New bus plans have impacts in Mount Vernon.
Along Richmond Highway, many commuters depend on the Metrobus lines to get to work and shopping, so when Metro’s new program called “2025 Better Bus Network,” goes into effect this month, schedules and routes might get shifted around.
Metro describes their “2025 Better Bus Network,” as a bus network and service plan that reshapes the entire Metrobus system within current resource levels of the FY2025 budget. It is designed to connect people with destinations better, increase bus frequency, clarify the bus service so everyone can understand it, and prepare for the future, all without adding to the budget.
To come up with changes to help the riders, Metro had a public comment period between May 13 to July 15,
There are several bus options along Richmond Highway.
In Mount Vernon, the area is heavily reliant on the Fairfax Connector bus lines but there are two Metrobus routes – the 11Y and the REX bus – that serve the corridor. The 11Y known as the "Mount Vernon Express," will be under the new “2025 Better Bus Network” as will the REX bus, an Alexandria bus system that's managed by Metrobus, that serves Fort Belvoir south post, Woodlawn, Hybla Valley, Groveton, Beacon Hill, Huntington station, Eisenhower Ave station, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and the King Street station.
Under the new program, Metrobus will eliminate 510 out of their 9,500 bus stops system-wide. It is not clear yet if this will impact the 11Y or the REX stops in Mount Vernon. Metrobus will implement the network in the summer of 2025, said Gregory Potts, the Metrobus Virginia Government Relations Officer.
The REX bus is called the F1X now instead of the F10. Changes to the service are minimal, but the Mount Vernon Express, bus F19, will experience changes on the weekend services. The existing 11Y bus has similar routes.
The Fairfax Connector is a separate bus service under the county and it has buses that serve Mount Vernon including bus route 101 in Fort Hunt, 151 Engleside, 152 Groveton, 161 and 162 in Hybla Valley, 171 Richmond Highway and 301 Telegraph Road. There are no reported changes for those routes.
”The One” Bus Rapid Transit
Along Richmond Highway in Mount Vernon, a bus rapid transit system is planned as a commuting tool with an extra lane for these BRT buses called "The One." Although the planned start date for this BRT system is still about ten years away, it did take a significant step forward on Sept. 19, 2024 when VDOT announced a widening project completion date of 2032, which shaved a couple of years off the BRT schedule. The future BRT line is dependent on that widening project.
To see how the 2025 Better Bus Network will impact commutes, go to www.wmata.com.