Fredericksburg area commuters have three more options for the trip up Interstate 95, including launching three new OmniRide Express buses to the Pentagon, Arlington, and the State Department in Washington, D.C.
The buses are fully funded by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and they will provide a commuting option for residents south of the newly extended I-95 Express Lanes. It’s the first time since OmniRide’s founding in 1986 that it has provided service to Spotsylvania County and southern Stafford County, bolstering the agency’s status as a regional bus operator.
“Today is a great example of DRPT’s mission in action,” said Todd Horsley, the Alternate PRTC Commissioner at the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Commonwealth Drive Commuter Lot in Spotsylvania County.
For the next month, riders may use the new bus lines for free. After January 12, there will be a $9 one-way fee.
The I-95 E-Z Pass Express Lanes helped make it all possible, said Perrin Palistrant, the director of planning and service delivery at OmniRide. “Without the express lanes, it would have been difficult to facilitate this.”
The express lanes on I-95, I-495, and I-66 are toll lanes that are free for vehicles with three or more passengers. This is to facilitate carpooling and buses, reducing the overall number of cars on these roads.
Officials looked at the growth in the Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Fredericksburg, so they put in an overall order for 29 new buses to serve those counties.
Some of those buses were replacing older buses. They were paid for as part of a $21 million funding arrangement with Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board.
The buses each have 57 seats, and each set of seats has access to a set of plugs so the riders can charge their electronic devices or work during the ride.
The Commonwealth Drive lot is one of several park-and-ride lots in the I-95 corridor that commuters use to catch buses or carpools. The park and ride lot at Horner Road in Prince William County is the most popular VDOT lot, followed by the lot at Route 234.
Officials expect this Fredericksburg area lot to get a lot more use soon.
Here are the new lines:
- Bus 541 – Stafford to Washington (State Dept) express
- Bus 923 – Spotsylvania – Navy Yard express
- Bus 932 – Falmouth – Pentagon/Rosslyn/Ballston/ Crystal City express
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported HOV rules for the I-66 E-ZPass Express Lanes.
