Phase One of the Silver Line brings service changes to Tysons Area Airport Users

One of the advantages that was advertised with the Silver Line was to bring was better access to Tysons Corner and eventually Dulles Airport.  However as the new service changes are being promoted for Phase One of the Silver Line opening, ironically it seems that the two transportation areas that are supposed to benefit the most from the new Silver Line are actually going to have degraded service in the interim.  It is not just Dulles users, but the Silver Line also brings mixed and surprising results for Tysons Users for Ronald Reagan National Airport as well.

Increased Cost, Time, Transfers Needed to Access Dulles Airport

For Dulles Airport, Tysons Corner is currently served with Fairfax Connector 981 service from Tysons Westpark Transit Center that uses the Dulles Toll Road with stops at Reston Town Center and Herdon-Monroe Park & Ride.  When the Silver Line opens, the Tysons portion of the trip will be stripped off as it is viewed as redundant to the new Silver Line service.  Service will be adjusted to service the Reston Wiehle Avenue station as the new end point for the new combined 981/983 service.  The use of the WestPark Transit center was convenient as it is walkable to most residents in the North Tysons area but also well connected by the existing 425 and 427 loops as well as Metrobus 23W service to provide last mile service if needed.  When the second phase of the silver line opens, currently projected to be 2018, Tysons may once again see single-seat service with circulators providing the last mile service.

The new service pattern of the Dulles airport service will come with an increase in transit time, number of connections, and increase in cost.  Using the WMATA Trip Planner tool trips to Dulles Airport from the intersection of Westpark Dr and Park Run Dr near several large apartment complexes, times and fares were taken for trips taken at 7am, 9am, 1pm, 5pm, and 7pm towards the airport.

Silver Line Phase 1 service will generally see fares doubled, approximately 12 minutes additional travel time, and additional transfers required for Tysons Residents.  Note that passengers travelling to Dulles are typically accompanied with baggage.

Decreased Accessible Times to use Public Transportation to Dulles Airport

One aspect that Tysons residents will need to consider after the Silver Line opens is that the new service will have decreased access to morning departures from Dulles Airport and decreased access to return late flight arrivals into Dulles Airport.  The current 981 service allows the earliest arrival at Dulles Airport at 6:25am.  With the new Silver Line service pattern, Tysons residents cannot use the new service to arrive at Dulles until 7:13am.  The timing is particularly inefficient due to the way the major hub carrier at Dulles banks its early morning flights for 8:00am.  Banking is when airlines schedule a core unit of flights to depart at the same time, to provide efficient transfers for connecting passengers that typically also arrive at the same time.  Airlines generally recommend passengers arrive 90 minutes prior to their flight.  The result is the new combined Silver Line / 981 service will deny Tysons passengers access to this first bank of flights.

Likewise, passengers arriving late, will need to be aware that while they can find bus service as late as 10:50pm today, at the start of Silver Line Service, Tysons residents will find the last bus service connecting to Tysons leaves the airport at 10:02pm.  This is because the Silver Line is unable to provide the connecting service between Tysons Corner and Wiehle Avenue during the shoulder hours that the 981 bus will operate to Wiehle Ave.  Fairfax Connector would do well to extend the new 981 service in the early morning and late evening to Tysons Westpark to provide residents this service and make the service viable as a means to providing connectivity to the airport.

It is worth mentioning that there are some rather bizarre itineraries possible to arrive slightly earlier, at around 6:52a by making use of a 4 seat ride via Spring Hill, Wiehle, and Herndon-Monroe using a combination of Silver Line, Fairfax Connector, and Metrobus Express 5A service – but the cost to do this would be $9.50.  In a pinch late night travel is also possible by taking the 5A to Rosslyn and back tracking on the Silver Line and walking that last mile home similarly for $9.65.  That’s quite a different experience than the single bus ride for $1.75.

Increased Time, Decreased Fares and a surprising alternative for Reagan National Flyers

A known concern regarding the new Silver Line is the cutting in service for Blue Line Trains, which provide connectivity to Silver Line users to Ronald Reagan National Airport.  Note the following service patterns:

The impact of decreased Blue Line service from the new Silver Line will cause longer overall travel times of approximately 12 minutes.  Fares are set to decrease due to the promotional limited time introduction of free transfers for the Tysons Circulator routes.

With less service on the Blue Line, Yellow line connections through L’Enfant were also examined and determined to offer overall longer trip times, though there is more predictability due to more frequent service.

 A Surprising Alternative Emerges to Reagan National

That alternative is to not take the Silver Line at all.  Fairfax Connector is revamping its 495 Express routes, including the 494 to now provide all day service between Tysons and Franconia/Springfield.  While the service will not be as frequent as Silver Line service, it provides a faster and more streamlined experience to get to Ronald Reagan National for many Tysons residents:

Summary

Silver Line Phase 1 service for Tysons residents to Dulles airport access will undoubtedly take longer, be more expensive, more complicated and provides less opportunities to connect with early morning departures and late evening arrivals.  Fairfax Connector should extend its early morning and late night Dulles Service to Tysons Westpark to provide gap in coverage outside of Silver Line hours.  As light as traffic on the 981 service is currently, from personal experience with booking flights that depart near 8:00am, these changes makes public transportation to Dulles Airport even less desirable than they are prior to the opening of the Silver Line.

Ronald Reagan service is hampered slightly by cuts in Blue Line service resulting in longer travel times, though connections via L’Enfant will generally still be longer than waiting for the odd Blue Line train at Rossyln.  Fares will see a reduction if using connecting services and there will be better improved frequency on the 423/424 service over the 425/427 including weekend service and now for some, walkable direct access to Metrorail.  Also for weekday service, consider the quicker connection via Franconia/Springfield using the 494 for a single transfer ride and bypass the Silver Line.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport and connections via Union Station were not considered, as generally access from Tysons to the Metrorail core is expected to improve with the Silver Line.

Opposite direction of travel (from the airport) was not considered.  For weekend service, Ronald Reagan National will be much more accessible after the Silver Line opens than it is today, while Dulles access will remain hampered for all the reasons mentioned above.