Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Metro responded to my suggestion for Orange Line shuttle buses during the Memorial Day weekend while Orange Line service was suspended between East Falls Church and West Falls Church.

I had forwarded it to Mr. Sarles as commenter John Bennett suggested. Here is the reply:

Dear Mr. Offutt:

Thank you for your May 25, 2010 email message to Richard Sarles, General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), with suggestions regarding Orange Line shuttle service during our upcoming closures between East Falls Church and West Falls Church Metrorail stations. Mr. Sarles always welcomes input from our riding public and asked that I respond to your suggestions.

When planning for service disruptions, we keep several priorities in mind: customer convenience, service reliability, funding availability and clear communications.

For the upcoming weekends, we looked at a variety of shuttle options including the one you have suggested. We decided on one free shuttle between East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations because:

  • One shuttle would cost less to operate than running multiple shuttles with multiple station destinations. It was the most cost-effective option and we are committed to using our resources wisely.
  • Travel time for multiple shuttles would be heavily impacted by traffic on I-66, which is subject to numerous delays (predictable and unpredictable) especially during the holiday weekend. Without delays on I-66, travel time would most likely be equal.
  • Communicating the operation of one shuttle is less confusing to the customer. The one-shuttle method most resembles a ‘normal’ commute on the Orange Line. If you have multiple shuttles, there are more opportunities for people to board incorrect buses, thus creating more frustration and inconvenience for our riders.

For these reasons, we have opted to operate one shuttle. However, we will evaluate the shuttle operation after this weekend and make any adjustments necessary to minimize customer inconvenience, maximize our funds, preserve service reliability and maintain clear communications for subsequent work. I will ensure your input is considered in the evaluation process.

I hope you find this information helpful. Again, thank you for your suggestions.

Sincerely,

James J. Hughes

Managing Director

Office of Intermodal Planning

I was pleased that I received a thoughtful response. Kudos to them.

I suspect that their cost analysis did not include the cost savings from not running the trains. I find it hard to believe those savings would not be fairly large. Whatever shuttle system they operate will need to transport the same number of passengers, so the alternate system would only need to be marginally larger to make for better customer service, not outrageously larger.

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Tagged: fairfax, service disruption, transit, virginia, wmata

Steve Offutt has been working at the confluence of business and environment for almost 20 years, with experience in climate change solutions, green building, business-government partnerships, transportation demand management, and more. He lives in Arlington with his wife and two children and is a cyclist, pedestrian, transit rider and driver.