sharp rise in ridership, OmniRide faces financial roadblocks that prevent service expansion. The motor fuels tax, a key revenue source for transit services college from drivers who purchase gasoline, has remained flat, leaving little room to add trips even as demand increases.
Many commuters have shifted to bus routes operated by OmniRide and funded by the state, which helps ease congestion but does not contribute to OmniRide’s locally funded routes. As a result, high-demand routes such as Lake Ridge, Dale City, and Route 234 are operating at full capacity, but officials say there is no funding available to increase frequency.
Recognizing the urgent need for relief, PRTC plans to add more trips on the Gainesville-Pentagon and Manassas-Washington routes in April, leveraging existing state and federal funding sources. However, officials caution that these additions do not fully address the strain on local routes.
Transit leaders warn that ridership will not generate enough revenue to expand services significantly if ridership returns to pre-pandemic levels. Officials are now exploring alternative funding options, including potential local funding initiatives, to help bridge the gap.
Triune Entertainment is producing Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical at Journey Theater in Vint Hill, Virginia, with performances on December 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29. The musical, based on Barbara Robinson’s beloved story, features orchestrations by Malcolm Hillgartner and a book by Jahnna Beecham. It tells a heartwarming story of grace, kindness, and community, becoming a holiday classic.
More in a press release:
Triune Entertainment announces the upcoming production of Best Christmas Pageant Ever: the Musical at the Journey Theater in Vint Hill, Virginia. The beloved story is now a musical that will captivate audiences with its heartfelt message.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical is a story of unexpected grace, kindness, and loving thy neighbor. The musical is based on the story by Barbara Robinson with orchestrations by Malcolm Hillgartner and book by Jahnna Beecham. It has become a perennial favorite of the holiday season and will be released as a full length feature film this holiday season starring Judy Greer and Pete Holme and directed by Dallas Jenkins.
For this local production, Triune Entertainment’s Founder Matt Moore assembled a team of professionals from Prince William County and beyond. “We are excited to bring ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ to the community this holiday season, and I know it will leave a lasting impression on our audiences.”
The team is led by director Renée De Ponte, a local professional with many credits from the stage and screen. She is thrilled for the opportunity to bring this hilarious show to life: “I have always wanted to direct a show with lots of families, and this was the perfect story to do that! I love how much heart there is in the script and our cast and crew are working so well together to put on this really beautiful show.”
The Wagner and Mills families are two examples of De Ponte’s vision. Rebeccah and Steven Wagner play the lead roles of Grace and Bob with four of their five children also in the cast: Elsie, Jeremiah, Nora, and Peter while the youngest Wagner Philip watches his bigger siblings in rehearsals. Rebeccah shared that, “this is one of our favorite stories and it’s really special to get to be a part of this production. Our life can get a little crazy this time of year and we’re really thankful we get to do this show together as a family!”
Rebeccah plays Grace, the reluctant director of the Christmas Pageant who leads her family and her community on a journey of love, compassion, and grace. Rebeccah loves helping kids learn to sing and her most recent theatre credits include serving as the Music Director for Sound of Music and Newsies as well as the Assistant Music Director for Disney’s Little Mermaid. Her husband Steve is returning to the stage after being away for several decades. He’s excited to help bring to the stage the story from the best book ever written about Christmas pageants as he reprises his favorite roles of the past 17 years: husband and dad.
Elsie Wagner plays Betty and is a junior and her favorite past roles include Katherine Plumber in Newsies, Doris in Miracle on 34th Street, Mersister in Disney’s Little Mermaid, and the Assistant Director for Pinnochio. Her sister Nora is a freshman and plays the Reverand’s Assistant and the Nurse to the crabby Helen Armstrong. Her favorite past roles include Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music, the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Tommy Boy in Newsies.
Jeremiah is excited to play brother Ollie Herdman with his real-life brother Peter playing Leroy Herdman. Jeremiah is a 5th grader who recently played the role of Pinocchio in the Torch Drama club Embers production. Peter is 13 years old and recently played Les in Newsies and Geppetto in Pinocchio. When not onstage, both boys enjoy playing sports including soccer, baseball, and swimming.
Mother daughter duo Laura and Susan Mills portray the roles of Helen Armstrong and Gladys Herdman. Susan is 11 years old and is excited to play the ferocious and precocious Herdman kid. Her favorite past roles include Hei Hei in Disney’s Moana Jr, Coral in Finding Nemo, Jr, and a Munchkin Teacher in Wizard of Oz with Pied Piper Theatre.
Laura Mills works for Prince William County Public Schools and volunteers with many local schools and arts organizations, including Gainesville Community Choir where she serves as a Board Member. She most recently played Katherine Blake in Upper Room Theatre Ministry’s Freaky Friday and Doralee in Prince William Little Theatre’s 9 to 5 the Musical. Although Laura and Susan have many previous stage credits, this will be their first production together.
Laura is excited to have this experience with her daughter: “There’s something really special about sharing a passion with your child and getting the opportunity to go through the same rehearsal process and performing together. I’m really glad whenever there are shows like this where we can have fun together and tell important stories like this one!”
Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical comes on the heels of Triune’s critically acclaimed world premier of Peter Filichia’s Larry the Big-Time Broadway Producer and Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World. Triune is an independent, non-Equity production company dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to direct and perform in exciting and original ways.
Triune’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences while being respectful to its audiences and participants, and to provide opportunity and access to the best in live production, publishing, training and education, and beyond. Triune Entertainment’s Best Christmas Pageant Ever: the Musical has six performances onDecember 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29 at Journey Church in Vint Hill For more information and to purchase tickets, visit triuneentertainment.com/bcpe
Press Release:
OmniRide is excited to announce the launch of two new Express Commuter routes operating from Front Royal and Warrenton. Both routes are expected to start on Monday, December 9, with fares set at $5.50 each way.
The Front Royal to State Department-Washington, DC (611-FR) Express Commuter route will begin at the Crooked Run Commuter Lot located at US 522 and Riverton Road in Front Royal. Then the route will serve the University Commuter Lot before following the existing Gainesville-Washington (611) routing through downtown DC. Initially, it will offer three morning trips and three evening trips. This service will utilize extensions of existing trips alongside new trips to encourage ridership growth in Front Royal and the University Lot, while also offering a transfer connection at the University Lot to other Express commuter routes.
The Warrenton to Pentagon-Navy Yard (612-W) Express Commuter route will start at the Warrenton Park-and-Ride Commuter Lot at US 29 and Colonial Drive in Warrenton. Like the Front Royal route, it will also serve the University Commuter Lot before taking the current Gainesville-Pentagon-L’Enfant Plaza-Navy Yard (612) routing to the Pentagon and through downtown Washington, DC. This route will launch with six morning trips and eight evening trips. It will also combine extensions of existing trips with new trips to facilitate ridership growth in Warrenton and the University Lot, while also providing a transfer connection at the University Lot to other Express commuter routes.
The new Express Commuter routes are a part of OmniRide’s service change that will take effect on Monday, December 9. In addition, all timetables for Express, Metro Express, and Local routes have been revised resulting in changes to all schedules. New schedules will be available online and from bus operators starting Monday, December 2. OmniRide will also begin serving the new Neabsco Commuter Garage located in Woodbridge across from Sentara Medical Center. Several routes that previously served the OmniRide Transit Center will move to the Neabsco Commuter Garage. For a detailed list of changes, please visit OmniRide.com.
Press Release:
Journey Theater is pleased to present the World Premiere of Dr. Harry J. Kantrovich’s and Bruce H. “Doc” Norton’s Voices From Vietnam, a collection of interviews, stories, letter and reflections from Vietnam Veterans; Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as well as the Nurses and Women who served, POWs, MIA families, a Vietnamese refugee, an embassy statesman and college and school students. In February 2023, Harry Kantrovich, a retired Navy Master Chief met Bruce H. “Doc” Norton, a retired Marine Corps Major and Vietnam Veteran. Harry asked Doc to collaborate on a play and an accompanying book about Vietnam. Journey Theater in Warrenton, VA agreed to premiere the play and the accompanying book. Performances in 2024 will be at Journey Theater at Vint Hill, 4175 Bludau Drive, Warrenton, VA on Fridays and Saturdays, November 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18 at 7:30 PM and Sundays, November 10, 17, 24 at 2:00 PM. There will be a Special November 16 Matinee for students, teachers and parents at a reduced price. Matinee Performances will feature post-show talkback sessions with panelists answering questions from the audience. The show is being produced by Stacie Duvall, Walter Meyer and Douglas Barylski. Order tickets today at: Journey Church, Vint Hill | Theater
