PRTC’s popular Saturday bus service between eastern Prince William County and the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station will continue, but passengers will start paying fares as of May 17, 2014.
Thanks to funding from Virginia Megaprojects, fares on the Saturday Prince William Metro Direct bus service have been free since its introduction in September 2013. Megaprojects, which is a collaboration of the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, paid 100% of the operational costs to encourage drivers to share their ride during weekends when the I-95/I-395 HOV lanes were closed for construction of the Express Lanes.
Now that Megaprojects support for the route is ending, the Saturday one-way bus fare will be $2.90 for those paying with a SmarTrip card or $3.60 cash. The Saturday fares are identical to weekday fares on that route.
Saturday service to the Metro station has proved popular with a new high ridership mark of 720 passengers set on April 26.
“Our passengers have told us for years that they wanted Saturday service to Franconia-Springfield, and we’re pleased that the PRTC Board of Commissioners has agreed to continue funding the service now that the 100% state sponsorship is at an end,” said PRTC Executive Director Alfred Harf.
The Prince William Metro Direct schedule is being revised with new departure and arrival times. Updated schedule brochures for all bus routes operated by the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) are being printed as part of PRTC’s regular Spring Service Change. Twice a year, PRTC updates its schedules to reflect changes in running times and routing. The Spring Service Change takes effect on May 12, 2014.
Customers may pick up new print brochures for all PRTC routes or view them online at PRTCtransit.org starting May 5. For more information about PRTC’s services, call Customer Service at (703) 730-6664 or visit PRTCtransit.org.
###
