Fairfax County

Department of

Transportation

June 4, 2013

Vienna: Silver Line Bus

Service Discussion

County of Fairfax, Virginia Welcome

• Ground Rules and Meeting Format

• Goals

• Overview of Timeline

• Fairfax Connector Safety and Training Discussion

• Service Characteristics

• Route Options

• Timeline and Next Steps

• Questions and Discussion

County of Fairfax, Virginia Ground Rules

Meeting Format

– Presentation

– Structured Public Comment

• If you wish to speak, you must complete a ‘Comment Sign In

Form’

• Comments will be heard in order

• Comments will be limited to two minutes, depending on the

number of speakers

• No speaker can donate their time to another speaker

– Question and Answer after all speakers are finished

Please be respectful - All opinions are valued

County of Fairfax, Virginia Goals

Why We Provide Bus Service

• Reducing the number of single occupant vehicle trips =

improving congestion

• Providing mobility options

– Accessibility to Metrorail

• Contributing to the local economy by improving mobility

• Helping to improve air quality in the region

County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline

Public Outreach

• Two rounds of public meetings

– Westbriar Elementary School:

• February 4, 2013 & April 22, 2013

– “Vienna at Your Service”

• March 13, 2013

• Substantial discussion about proposed Route 432

– No consensus on routing

• Board approval of Service Plan – June 4, 2013, without

the Route 432

• Vienna Community Meeting – June 4, 2013

• Board consideration of Route 432 alignment – July 2013

County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline

Community Feedback on Proposed Route 432: – Service desired on Beulah Road

– Mixed support on Old Courthouse Road and Creek Crossing Road

– Mixed support on Trap Road and Towlston Road north of the Toll Road (267)

– Town of Vienna concerns

Operational Challenges: – No right turn from Maple Ave to East Street or Beulah Road

without infrastructure improvements

– Making a left onto Beulah Road from Maple Ave requires minimal infrastructure improvements

– Taking the Toll Road (267) to Trap Road (Southbound) is not ideal for bus operations

– Traffic delays on Maple Ave

County of Fairfax, Virginia Safety

Creating a Safety Culture

• Recruiting professional commercial vehicle operators

‒ Background checks

‒ Fitness for duty [DOT]

‒ Interview process

• Rigorous new hire training and testing programs

‒ Operators must complete 212 hours of training including

classroom and on the road

‒ Commercial driver license testing [CDL]

‒ 90 day probationary period

‒ Annual refresher training

‒ Mandatory safety meetings

County of Fairfax, Virginia Quality Assurance

Safety is Priority #1

• Safety doesn’t happen without a total commitment.

Fairfax County requires the highest level of safety

performance from employees.

‒ Supervisor oversight of operational activities

‒ Safety committees and mandatory attendance at safety meetings

‒ Employees awards for safety performance

‒ Mystery rider program

‒ Database captures comments/suggestions/complaints

‒ Semi-annual Customer satisfaction survey

‒ Quality vehicle maintenance program

County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements

How do we measure success?

• Customers are using Connector service at increasing levels.

Source: Fairfax County Department of Transportation

County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements

How do we measure success?

• What we’re hearing from our Customers and the General

Public:

– 1.87 unsafe complaints per 100,000 miles driven FY13 year-to-

date

• 9,684,234 miles driven FY13 year-to-date

– 1.67 unsafe complaints per 100,000 passenger trips FY13 year-

to-date

• 8,654,308 passenger trips FY13 year-to-date

• Mystery Rider Observations

– 99% of mystery riders felt operators were driving in a safe

manner

• Measurements: Safe turns, safe braking, driving in a safe manner

• Approximately 500 trips observed FY13 year-to-date

County of Fairfax, Virginia Measurements

How do we measure success?

• What are our Customers observing about our operations?

Source: Fairfax Connector Customer Satisfaction Survey 2011

County of Fairfax, Virginia Key Indicator

What does the record say? • The Connector continues to grow both in terms of customers served

and miles and hours of service provided. Our safety record

indicates a positive trend over the last few years.

•

Source: Virginia Transit Liability Pool

County of Fairfax, Virginia Service Characteristics

Proposed Route 432

• Weekdays only

• AM and PM peak service only

• 6 - 8:30 a.m. and 4 – 7 p.m.

• Service operated every 30-40 minutes

• Approximately 12-14 trips per day

• Will operate with a 30-foot bus

County of Fairfax, Virginia

Proposed Route 432:

Options

County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 1

Projected Ridership per Day: 150

County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 2

Projected Ridership per Day: 312

County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 3

Projected Ridership per Day: 108

County of Fairfax, Virginia Route 432 – Option 4

Projected Ridership per Day: 96

County of Fairfax, Virginia Timeline

Next Steps

• Consider community feedback on options

– Would like to reach consensus

• Make recommendation to the Board

• Prepare for implementation

• Implement

• Adjust, if necessary, based on actual experience

County of Fairfax, Virginia

Questions?