Proposed Service Changes for FY 2019 (starting 07/01/18)

Every year, Loudoun’s Transit and Commuter Services staff evaluates all of the transit services that are provided by the county.  Staff evaluates riders per revenue hour, riders per revenue mile, and net cost per rider for each bus route.  Any transit route that operates at less than half of the average of the transit system as a whole is subject to an adjustment or elimination.  Based on transit data from Fiscal Year 2017, and input from various stakeholders, including the public, the Board of Supervisors, the Transit Advisory Board, Loudoun’s transit service contractors, county staff and recommendations from the Transit Development Plan (TDP), the following changes are proposed for transit services starting on July 1, 2018:

Route 980 – New route providing a direct connection between Sterling Park and the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station

Currently, passengers wanting to connect to the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station from the Sterling Park area must ride three miles in the opposite direction to Dulles Town Center where they must transfer to a different bus to continue to Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station.  County staff is proposing a route that will provide direct connection to Wiehle from Sterling Park.  The route will also improve circulation within Sterling Park by:

         a) Connecting with Sterling routes 80 and 82 on Enterprise Street.
         b) Adding stops along Church Rd. between Holly Ave. and Sterling Blvd.
         c) Adding a stop near the entrance to the Newberry neighborhood and the Chase Heritage Apartments on Sterling Blvd
         d) Map of proposed Route 980
         e) Proposed Schedule for Route 980

Public Outreach meetings for the proposed Route 980 were held in March.

Route 990 – Combine and optimize Route 990 and Route 83 to better serve the area in and around Quantum Park/AOL/Pacific Blvd 

Routes 990 and 83 are both experiencing very low ridership.  72% of the current Route 83 riders travel from Dulles Town Center to the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station.  Routes 87x and 84 already provide service from Dulles Town Center to the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station. Staff recommends combining the 990 and 83.  Route 83 stops on Pacific Boulevard, south of Waxpool Road will still be served by Route 990. Route 990 service to the Christian Fellowship Church and to the County Government Center will be eliminated.  The County Government Center will now be served by Routes 921 and 922.  The streamlined Route 990 will:

         a) AM - Serve Quantum Park, Raytheon/Oath and Business Ct, with stops along Pacific Blvd near Raytheon
         b) PM - Serve Pacific Blvd, Business Ct, Raytheon/Oath and Quantum Park
         c) Map of proposed Route 990
         d) Proposed Schedule for Route 990    

Routes 921/922 – Replace the connection between the Government Center and the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station that would be eliminated by the Route 990 changes

Route 921 presently provides service from the Harmony and Leesburg park and ride lots to the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station in the AM and Route 922 provides service from the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station to the Leesburg and Harmony park and ride lots in the PM.  Staff recommends adding an AM trip to the County Government Center from Wiehle-Reston East on Route 921 and a PM trip from the Government Center to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station on Route 922. 

         a) Map of proposed changes to Routes 921/922
         b) Proposed Schedule for Routes 921/922    

Route 88x – Extend the Route to include stops at the Stone Ridge park & ride lot and the StoneSprings Hospital
   
Currently, Route 88x provides service between the East Gate park and ride lot and the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station.  County staff recommends extending the service west to both the Stone Ridge park and ride, located at the Stone Ridge Village Center and to the StoneSprings Hospital.  This change will improve access to the Metrorail system for south county residents as well as provide hospital employees with a transit commuting option.  With this change, the current service will be increased from two buses to three buses in order to keep the wait times between buses reasonable.
 
         a) Map of proposed changes to Route 88X    
         b) Proposed Schedule for Route 88X

Route 70 – Change routing around One Loudoun

In order to improve safety, the current One Loudoun bus stop that is located on westbound Russell Branch Parkway will be relocated onto Exchange Street.  
             Map of changes to Route 70   

Route 72 – Change routing around One Loudoun

In order to improve safety, the current One Loudoun bus stop that is located on westbound Russell Branch Parkway will be relocated onto Exchange Street.  In addition, due to low usage, the Atwater Drive portion of Route 72 will be eliminated.  It is important to note that when the new One Loudoun park and ride lot, located on Savin Hill Drive, opens in late summer of 2018, it will be served by the Route 72.
             Map of changes to Route 72 

Route 87X

Due to low ridership, service on the 87x will be reduced from two buses to one bus.  This change will cause the wait time between buses to increase from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.

         a) Proposed Schedule for Route 87X

Route 802 – Relieve Overcrowding

Route 802 has experienced standee loads on 62% of the service days since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2017.  In an effort to relieve that crowding, staff proposes adding a bus to the schedule starting at 3:40pm at the Washington Navy Yard which will pick up the western stops in Washington DC.  The new bus mirror the 802 route and then travel directly to the Harmony and Purcellville Park and Ride Lots.  The existing Route 802 would continue to serve the same pick-ups in Washington DC but would now serve only the Leesburg Park and Ride Lot.

Route 815 – Address Underperformance

Route 815 has shown significantly lower ridership than other routes in the commuter bus system.  In an effort to help meet the mandated financial performance of the entire system, staff recommends deleting route 815.  In order to still provide service between Rosslyn, and the Dulles North Transit Center, Leesburg, Harmony and Purcellville Park and Ride lots, staff further proposes to add a stop in Rosslyn to route 818.  The 818 would serve Rosslyn at 5:34 p.m., seven minutes later than the current 815 stop time. The current average ridership on the 815 can be accommodated with the current average ridership on the 818.

Route 818 – Rosslyn added

Route 818 is proposed to pick up in Rosslyn at 5:34 p.m. and drop off at the Dulles North Transit Center at 6:09 p.m., Leesburg at 6:29 p.m., Harmony at 6:44 p.m. and Purcellville at 6:54 p.m.

Harmony Park and Ride Lot – Relieve Overcrowding 

In recent months, the Harmony Park and Ride lot has frequently reached capacity.  In an effort to relieve the crowding, the county has made arrangements for a new park and ride lot to be located in Purcellville on Browning Ct.  This new lot will immediately provide an increase in park and ride capacity in Purcellville as well as have the ability to be expanded if needed.  In order to better serve all passengers in western Loudoun County, as well as relieve crowding at the Harmony Park and Ride lot, staff proposes adding the Purcellville park & ride lot to routes 407 and 415 in the morning. Route 407 will pick up from the Purcellville park and ride lot at 5:43 a.m. and continue to pick up from the Harmony Park and Ride lot at 5:58 a.m. Route 415 will pick up from the Purcellville park and ride lot at 6:25 a.m. and continue to pick up from the Harmony Park and Ride lot at 6:40 a.m.  Staff are also reviewing the route from the new Purcellville park and ride lot to the Harmony park and ride lot to see if we can shorten the commute.

One Loudoun Park & Ride Lot is scheduled to open in July of 2018

A new 500 space park and ride lot in One Loudoun is planned to open in late Summer 2018.  The lot will be located on Savin Hill Drive, adjacent to the new Sheriff’s office.  When the lot opens, it will be served by commuter bus, local fixed route, and metro connection transit services.

Purcellville Park and Ride

The new Purcellville park and ride lot is scheduled to open in July of 2018.  The lot will be located on Browning Ct. (off of Hirst Road) and  will initially provide 80 parking spaces with the ability to expand to 250.  When the lot opens, commuter bus services will shift from the St. Andrew park and ride lot.  The new lot will also provide the opportunity to relieve overcrowding at the Harmony park and ride lot.

Staff sought public comments on the proposed changes via email and phone through March 26, 2018.

 Send Your Comments
Comments regarding any suggested route, stop or schedule changes are welcomed and should be emailed to . Commuters may also contact us by phone at 1-877-465-2287 or 703-771-5665. A customer service representative is available to speak to callers Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Visit www.loudoun.gov/transit for complete information about commuting options in Loudoun County.