New Commuter Bus Service from Woodbridge to Mark Center

A new commuter bus system will mean less congestion and reduced travel times, but can construction be completed in time for the program’s launch?

Great news for commuters headed to Mark Center who are tired of the grinding drive. Starting December 7, 2015, there will be an alternative for commuters who are looking to skip the drive. Two new OmniRide commuter bus routes will be opening that lead straight to the Alexandria facility. The bus routes will be completely funded by the VDRPT (Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation) in an effort to reduce congestion and gridlock along I-395.

These two new routes are the first of their kind, and offer a significant advantage for Prince William County commuters looking to skip the drive for the morning and afternoon rushes—each route will offer four trips for the morning and evening. Commuting via bus offers the distinct advantage of being able to relax on your commute or get some work done, effectively negating the worst aspects of commuting alone in your personal vehicle. Commuter buses will travel via the I-95 Express Lane and take advantage of the new I-395 HOV ramp located at Seminary Road.

Source: http://www.prtctransit.org/commuter-bus/mark-center.html

With one route starting in Dale City, and another in Lake Ridge, these new commuter services will provide ease of use and value to numerous commuters. Riders with SmarTrip cards will pay $6.20 one way, or $8.30 cash. For those slugging from Mark Center, the designated taxi-drop off and line up point is along Mark Center Drive, around the corner from the transportation center.

While all of this information is good news, there is one problem; we don’t know when the new ramp from the I-395 HOV lane to Seminary Road will be open. Virginia DOT has the ramp opening scheduled for early December 2015, but there hasn’t been a firm date released yet. The total construction project is slated to be completed in the spring of 2016, and there are concerns regarding the coordination of the new commuter bus service and the opening of the Seminary Road HOV ramp in time for bus service to begin.

In the meantime, slugging is coordinated by three different mailing lists specific to different locations:
    Horner / Tacketts Mills: whs.mc-alex.hrd.list.sluggers-horner-tacketts@mail.mil
    Route 234: whs.mc-alex.hrd.list.sluggers-montclair-234@mail.mil
    Stafford / Fredericksburg: whs.mc-alex.hrd.list.sluggers-stafford-fredericksburg@mail.mil
While hopeful commuters wait for the good news, it’s back to the daily grind.

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More parking spaces at 610 Staffordboro Blvd. parking lot

Finally, the long awaited expansion of the park and ride lot on Staffordboro Blvd. is now open for use! This parking lot is a giant bonus to all sluggers, this way there will be more space for riders to park. Drivers now have access to more slugs to pick up and get on the HOV lanes.

Staffordboro parking lot had about 882 parking spaces shared by the Martz bus riders, vanpool, carpool and slugs. This parking lot was so popular, that many commuters from the south of Stafford parked here to slug to common destination like the Pentagon, Rosslyn, and L’ Enfant Plaza. The lot gets filled up at about 7:00 AM on workdays and slugs had to illegally park in the parking lot or nearby shopping complex; risking getting ticketed. Because the lot gets full early some of the Stafford county residents had to go about 10 miles north to 234 or Horner road parking lot to find a parking space there.

This new parking lot will have designated spaces for slug pick up and bus pick up to avoid stacking of cars in front of the buses. Each slug area can accommodate about 30 riders and 4 cars. HOV / HOT / Express lanes from 234 to 610 is scheduled to open on December 2014. That will aid drivers to jump on the HOV lanes after they pick up Slugs, which will avoid sitting on the regular lanes till you reach 234 to get on to the HOV lanes. For more information on the expansion see http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/fredericksburg/route_684_staffordboro_boulevard_commuter_parking_lot.asp

Thanks to the VDoT for spending about $10 million to add 912 parking spaces and continuing to allow residents to park for free. So, why sit in traffic when you can be sitting at work already? So, drivers fill up those empty seats!

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