A Fairfax County proposal to increase commuter bus fares also would raise Metrobus fares by between 25 and 35 percent along more than 20 county routes.
The county pays Metro $44 million a year to subsidize 22 Metrobus routes that run solely inside Fairfax County, allowing the transit agency to charge $1 for a ride on those routes instead of the $1.35 fare that is standard in the rest of the region.
Under the county’s new plan, which would begin Jan. 4 if approved by the county Board of Supervisors, the subsidy would be eliminated and those routes, with all Fairfax Connector commuter bus routes, would be raised from $1 to $1.35, or $1.25 if the rider uses a SmarTrip card.
“Metrobus routes that were strictly within the county were assigned lower bus fares to promote ridership, reduce congestion and to more or less feed Metrorail stations and encourage public transit,” county planner Thomas Black said.
The routes were originally intended to be Connector routes, but were set up as Metrobus circuits in the 1980s because of the county’s limited equipment and budget.
But with the rising cost of fuel and insurance, the county is raising the Metrobus and Connector fares to regular Metrobus rates, Black said.
An estimated 11,000 people ride the county’s Metrobuses every weekday.
About 38,000 ride the county’s Connector buses each weekday.
Connector fares were last raised in 2004, when they jumped from 75 cents to $1.
The Fairfax Department of Transportation is accepting public comments on the plan through Nov. 14.
