Fairfax Connector Seeks Public Input to Improve Vienna and Tysons Bus Service

Fairfax Connector will hold a trio of community meetings next week to solicit public feedback on how it can improve its service in Vienna, Tysons, Chantilly, and Centreville.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is developing recommendations for ways to improve different parts of the Fairfax Connector system, which transports about 30,000 passengers on 91 routes daily and represents the largest local bus system in Northern Virginia.

The focus of the review has now shifted to the Vienna, Tysons, Chantilly, and Centreville areas after Fairfax Connector planning staff previously looked at improving service in the Franconia-Springfield area and, before that, Herndon and Reston.

“FCDOT’s goals for this process include increased mobility, better access to destinations, improved travel times, increased schedule reliability, more effective transit operations and increased ridership,” the department says.

During next week’s meetings, FCDOT staff will present three possible plans for the future of Fairfax Connector service in the relevant areas.

According to the department’s website, the first alternative will build on Fairfax Connector’s most recent Transit Development Plan, and it is designed to reduce inefficient service while providing more service to frequently busy locations like Tysons. This option is most similar to the bus system’s current service.

County staff have also proposed a “transformation” alternative that completely overhauls service in the study area, including local all-day routes, rush hour-only service to Metro stations, and express service to the Tysons and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations.

“This alternative improves frequency, span of service, and provides new regional connections such as Vienna to Reston, Centreville to Tysons, and Chantilly to the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail Station,” FCDOT says.

The third proposed alternative is a hybrid of existing service and the new regional connections suggested with the second alternative, including Centreville to Tysons and Chantilly to Franconia-Springfield.

The community meetings have been scheduled for:

• 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17
• Noon on Wednesday, Nov. 18
• 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19

The meetings will be held online, and the same material will be presented at all of them, FCDOT head of communications Robin Geiger says.

Members of the public can also give feedback by filling out an online survey or by mailing comments to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation at 4050 Legato Road, Suite 400, Fairfax, VA 22033.

Information for registering and accessing the virtual community meetings can be found on the FCDOT website.

Staff Photo by Jay Westcott