Loudoun Co., Virginia, to vote on starting commuter bus service from exurbs, aims to get 98,000 cars daily off roads

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Loudoun Co. to vote on starting commuter bus service from exurbs, aims to get 98,000 cars daily off roads

Neal Augenstein | [e-mail]
October 14, 2024, 9:10 AM

Almost 97% of people who work in Loudoun County, Virginia, drive alone in their car, resulting in 98,000 solo vehicles daily. … This week, the board of supervisors is set to vote on two-year commuter bus pilot program to improve the county’s capability to recruit and retain employees, while giving solo commuters the chance to avoid driving to work.

According to a feasibility study to be discussed Wednesday, of the employees with jobs in Loudoun County who were surveyed, less than 1% use Metro’s Silver Line, which opened in 2022, or the public bus, and less than 2% carpool.

Many people who work in Loudoun County commute from homes in Jefferson County, West Virginia; western Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland, and Prince William, Stafford, Clarke, Warren and Fauquier counties in Virginia.

Under the agenda item, supervisors’ staff recommends starting a two-year commuter bus pilot program with initial service from Dale City and Warrenton into Loudoun County.

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Neal Augenstein
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.
[e-mail]
@AugensteinWTOP

[vanamonde]

1. I hope it works

A place I lived several years ago tried a similar thing. Funded by a moderate tax increase, the initiative passed and service began.
It ultimately failed. A county traffic engineer later told me that his theory was that people voted for it not because they intended to use the bus themselves, but rather that they expected other people would use it, thus leaving the roads less congested for their own continuing one car one person commute.