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NVTA staff present regional BRT action plan; consultant survey finds strong public interest
Summary
Authority staff described a 28‑line regional BRT schematic and an action plan that would make future BRT projects eligible for funding; a consultant survey (587 respondents) showed 72% would be very/extremely likely to consider using BRT, and staff said further local project development and funding work is needed before implementation.
Authority staff presented a regional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) action plan and related public‑engagement findings on June 12, saying the plan is intended to ‘think big, start small’—a 28‑line regional schematic to be built incrementally with local project development. Staff emphasized the action plan itself would not commit NVTA funds but would make projects eligible under the Authority’s funding rules and the six‑year program process.
"If you only take away one thing tonight, think big, start small, and build momentum," said Keith (NVTA staff), introducing the plan and noting collaboration with consultants, WMATA and DRPT. He said the action plan is designed to improve the region’s ability to compete for state and federal funding and that member jurisdictions would still need to bring local projects forward and demonstrate consistency with the action plan when seeking NVTA funding.
Consultant Kevin (survey lead) summarized engagement: 10 pop‑up events with 4,614 interactions (27% in Spanish), distribution of roughly 4,600 printed materials and 21 media items, and 587 survey responses collected April 18–May 19 (249 current transit riders, 329 nonriders). He cautioned the survey was not statistically representative of the broader population but said it showed substantial interest: "Overall, 72 percent of people indicated they would be either very or extremely likely to consider using a BRT system," with higher positive responses among younger respondents and in Arlington, Prince William and Falls Church.
Staff described the types of BRT analyzed—fully dedicated lanes like Metroway and a "BRT Express" variant that relies on queue jumps and transit signal priority where fully dedicated lanes are not possible. They said their 2045 modeling shows the 28 lines collectively could achieve modal shift and congestion reduction sufficient to be competitive in NVTA’s six‑year program evaluations. Staff also flagged additional work needed before approval: local project development, more detailed modeling on specific route variants, and coordination on funding (including participation in DMV‑wide funding studies). An operating‑cost upper bound cited by staff in discussion was $192,000,000 per year; staff characterized that as a high‑level estimate for full regional buildout and said operating costs would be refined as projects are developed and implemented incrementally.
Staff said they will return to the Authority in July seeking approval of the action plan document (with final recommendations and next steps) and urged member jurisdictions to incorporate BRT concepts into local plans to preserve future implementation options.
No funding vote was taken on June 12; the action plan is a policy document that would support future project development and funding requests.
