This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to partially fund the steep subsidy sought by OmniRide, filling much of the multimillion dollar budget shortfall faced by the bus system.
But the board is only willing to fund $29.4 million of the $33.3 million requested by the agency that oversees OmniRide, leaving a remaining $3.9 million shortfall. The agency – the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission – previously warned it will be forced to cut service if it can’t secure enough local funding to offset its rising costs, although it’s not immediately clear what those service cuts might look like.
“PRTC has prepared some preliminary and prioritized recommendations should the entire budget process leave a shortfall,” a spokesperson for the agency said when asked about the impact of the board declining to fully fund the subsidy request. “Remaining decision points include Prince William County’s final budget meeting on April 23, a scheduled public hearing on May 15, and two additional commission meetings, all of which will shape the final outcome.”
The board on Tuesday informally approved the funding, but it’s expected to be finalized next week when the county budget is adopted on April 23. It will go into effect July 1.
The funding was preliminarily approved with the backing of Democratic chair Deshundra Jefferson and Democratic Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye, Woodbridge Supervisor Margaret Franklin and Neabsco Supervisor Victor Angry and Republican Gainesville Supervisor Bob Weir and Brentsville Supervisor Tom Gordy.
Coles Supervisor Yesli Vega, a Republican, and Potomac Supervisor Andrea Bailey, a Democrat, opposed filling the budget shortfall. Bailey and Boddye attempted to convince the board to fill the $3.9 million gap but couldn’t garner enough support.
Funding sources
OmniRide has historically been subsidized in Prince William through a motor fuel tax, which is projected not to bring in nearly enough to cover the total the transit agency is requesting from the county.
The board will be dipping into additional tax funds to come closer to meeting the request, pulling $4.7 million from the grantor’s tax and $4.5 million from a tax on hotel rooms.
Rising costs fueled by inflation and the drying up of pandemic relief dollars has led the transit agency to need substantially more money than past budget cycles, according to agency officials.
Inflation has driven up the cost of bus materials, insurance and wages. OmniRide is competing for the same workforce as other regional bus transit agencies, which is also driving up labor costs, as is a collective bargaining agreement reached last year after a strike by drivers.
County transportation staff argued that the board fully funding OmniRide’s requested subsidy would be unsustainable and create a massive spending deficit for the county in the coming years.
There was little political appetite to fully bail out the agency that some officials claim has poorly managed its spending in recent years.
Although members of the board broadly support the county’s need for robust bus service, they weren’t comfortable giving the agency the full request without assurances the bus system is taking initiative to find additional revenue sources beyond the county’s coffers.
Jefferson, a Democrat who frequently commutes via OmniRide into Washington, said she “begrudgingly” supported the funding shortfall and indicated she has “no confidence” in OmniRide leadership.
Gordy added, “In my view, we’re being taken advantage of and that there is … arrogance that somehow a 60% budget increase can be thrown at us and that we would somehow just take it.”
As of fiscal 2023, OmniRide had more than 150 buses and completed more than 1.5 million passenger trips annually. The agency operates express and local bus services around the Interstate 95 and Interstate 66 corridors. Its six member jurisdictions are Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and the cities of Manassas, Manassas Park and Fredericksburg.
