CUE Bus Service

The CUE Bus is an institution is the City of Fairfax. Begun under the leadership of former Mayor George Snyder, the bus system serves George Mason students, County and City residents alike, providing service throughout the City and to the Vienna Metro Station. Having ridden it before to go to work, I can say it's a safe and comfortable ride.

It's also costly, with the City paying a $1 million a year subsudy for operation of the service. George Mason chips in another $350,000 with the rest of the $2.8 million budget covered by the $1.35 fares and other funds from the state and federal governments.

With the City facing a $10 million shortfall in FY 2011 (begins July 1, 2010), the Council has looked to see if we can save costs on the CUE bus. From the options presented by staff and those I've looked into myself, the only way to really save money is to effectively cut service in a way that would result in laying off City employees. That's not something I'm comfortable with. Laying off people will only create more economic problems, both micro and macro.

A quick - and reasonable solution - is to raise the fare to what Metro is going to increase their rate to: $1.70. That is significant additional revenue for the system, may reduce the overall subsidy and would forestall laying off drivers. Already, Metro is looking at increasing rates to $1.45 from the existing $1.35. Then in July 2010 it's anticipated it will go up to $1.70. By the way, staff tells us that there are not any duplicative Metro/CUE stops in the City.

We also need to encourage more people to take the bus as the more people who use it, the lower the cost of overall service. Public transportation is essential in Northern Virginia as a means to reduce traffic congestion. The CUE plays a role and should be increased.