FCDOT: Vienna-Silver Line Bus Service Discussion June 4, 2013

1. Fairfax County
Department of
Transportation
June 4, 2013
Vienna: Silver Line Bus
Service Discussion

2. County of Fairfax, Virginia Welcome
• Ground Rules and Meeting Format
• Goals
• Overview of Timeline
• Fairfax Connector Safety and Training Discussion
• Service Characteristics
• Route Options
• Timeline and Next Steps
• Questions and Discussion

3. County of Fairfax, Virginia Ground Rules
Meeting Format
– Presentation
– Structured Public Comment
• If you wish to speak, you must complete a ‘Comment Sign In
Form’
• Comments will be heard in order
• Comments will be limited to two minutes, depending on the
number of speakers
• No speaker can donate their time to another speaker
– Question and Answer after all speakers are finished
Please be respectful - All opinions are valued

4. County of Fairfax, Virginia Goals
Why We Provide Bus Service
• Reducing the number of single occupant vehicle trips =
improving congestion
• Providing mobility options
– Accessibility to Metrorail
• Contributing to the local economy by improving mobility
• Helping to improve air quality in the region

5. County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline
Public Outreach
• Two rounds of public meetings
– Westbriar Elementary School:
• February 4, 2013 & April 22, 2013
– “Vienna at Your Service”
• March 13, 2013
• Substantial discussion about proposed Route 432
– No consensus on routing
• Board approval of Service Plan – June 4, 2013, without
the Route 432
• Vienna Community Meeting – June 4, 2013
• Board consideration of Route 432 alignment – July 2013

6. County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline
Community Feedback on Proposed Route 432:
– Service desired on Beulah Road
– Mixed support on Old Courthouse Road and Creek Crossing
Road
– Mixed support on Trap Road and Towlston Road north of the
Toll Road (267)
– Town of Vienna concerns
Operational Challenges:
– No right turn from Maple Ave to East Street or Beulah Road
without infrastructure improvements
– Making a left onto Beulah Road from Maple Ave requires
minimal infrastructure improvements
– Taking the Toll Road (267) to Trap Road (Southbound) is not
ideal for bus operations
– Traffic delays on Maple Ave

7. County of Fairfax, Virginia Safety
Creating a Safety Culture
• Recruiting professional commercial vehicle operators
‒ Background checks
‒ Fitness for duty [DOT]
‒ Interview process
• Rigorous new hire training and testing programs
‒ Operators must complete 212 hours of training including
classroom and on the road
‒ Commercial driver license testing [CDL]
‒ 90 day probationary period
‒ Annual refresher training
‒ Mandatory safety meetings

8. County of Fairfax, Virginia Quality Assurance
Safety is Priority #1
• Safety doesn’t happen without a total commitment.
Fairfax County requires the highest level of safety
performance from employees.
‒ Supervisor oversight of operational activities
‒ Safety committees and mandatory attendance at safety meetings
‒ Employees awards for safety performance
‒ Mystery rider program
‒ Database captures comments/suggestions/complaints
‒ Semi-annual Customer satisfaction survey
‒ Quality vehicle maintenance program

9. County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements
How do we measure success?
• Customers are using Connector service at increasing levels.
Source: Fairfax County Department of Transportation

10. County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements
How do we measure success?
• What we’re hearing from our Customers and the General
Public:
– 1.87 unsafe complaints per 100,000 miles driven FY13 year-to-
date
• 9,684,234 miles driven FY13 year-to-date
– 1.67 unsafe complaints per 100,000 passenger trips FY13 year-
to-date
• 8,654,308 passenger trips FY13 year-to-date
• Mystery Rider Observations
– 99% of mystery riders felt operators were driving in a safe
manner
• Measurements: Safe turns, safe braking, driving in a safe manner
• Approximately 500 trips observed FY13 year-to-date

11. County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements
How do we measure success?
• What are our Customers observing about our operations?
Source: Fairfax Connector Customer Satisfaction Survey 2011

12. County of Fairfax, Virginia Key Indicator
What does the record say?
• The Connector continues to grow both in terms of customers served
and miles and hours of service provided. Our safety record
indicates a positive trend over the last few years.
•
Source: Virginia Transit Liability Pool

13. County of Fairfax, Virginia Service Characteristics
Proposed Route 432
• Weekdays only
• AM and PM peak service only
• 6 - 8:30 a.m. and 4 – 7 p.m.
• Service operated every 30-40 minutes
• Approximately 12-14 trips per day
• Will operate with a 30-foot bus

14. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Proposed Route 432:
Options

15. County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 1
Projected Ridership per Day: 150

16. County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 2
Projected Ridership per Day: 312

17. County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 3
Projected Ridership per Day: 108

18. County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 4
Projected Ridership per Day: 96

19. County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline
Next Steps
• Consider community feedback on options
– Would like to reach consensus
• Make recommendation to the Board
• Prepare for implementation
• Implement
• Adjust, if necessary, based on actual experience

20. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Questions?