Transit Policy – Northern Virginia Transportation Commission

Legislative and Policy Agenda

Northern Virginia’s economic growth and global competitiveness are directly tied to the region’s transit network. Transit links business to employees, customers, suppliers and investors and residents to jobs, school, shopping and entertainment. With about 78% of jobs accessible to a bus stop, Metrorail station or VRE station, Northern Virginia is among the nation’s most transit-accessible areas. For six decades, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has promoted an efficient, high-quality and innovative transit network in order to fuel the economy and sustain the region’s quality of life.

High-quality transit not only brings economic benefits to Northern Virginia but to the entire Commonwealth. The region’s transit network, which includes the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Metrorail, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and seven bus agencies, provides more than $1.5 billion per year to the Commonwealth of Virginia in sales and income tax revenues. This reflects a 160 percent return on investment to the Commonwealth for its support of these transit systems.

NVTC’s 2025 legislative agenda is focused on protecting existing revenue streams for transit and transportation in Northern Virginia while working towards a long-term, sustainable, dedicated funding solution to meet the growing need for public transit in our region. NVTC is part of two major regional efforts to identify a long-term sustainable funding solution for transit, a Joint Subcommittee established by the Virginia Legislature (Northern Virginia Growing Needs of Public Transit Joint Subcommittee), and DMVMoves, a regional effort with leaders from Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland to develop a unified vision and sustainable funding model for public transit in the National Capital Region. The results of those efforts will help inform NVTC’s future legislative work at both the state and federal level to ensure a strong and sustainable future for public transit in Northern Virginia and across the region.

View NVTC’s 2025 Legislative Agenda

State Legislative Priorities

Continue to advocate for long-term, sustainable, dedicated funding to ensure WMATA, VRE, and all Northern Virginia transit systems meet the growing needs of public transit in our region.
Preserve additional state aid (FY 2026) for WMATA and operating cap rebaselining contained in the two-year state budget.
Preserve and restore state, regional and local funding for transit and transportation.
Protect existing NVTC autonomy, programs and funding sources.
Continue support for state investment in Transforming Rail in Virginia and other passenger rail initiatives.
Preserve transit’s ability to effectively compete within the SMART SCALE program.
Support funding for development and implementation of transit innovations, including transit signal priority, zero and low-emission public transit and fare payment technologies while identifying opportunities to remove legislative barriers to improving transit.
Support ongoing efforts to streamline the permitting process for bus stop improvement projects in coordination with local jurisdictions.
Advance legislation that would add policies for rolling stock and operating properties of railroads used for commuter rail service in the Commonwealth, as well as cybersecurity policies for organizations operating such service, to the exemptions for state tax on surplus lines insurance.

Federal Legislative Priorities

Ensure transit systems in Northern Virginia have the maximum access to federal formula funding and state of good repair funding, matching or exceeding the funding levels authorized in the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act.
Maximize the region’s access to federal transportation funding programs and competitive grant opportunities.
Recognize the importance of public transit in accessing federal agencies and facilities, identify and secure federal long-term capital and operating funding opportunities that benefit local transit systems, including WMATA and VRE.
Encourage federal return-to-office policies that encourage transit use throughout the work week and secure a replacement for the region’s losses in fares from riders using federal transit benefits.
Continue support for commuter tax benefits for both the private and public sector.
Work with federal, state and local partners to address long-term challenges to domestic bus manufacturing highlighted by APTA’s bus manufacturing task force.

Try Our New Legislative Maps

Use this interactive map to explore the intersection of public transit and the State Senate, House of Delegates, and Congressional Districts in Northern Virginia.

View Local Transit by Legislative District