The Arlington County government’s plan for a pilot “microtransit” effort won support at a recent advisory-subcommittee meeting. But it also faced flak over where it will be conducted.
“I’m just sort of flabbergasted,” said Kent Keyser, a member of the accessibility subcommittee of the Arlington Transit Advisory Committee, after hearing that the pilot will take place in what he termed the “next to the wealthiest” section of the county. (The wealthiest being areas in far northwest Arlington just to the north of the proposed service area.)
“I’m wondering why we’re expending scarce public dollars [in this area] with so many needs in other parts of the county,” Keyser said.
The microtransit pilot, anticipated to start sometime next year, will run in a part of western Arlington bounded by North Glebe Road to the east, Langston Boulevard to the south and the county line to the north and west.
It was chosen in part because that area recently lost Arlington Transit routes due to ridership levels that didn’t merit full bus service, said Paul Mounier, transit-planning manager for the county government.
“We’re trying to provide transit to everyone in the county,” he said. “This is where we are cutting transit – everyone else is getting a boost to transit.”
Mounier acknowledged that staff did not look at demographics in determining where to do the pilot. If the effort meets or exceeds expectations, “we would definitely be open to expanding,” he said.
The microtransit effort will use vehicles smaller than buses so as to reach into neighborhoods. Residents wishing to use the service could make a reservation or call for on-demand service.
Neither the cost to the county government nor the cost to riders has been worked out. While the state government has chipped in some cash to support the effort, most funding likely will come from county taxpayers.
RoseAnn Ashby, who chairs the accessibility subcommittee, said the presentation by Mounier was “very helpful” in outlining the plan. But, like Keyser, she had concerns.
“This really has a lot of potential, but we need to make sure this is accessible as it’s being developed,” Ashby said, pointing both to physical accessibility of the vehicles themselves and the technology created to request service.
ART Service Up for Fiscal Year as Rebound Continues: While still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, Arlington Transit (ART) ridership levels continue to rebound.
Slightly more than 2.4 million trips on the local transit system were taken in the fiscal year ending June 30, up from 1.92 million the preceding year, according to figures from the county government presented at the Sept. 10 meeting of a government body.
Higher ridership, however, was accompanied by a decline in on-time performance. The system’s on-time rate of 74 percent during fiscal 2024 was down from 82 percent in fiscal 2023, county officials said.
The number of complaints filed about ART service or related matters grew from 224 to 281, but given the higher ridership, the rate essentially was flat at six complaints per 50,000 trips.
With 222,887 passengers in May 2024, the system reached its highest single-month total since before the pandemic. The all-time high for any month was recorded in October 2019 at 277,203.
(Comparing service now to pre-pandemic times is not entirely apples to apples, as some routes have been added, others eliminated during the interim.)
At the Sept. 10 meeting, RoseAnn Ashby, who chairs the accessibility subcommittee of the county government’s Transit Advisory Committee, asked whether there were any data yet on how a fare increase implemented July 1 is changing passenger dynamics.
“That is probably going to impact” ridership, she said.
County staff replied that, by the end of September, they will parse figures from the first quarter of the fiscal year and will have “a good picture” of where things stand.
On July 1, basic ART fares went to $2.25 for adults, $1.10 for seniors and those with disabilities. Most students can ride for free.
