Kaine Plan Could Ease Rail, Bus Commutes

The transportation financing plan that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) released last month holds the promise of considerably better service and less crowding on Metro and Virginia Railway Express.

The plan the governor has submitted to the General Assembly would more than double the state's contribution to bus and rail services, and it includes nearly $600 million for transit over the next four years. State officials said about 70 percent, or approximately $410 million, of the money would go toward needs in Northern Virginia.

That amount includes one-time funding for more rail cars for Metro, moving it closer to its goal of running eight-car trains during peak periods. Most rush-hour trains now have six cars, and often people get left at stations because there's no room for them. Metro this week began testing eight-car trains on the Orange Line, in a six-month experiment.

Kaine's proposal includes dedicated money for Metro for years to come, fulfilling Virginia's contribution to a regional effort to provide the transit system with a reliable funding source. And it contains enough to meet a challenge by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) that would net Metro an additional $1.5 billion in federal funds over the next 10 years.

For the VRE commuter railroad, the governor's plan would pay for more cars to ease crowding and would support expansion south into Spotsylvania County and west to Gainesville, a priority for Prince William County officials. The proposal would allow VRE to buy seven or eight new cars. The train system currently has 91 cars, with 11 more on the way.

"This additional funding will support maintenance of existing rail cars and services and significant expansions, such as eight-car Metro trains and the additional rail cars necessary for VRE expansion," said Pierce R. Homer, the state's transportation secretary. "Less noticed will be improvements in bus service through a more reliable, modern fleet that will be on time and on budget as a result of these investments."

It's unclear how many new cars Metro could buy, because those decisions are made by its board.

Although Kaine's plan includes the funding Metro officials have been seeking to sustain operations and gain federal funds, it does not earmark the money for those purposes. Metro managers said they're hoping those specifics will be added as the package moves through the legislative process, so the money does not wind up elsewhere.

"As the sausage is made, we have to make certain the right ingredients are there, so Metro can use it to leverage these additional dollars," said T. Dana Kauffman, a Fairfax County supervisor and member of the Metro board of directors. "This is a case of . . . if we don't stand up and meet this challenge, we're losing money."

Kaine's proposal would increase taxes on vehicle insurance and purchases and would increase fees on vehicle registration and driving offenses to generate an estimated $900 million in extra transportation revenue a year. It also includes $339 million in this year's budget from the state's surplus funds.

In addition to money for transit, the plan includes hundreds of millions for highway projects, most of which would be funneled through local governments.

Kaine's plan does not specify which highway projects would be built, but local leaders said the most likely ones are the widening of Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, the widening of I-95 between Newington and Route 123 and the remaking of the Route 29 and I-66 interchange in Gainesville. State officials said construction work could begin within two years.

The governor's proposal also directs the state to build express toll lanes on I-66 between Gainesville and the Capital Beltway and possibly inside the Beltway. A portion of the transit funding would go toward starting bus service on those lanes, as well as other express toll projects in Northern Virginia.

Several leaders in the state Senate are pushing a revenue-raising plan that would add about $1.2 billion a year for new projects by raising taxes on vehicle purchases and by levying a sales tax on gasoline at the wholesale level, which would probably increase the cost of a gallon of gas for drivers.

Both Kaine's proposal and the Senate plan face considerable challenges in a legislature that approved tax increases for other state services just two years ago. Republican leaders in the House of Delegates have made it clear that they are opposed to more taxes, though it remains to be seen if any members would break ranks to support transportation funding.

Kauffman (D-Lee) expressed hope that enough will, saying that this is a once-in-a-generation chance to ensure the future of transit in Northern Virginia.

"I'm hopeful, because right now I don't know of anything that isn't on the table," Kauffman said. But he said experience has also taught him to guard his optimism. "What we're needing is a sustained stream of money. That's something that's been talked about since I was a senior in college -- and now I've gotten my AARP card application."