Lane Ranger: Transit plan hits economic reality

Virginia's Transportation Secretary stated that if High Occupancy Toll lanes are built along Inter-states 95 and 395, more commuters would have the option of getting on a bus rather than slugging or driving.

That's because the HOT lanes are expected to generate revenue for expanding transit services to both traditional destinations like downtown DC and new destinations like Tysons and other major activity centers in Virginia.

Sec. Pierce Homer also stated that if more commuters got on buses that went directly into Washington instead of slugging to the Pentagon and boarding Metrorail, crowding on the rail system would ease.

Slugs are those who ride three or more to a car and use the HOV lanes to get to and from work—mostly for free and at no additional cost to the state.

Homer made the comments in a May letter addressed to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission in Woodbridge.

But getting those slugs on buses seems to be part of a state-envisioned plan for Bus Rapid Transit, a plan visualized after the private Australian-based firm, Fluor-Transurban,  that offered to build and maintain the HOT lanes said they would also build a BRT station in Lorton, along with an additional 3,000 commuter parking spaces in the region.

The BRT station would be built in-line, or in the path of the HOT lanes (think about the Metro stations that were built along I-66 in Fairfax County) and allow riders to exit the bus, stepping onto a station platform, and then transfer to other buses that would take them to their destinations.

And when Fluor-Transurban said they would also provide an additional $195 million "concession payment" that the state could use to use for additional transportation improvements—separate from Fluor-Transurban's commitment to build the Lorton BRT station—that's when the state's idea for an expanded transit system, including a BRT network of stations, took off.

According to a recent study, the state's expanded transit plan calls for five BRT stations all told: One at U.S. 17 and at Va. 610 in Stafford County, one in Woodbridge at Prince William Parkway, the one at Lorton Road in Fairfax County that Fluor-Transurban previously proposed to build, and one at Seminary Road in Alexandria.

"From the inception of the HOT lanes project, Fluor-Transurban recognized that expanded transit service is an essential complement to the HOT lanes themselves, and thus the concession payment has been an element of the plan from the start. Fluor-Transurban fashioned the Lorton Road Station as an element of the plan and proposed to build that station itself, but deciding how the concession payment revenue would be best used was seen as a matter for the state to decide," stated PRTC Director Alfred H. Harf. "That was the impetus for the state-sponsored transit planning effort, and the resultant plan builds on the expectation that Fluor-Transurban would be building the Lorton Station facility."

Might not deliver

Now several other projects Fluor-Transurban originally agreed to build, like the Lorton Road station, are under review. The company cites financial problems on Wall Street, along with a weak economy, as why they might not be able to deliver on their promises.

Virginia HOT lanes project director Ho Chang said the company's problems specifically lie in com-ing up with enough capital for a down payment for the outlined projects.

The state planned to use the $195 million concession payment to fund the other BRT stations, create an additional 3,750 commuter parking spaces at specified locations in the corridor, and fund the operating and maintenance costs of expanded transit services for as long as 20 years. Combined with the 3,000 parking spaces Fluor-Transurban pledged to build itself, a total of 6,750 commuter parking spaces will be built, according to the plan.

The concession payment is not in jeopardy, said Chang.

The state report also identified some potential challenges to BRT in Northern Virginia, including the fact that lane widths and shoulders would be narrowed and that new, localized traffic problems—such as bus or car breakdowns which would stall traffic—could arise unless remedies are developed in conjunction with the HOT lanes project.

Send your commuter questions to the Lane Ranger via e-mail at Laneranger@insi denova.com, on inside-nova.com on Facebook and via Twitter at Twitter.com/insidenova. You can also send your questions di-rectly to the Lane Ranger, 14010 Smoketown Road, Woodbridge, VA 22192.