Photo by Haole Punk.

Fairfax County is unlikely to let its transit wither as it awaits the opening of a new Metrorail line. The County Board of Supervisors’ draft budget restores Connector service and makes room for increased WMATA contributions if other jurisdictions follow suit.

The agreement reached by the Board, which the Post reported raises taxes a small amount and cuts most categories of spending, does reserve the additional funding for WMATA contributions, according to advocates monitoring the budget negotiations.

In addition, County spokesperson Ellen Kamilakis said that the budget restores the Fairfax Connector service except for “strategic buses.” We’ve followed up to ask what those are, but suspect those refer to the reserve buses kept at the ready to fill in if something goes wrong with other buses. If so, this would mean Connector service would be more likely to experience disruptions, but riders from neighborhoods in the Dulles corridor will still be able to get to and from Metro without a car.

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Tagged: budget, fairfax, fairfax connector, transit, virginia, wmata budget

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.