Identifying opportunities to strengthen the region’s bus network is the aim of NVTC’s Regional Bus Agenda. NVTC’s work in this area provides a greater understanding of bus operations in Northern Virginia that cross jurisdictional boundaries, run along busy corridors and serve our interstate highways.

Bus service is an integral part of our transportation network. The seven systems operating in Northern Virginia provide 120,000 miles of service each day, which equates to 61 million passenger trips annually. About half of those trips connect to Metrorail.

Through in-depth analysis of bus ridership trends, demographics, land use characteristics and activity centers, NVTC is exploring ways to improve how bus services connect the region. Bus rapid transit (BRT), commuter/express bus service, bus stop consolidation, and transit signal priority – all of which can provide residents and businesses with better, more reliable service and increased travel options – are among the solutions that may result from NVTC’s work. NVTC also is investigating cost-saving practices, such as the sharing of bus maintenance and storage and adoption of regional fare products.

As part of this effort, NVTC is developing a comprehensive database of bus service in Northern Virginia that will be available to our jurisdictions to guide the creation of transit development plans and other planning products.