PRTC getting stimulus boost

Local transit officials now know how much money they will have to operate next year.

The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission is expected to adopt a $30 million operating budget Thursday at its monthly public meeting, set for 7 p.m. at the PRTC Transit Center in Woodbridge.

Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park have dedicated nearly $11 million to the transit agency for fiscal year 2010.

That money will come from dollars generated by the state's 2 percent motor fuels tax, collected when drivers fill up at the pump.

About $10 million more will come from state and federal funding.

PRTC collected about $8 million from fare boxes last year, $710,000 in advertising revenue and $90,000 in inter-est.

Stafford and Fredericksburg have also contributed a combined $70,400 in funding. In addition to buses, PRTC also oversees the operation of Virginia Railway Express.

This budget year differs from previous years because PRTC qualified for $13.7 million of federal stimulus funds passed by President Obama.

With that money -- which has not been included in the current $30 million budget -- PRTC hopes to purchase new buses, offset the capital cost of paying their contracted bus drivers and maintenance crews and add new bus shelters at stops along area roads.

VRE plans to use the money to, among other things, buy new locomotives.

In addition to the stimulus money, PRTC's executive director Alfred H. Harf said the agency also has applied for various federal and state grants.

Monies from those grants would go to rehabilitate old buses and fund construction of a new maintenance facility in western Prince William County.

"I have a high level of confidence that the state and federal grants will be awarded for those projects in FY 2010," said Harf. The agency currently maintains its bus fleet from their Woodbridge headquarters on Potomac Mills Road.

Despite assurances in additional federal and state money, earlier this year, the agency said they were forced to reduce service on commuter bus routes in Dale City, Lake Ridge and along U.S. 1 in Dumfries. Service on Om-niRide's Cross-County Connector bus and Linton Hall Metro Direct bus was also reduced.

PRTC also eliminated OmniRide's North U.S. 1 service due to low ridership. That commuter line carried passengers from Cardinal Drive to Washington, via the popular Horner Road commuter lot in Woodbridge.

Harf also said there will be no new service added in the coming year, except for a commuter bus that will run from eastern Prince William County to Tysons Corner.

The bus, which is funded completely from a grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit, is expected to ease traffic on the Capital Beltway as new High Occupancy Toll lanes are built.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.