Alexandria to Consider Funding Bus Service Between King Street Metro and MGM National Harbor Casino

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Alexandria is considering funding a pilot program for a bus service between the King Street Metro and the new MGM National Harbor resort casino set to open later this year across the Potomac in Maryland.

If successful, the service would eventually run 365 days a year from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., help boost tourism and give casino employees a way to get to and from work. The City Council is set to consider the proposal at its next meeting. Estimated costs and funding for the bus service would be $3 million per year

The City's Transportation Commission says while they support the pilot program, it should "be contingent on a proposed operating contribution in the amount of $500,000 from the Peterson Group. As currently negotiated, this amount would be paid annually should the pilot service extend into future years."

At its June 15 meeting, the Transportation Commission evaluated City staff’s proposal to use $566,000 to fund WMATA’s NH2 bus service. The bus service proposes to connect the King Street Metrorail Station to National Harbor with additional stops at the Huntington Metrorail Station in Fairfax County, the future MGM Casino and the park-and-ride lot in Oxon Hill.

The $566,000 is the balance in the City's FY2017 Transportation Improvement Program fund; due to funding re-estimates by WMATA, $566,000 of FY2017 TIP funding initially designated for WMATA operating costs was made available in the City’s approved FY2017 budget, according to a presentation prepared by City staff for City Council's June 28 meeting.

In addition to the extra funding from the Peterson Group, the Transportation Commission said they think that there should be one bus that directly connects the casino and the metro and another bus that makes stops along the way.

Next steps
• WMATA Board to consider July 2016
• Pilot program from October 2016 to June 2017
• Service evaluation in Spring 2017 to assess ridership, cost recovery, future demand and demographics of riders
• Coordination with King Street Metrorail Station Improvements project
• Coordination with existing bus routes servicing King Street Metrorail Station
• Service may be incorporated as a regional route in the WMATA FY 2018 budget

PHOTOS of City and National Harbor courtesy of City of Alexandria