NVTC was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1964 and our first commission meeting was held on September 1, 1964. The Urban Mass Transit Act paves the way for transit expansion nationwide.

NVTC’s most widely known success was operation and management of the Shirley Highway Express Bus-On-Freeway Demonstration. In September 1970, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now known as the Federal Transit Administration) approved a demonstration grant to NVTC to design and implement transit service on an 11-mile exclusive busway from suburban Virginia to downtown Washington D.C. Over 13,000 new daily passenger trips were attracted to the NVTC bus service during the demonstration, and bus travel times were cut by up to 30 minutes.

NVTC helped form a new contiguous commission (Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission) and started planning for the Virginia Railway Express (a commuter rail service linking Manassas and Fredericksburg with core locations, terminating at Union Station in the District of Columbia). PRTC also specializes in the local transit needs of its member jurisdictions while NVTC retains focus on Metro and on coordinating the local bus systems initiated in five of NVTC’s jurisdictions.

VRE began operations and NVTC expanded into promotion of new energy efficient and environmentally friendly transit innovations, including initiating the new local bus system in Falls Church to demonstrate new clean fuel technologies.

NVTC worked closely with and provided public outreach and accounting staff services for a new regional body (Northern Virginia Transportation Authority) set up to serve as a planning and priority-setting agency for highways and transit. NVTC acquired, tested and installed SmarTrip fareboxes on all of its jurisdictions’ local buses, providing a unified regionwide fare collection system. NVTC also provided consulting assistance to its jurisdictions resulting in an influx of an additional $6 million annually in federal assistance for Metro.

NVTC’s innovative Commuter Choice program got underway, using toll revenue to fund congestion-relief projects in the I-66 and I-395/95 corridors. Studies began for Envision Route 7, a Bus Rapid Transit system connecting Tysons and Alexandria, by way of Seven Corners and Falls Church. NVTC initiated an ambitious new vanpool incentive program with PRTC and the George Washington Regional Commission. The founding of Capital Bikeshare provided last-mile connections to Metro stations and other transit centers. Metro’s Silver Line opened to Wiehle-Reston East in 2014, with three key stations in Tysons. 

NVTC adapted its programs to reflect an altered transit landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic and provided analysis on the impacts to transit ridership and telework. NVTC made recommendations in its Annual Report on the Performance and Condition of WMATA and the Report on Virginia 3% Cap on the Growth in Operating Assistance Payments to WMATA. NVTC coordinated regional response and mitigation efforts during multiple Metrorail shutdowns for station improvements and coordinated several post-shutdown regional marketing campaigns. The Commuter Choice program reached a milestone, funding $108 million for projects in the I-66 and I-395/95 corridors. NVTC continued studies for the Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit system, the Value of Northern Virginia Transit, Zero-emission buses and other transit-related topics.