Fairfax fine-tuning bus plans for Silver Line

from the WaPo:


Fairfax fine-tuning bus plans for Silver Line
By Robert Thomson, Published: February 9


The region’s most populous jurisdiction is planning for a shock to its transportation system. When Metro’s Silver Line opens, Fairfax County will double its total number of Metrorail stations and rearrange a big part of its bus fleet.

The changes anticipated for late this year could affect the travel patterns of nearly half the 38,000 weekday riders on Fairfax Connector buses. So a large part of the remaining task for the county’s transportation department involves listening to the riders’ concerns, then getting the word around once a final plan for new bus routes is adopted.

Some transit riders will be asked to change their habits, perhaps taking a bus to the Silver Line’s new Wiehle Avenue Metro station in the Reston area rather than to the Orange Line’s West Falls Church station, or using trains instead of riding express buses.

But Tom Biesiadny, the director of the county’s transportation department, said the agency also hopes to greatly increase the number of people taking buses and trains instead of driving cars. Planners said the time saved on long bus trips to reach Orange Line stations can be reinvested in more frequent trips to Silver Line stations, something they hope will increase the popularity of the bus service. ........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/fairfax-fine-tuning-bus-plans-for-silver-line/2013/02/09/f17c6136-6c9f-11e2-8740-9b58f43c191a_story.html