TRANSPORTATION
Metro adopts bus route redesigns for Northern Virginia areas
BY: NATHANIEL CLINE - NOVEMBER 29, 2024 5:00 AM
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Metro buses operate in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. (Larry Levine / WMATA)
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) is moving forward with a service-wide redesign of its bus routes, including in a few areas of Northern Virginia, improving where people want to travel and simplifying services by the summer.
The transit agency is planning to make changes in Alexandria, Fairlington and West Falls Church and Fairfax County after a two-year comprehensive review of the existing bus network called the 2025 Better Bus Network, which, according to the plan, aims to better match when and where people want to travel, provide fast, frequent and reliable service, address inequities, and increase access to opportunity for disenfranchised communities.
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Metro is supported by ridership and fare revenue, which has steadily increased since the pandemic when travelers stayed home.
Under the new restructured Metrorail and Metrobus subsidy formula and Metros 2025 Approved Budget, Virginia and most of its Northern Virginia jurisdictions would see a small contribution savings under the new Better Bus Network plan.
The Board of Directors voted to update the funding formula, which determines how much jurisdictions pay to Metro, after the agency received feedback that the current formulas are confusing and lack transparency and predictability. The purpose of restructuring the formula is to increase legibility and transparency, align service benefits and improve service and fiscal predictability.
Metro established the funding formulas in 1977 and amended them in 1995.
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NATHANIEL CLINE
Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who's been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at The Loudoun Times-Mirror and The Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat. Five things he must have before leaving home: his cellphone, Black Panther water bottle, hand sanitizer, wedding ring and Philadelphia Eagles keychain.
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