Major cuts planned for Fairfax Connector bus

But the suggested cuts come as Fairfax leaders initiateprojects — including an annual $1 million Tysons Corner shuttle that averages fewer than one passenger — to unclog the area’s notoriously congested roads.

“My commute is already two hours,” said Rockville’s Collin Smith, a researcher at a Reston consulting firm, waiting for his bus Tuesday morning at the West Falls Church Metro station. “If I don’t have this route, I have to walk another 30 minutes to work.”

Smith’s route, which runs from the West Falls Church station to the Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride, is one of seven on the chopping block.

North Fairfax County would see the most severe cuts, with Reston taking the brunt of reductions.

The cuts would take effect June 27. An additional 26 routes would provide less service, reducing trips during nights and weekends.The base fare would rise to $1.50.

Fairfax County transportation officials were unavailable Tuesday for comment on the proposal.

Taking over a former state-backed grant, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority halted millions of dollars in funding for the county’s express bus service in the Dulles corridor.

The bus proposal calls for one new route from Reston East Park and Ride to the West Falls Church Metro station, which transportation officials said would replace a “small portion” of eliminated routes in north and south Reston. All Sunday trips in the Dulles Corridor also would be dropped.

The news surprised Juan Santiago, a physical science technician at George Mason University, who would lose his preferred trek to the office.

“It would be very difficult for me to get to work,” he said. “I don’t have a car. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

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