Simply show it to the station agent when entering the subway or to a fare inspector on light rail. Your MARC ticket is also an unlimited pass to all of Baltimore’s transit system, including the subway, light rail, and buses. That obviously gets you onto a MARC train, but if you show your ticket to the driver, you owe no additional fare onĪll many of greater Washington’s bus services, including Metrobus and RideOn DC Circulator You can buy single ride, weekly, and monthly MARC passes, all for a flat fee. Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a service of two Northern Virginia regional transit commissions that runs weekday rush-hour trains, in the peak direction of travel, between DC’s Union Station and Fredericksburg and Manassas/Broad Run. Starting with the 2018-2019 school year, students now receive the bus pass in the form of a “specially designed SmarTrip Card,” according to Fairfax County’s website.MARC, or Maryland Area Rail Commuter, is a service of the Maryland Transit Administration that operates daily between DC’s Union Station Baltimore Penn Station via New Carrollton throughout the day in both directions (the Penn Line), as well as rush-hour trains on weekdays between DC and Baltimore Camden Yards via Greenbelt (the Camden Line) and DC and Frederick, Maryland/Martinsburg, West Virginia via Montgomery County (the Brunswick Line). In 2018, the county and WMATA expanded the bus pass program to include Justice High School in Falls Church. In addition to the pilot program with Fairfax Connector, the county also works with the Washington Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Once the agreement is complete, the county will provide free rides on the Fairfax Connector to students with eligible passes and promote the program, while the school system will register, distribute and manage the passes. The Board of Supervisors is set to vote on Tuesday (July 28) to approve moving forward with a Memorandum of Agreement between the county and FCPS, according to the meeting’s agenda. This is critical to increasing transit ridership, reducing traffic congestion, and improving mobility around the National Capital Region.įairfax County officials are looking to formalize the collaboration so that the program can continue. The program familiarizes students with public transportation and supports the development of a more multi-modal generation of young adults in the future. Through this innovative program, students can access extracurricular activities, stay after school for support and tutoring, access after school jobs and internships, and visit libraries, museums, and other recreational activities. “Since its inception, nearly two million trips have been taken through the Free Student Bus Pass Program (FSBPP) and as of February 2020, student ridership accounted for approximately 6.5 percent of the total Fairfax Connector ridership,” according to county documents. “This program has been greatly expanded in a short period of time,” McKay said.Įarlier: While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will start the school year virtually, county officials want to make sure students will have continued access to free bus passes.įairfax County and FCPS teamed up in 2015 to create a pilot program that gives free Fairfax Connector bus passes to middle and high school students. McKay said that the program has seen “tremendous popularity” and that it helps address equity issues around transportation. Updated - The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Memorandum of Agreement today.Ĭhairman Jeff McKay said that when he and former Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins first worked on the program, they were faced with skepticism about how much it would get used.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |