Politics & Government

LTE: Bus Service Must Target More Riders

Transit service should assist retail and restaurant workers, and make community more pedestrian friendly.

Dear Editor:

Regarding the future of public bus service in Loudoun County: In Marketing 101 we learn that serving customers’ needs is the way to build demand for a product/service. Currently, our bus service does not serve the workers who need it most: those who give us cheap labor in retail and restaurants so that we might enjoy a very comfortable, affordable lifestyle. If the public transit system served those who work in the afternoon, late evenings and on weekends during retail hours, the ridership would increase, the workers’ and transit budgets would both be more manageable, and the riders could add to the local economy. It makes sense to charge a little more for fares, increase advertising on buses and at the bus shelters. Possibly even ask the employers who want a larger labor pool to kick in a little.

Furthermore, with the Metro coming to Ashburn, the crush of vehicles passing from West Virginia and western Loudoun to get to it as real estate brokers market new homes based on the connection, we can never afford enough new highways to keep the traffic moving through Leesburg. It is completely jammed at rush hour now.

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Public transportation is the key to managing our transportation while Loudoun continues to grow. That plus some new roads and walkable/bikeable trails. Without the complete package, we’ll be a total mess. 

Tell the Loudoun Board of Supervisors and the Leesburg Town Council that expansion — not contraction — of the local bus service is the key to making it affordable. Thank you.

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S. Ann Robinson
Leesburg, VA


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