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.
Under the first year of the pilot program, the suggested one-way fare would be $8.25.
According to the solo employees surveyed, if the commuter bus service cost more than $200 monthly, they would likely continue driving alone.
In addition to the Dale City and Warrenton routes, five other routes identified in the study were Frederick, Maryland; Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Marshall and Winchester, Virginia.
Once in Loudoun County, the Dale City route would serve Dulles International Airport and the Loudoun County Government Center. The Warrenton route would serve the Dulles Transit Center, Loudoun Gateway Metrorail Station, the Ashburn Metrorail Station and the county government center.
Loudoun County Transit’s commuter bus service to D.C., the Pentagon, Crystal City and Rosslyn has only recovered to 11% of pre-pandemic levels. Since then, the county has been looking for ways to utilize the bus service to lure and keep potential employees, many who face long commutes from the exurbs.
According to the feasibility study, in the fourth year of operating two commuter routes from Dale City and Warrenton, the projected annual ridership is 102,854 passengers.
From an environmental standpoint, solo cars would produce an estimated 432,156 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. With the operation of the two commuter routes, the emissions produced by 48,627,924 gallons of gasoline would be eliminated, according to the study, citing the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
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