Woodbridge, Va. — OmniLink bus riders may no longer be able to get a free bus transfer from Potomac Mills mall.
The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission is considering eliminating the last free transfer in the OmniLink system for riders of the Dumfries and Dale City OmniLink routes between the shopping mall and the PRTC Transit Center on Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge.
If free transfers go away, riders who are now paying $2.40 round trip could purchase a day pass for $2.50, which would be good for unlimited rides on the OmniLink system for that particular day. (Seniors over the age of 60 pay $1.25 for the day pass).
The transit agency is accepting written comments about the proposed change via email, and hand written comments can be mailed to the transit center until Aug. 17. The agency also wants to know if area residents would like a public hearing on this matter.
The free transfer is left over from 2000 when the shopping mall was the central transfer hub for the OmniLink system in eastern Prince William County, and fares were only 75 cents per one-way trip and transfers cost a quarter, according to a letter from PRTC Executive Director Al Harf to PRTC Commissioner John Jenkins
The transfer hub was later moved from the mall to the PRTC Transit Center, and currently OmniLink riders pay $1.20 per one-way trip.
Transit officials say eliminating the free transfer would illicit use of paper transfers and the use of paper transfer altogether, speed up service by eliminating the need for drivers to verify a paper transfer, and to oust an “outdated policy.”
PRTC center
