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Fairfax County will eliminate two Fairfax Connector routes and reduce service on more than a dozen others as officials seek to cut $7.3 million in budget costs.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the changes Tuesday, May 5, though several members expressed reluctance about scaling back a bus system the county has expanded in recent years.
“This is challenging to support,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said. She noted, however, that an extensive review found service on the affected routes exceeded passenger demand.
“It’s critical that we’re trying to be responsible,” Palchik said.
Board Chair Jeff McKay similarly described the vote as difficult while praising transportation planners for using performance data to shape their recommendations.
County Executive Bryan Hill proposed cutting Fairfax Connector service by 48,500 hours in his advertised fiscal year 2027 budget. The county estimates adjustments to 13 low-performing routes will affect about 600 passengers per day.
The changes will begin June 27, shortly before the new county budget takes effect July 1.
Route 552, which runs between Innovation Center and Wiehle-Reston East, and Route 622, serving Penderbrook and Monument Drive, will be discontinued because of low ridership.
Schedules or stops will change on the following routes:
- Route 101: Fort Hunt-Mount Vernon
- Route 109: Rose Hill
- Route 335: Fort Belvoir
- Routes 401 and 402: Backlick-Gallows-Tysons
- Route 432: Old Courthouse-Beulah
- Route 461: Vienna-Oakton
- Route 463: Maple-Vienna
- Route 553: Kingstream-Herndon-Fox Mill
- Route 615: Fair Oaks-Greenbriar
- Route 625: Random Hills-Pender Drive
- Route 642: Stone Road-Centreville North
- Route 924: NOVA-Loudoun-Herndon-Franklin Farm
- Route 950: Reston Town Center-Herndon Metro
One route will receive more frequent service. Route 983, which connects Dulles International Airport and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will shift from hourly weekday trips to service every 40 minutes. Weekend schedules will also receive minor adjustments.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff reviewed performance measures and approximately 225 public comments before recommending the changes.
McKay said the decision demonstrated the value of keeping Fairfax Connector under local control. During the regional DMV Moves initiative, he opposed potentially consolidating the Washington area’s local bus systems.
“We know, better than anyone, who is riding our buses and why,” McKay said.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn called for the state to give local governments additional taxing authority to support public transportation.
“Without dedicated transit funding, we can’t fully fund our transit needs,” Alcorn said. “We just can’t do it on the backs of our property taxpayers, particularly our residential homeowners.”