Comments Due Next Friday on Draft Commuter Bus Schedules

According to Loudoun County's Office of Transit and Commuter Services, the Loudoun County commuter bus service has experienced significant growth in ridership during the past year, with most of this growth on the “long haul service,” which is the service to Rosslyn, the Pentagon, Crystal City, and destinations in the District of Columbia.

Due to this extraordinary growth, several park and ride lots have reached or exceeded their parking capacity and numerous bus runs have standing room only on a daily basis.

Loudoun County staff has worked with the Commuter Bus Advisory Board (CBAB) to develop draft schedules that incorporate an expansion of two buses in early May. Draft schedules are available for public review and comment, with the comment period open through next Friday, April 16.

If you have any comments about the bus expansion draft schedules, e-mail them to rideshare@loudoun.gov. Based on the comments, refinements will be made to the final schedule and new schedules will be available at least two weeks in advance of implementation.

Review of the Draft Schedules

The Dulles North Transit Center - This is the largest of Loudoun County’s park and ride lots with 750 spaces. This lot is currently beyond capacity on a daily basis, which means that no additional service can be added to Dulles North. Christian Fellowship Church and Ashburn North are two satellite park and ride lots that are intended to provide relief for Dulles North. Staff will continue to add service to these satellite lots to make them viable for riders.
Draft Dulles North to D.C. Schedule
Draft Ashburn North & Christian Fellowship Church to D.C. Schedule
Dulles South – This lot currently contains 250 spaces, and can be expanded in the future. Ridership at this lot continues to grow. This lot has now reached ridership levels that justify more dedicated buses serving this lot. The draft schedule includes the first direct run in the afternoon from DC to Dulles South.
Draft Dulles South to D.C. Schedule
Leesburg – This new county-owned lot located on Sycolin Rd has 693 spaces. The Leesburg riders have not had any additional buses in the most recent schedule iterations due to the capacity issues at the old lot. On the draft schedule, a run has been added in the morning which will provide some much needed relief for overcrowding.
Draft Leesburg to D.C. Schedule
Purcellville – Currently there are two park and ride lots in Purcellville and both are at or beyond capacity on a daily basis. There are planned solutions for this parking issue, but not until the fall of 2010. Patrick Henry College leases 123 parking spaces to the county for commuter parking, and does not have additional parking available. St. Andrews Church donates 95 spaces on its lot for commuter parking. These combined 218 spaces are not adequate to serve the needs of western Loudoun. A 250-space lot at the Scott Jenkins Memorial Park just east of Hamilton has been approved, and construction should begin late this summer. In addition, a Special Exception Application has been filed to create a permanent 200-space lot at Franklin Park, with a proposed completion date of summer, 2011. Until these planned lots are complete and available, it will not be feasible to add more options or capacity for western Loudoun.
Draft Purcellville to D.C. Schedule
Reverse Commute - This schedule provides service from the West Falls Church Metro and Herndon to Dulles North Transit Center, AOL, Verizon, Beaumeade, Janelia, Lansdowne and Leesburg with transfers to various Sterling locations.
Draft Reverse Commute Schedule