The nearly 1,000 Fairfax Connector commuters going to Crystal Cityor the Pentagon today may find a place to sit.
The 989 route that went from Reston Town Center to both Crystal City and the Pentagon switched to two separate routes this weekend, 595 to the Pentagon and 598 to Crystal City, said Jim Carrell, Fairfax County’s senior transportation planner.
Being able to stay on schedule, handle the growing ridership and have enough seats became a problem, so the county looked into its options, he said.
“We anticipate [the new routes] will divide the loads up so [the riders] can have a seat going back and forth, rather than having to stand,” he said.
There will be seven morning and seven evening trips to the Pentagon, leaving on the hour and half hour. The Crystal City-bound bus will have five trips each way with a similar schedule.
Route 504 between Reston Town Center and Tysons Corner was discontinued due to low service and the buses were used to supply the new eastbound routes. Route 574 is an alternative for 504 users, Carrell said.
The Fairfax Connector ridership rose by 12 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to Northern Virginia Transportation Commission statistics. Other bus routes in Northern Virginia also saw double-digit rises in the past year.
Over the past four years, bus ridership in Northern Virginia has increased by more than 50 percent.
“Buses have always been a more challenging product for people to accept. The situation is so bad and so unreliable [on the roads], people are looking at other options, and rising gas prices caused people to rethink their commute,” said Kala Quintana, a commission spokeswoman.
Lower bus fares, reliability, comfortable shelters and rides, electronic shelters and other features have made buses “more attractive than sitting in the car for an hour to go 18 miles,” she said.
Fairfax Connector route changes
»Route 504: Discontinued. Use Route 574 as an alternate.
» Route 574: Rerouting and scheduling within Reston changed. Additional weekday and weekend trips. The bus can be caught at Reston’s Bay J instead of K.
» Route 929: Routing and scheduling changed within Franklin Farm and Chantilly Highlands. Buses now operate on the same route in mornings and afternoons.
» Route 989: Split into Route 595 to the Pentagon and 597 to Crystal City. Route 595 can be found at the Reston East Park-and-Ride in Bay E. Route 597 will be in Bay D.
» For more information, visit
www.fairfaxconnector.com or call 703-339-7200.
