By Tim Cherry
Staff Writer
Thursday, November 17, 2011

A couple of shuttle services are ready to help thousands of Belvoir employees commute to work.

The Fairfax Connector and the Office of Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army offer two direct route services from Franconia-Springfield Metro Station to post.

The Fairfax Connector’s 335 route, “The Eagle Express,” started in September and the bus runs during rush hours in the morning and afternoon.

The fare prices for the shuttle are $3.65 with a SmarTrip card or $3.85 with cash.

Passengers need to have a government-issued photo ID to enter Belvoir.

The bus, which travels through Telegraph Gate, stops at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital; John Kingman Road; Jackson Loop; 12th Street and Gorgas Road near the commissary.

Employees eligible for government’s Mass Transportation Benefit Program could use a Department of Defense subsidy of up to $230 to help pay for the trip.

Garrison and Fairfax county officials both emphasize that people can transfer from the VRE to the Eagle Express, free of charge. Commuters transferring from the Metro have to pay the normal fee to ride the shuttle.

The OAA has two, free weekday services. The 117 is a direct route from the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station. The shuttle carries passengers to the 200 and 1400 areas of Belvoir from approximately 6 to 9 a.m., and 3:30 to 5 p.m.

The 18 shuttle, the Pentagon Express, travels from the Pentagon to Belvoir during business hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., to help employees travel to and from meetings.

Andy Hare, OAA director of executive travel, said both services started as a response to help Base Realignment and Closure employees get accustomed to mass transiting to their new locations.

“We’re trying to limit the impact of BRAC people coming to Belvoir,” said Hare.

OAA will eventually scale back its operations because it doesn’t want to negatively impact any commercial businesses operating on Belvoir, which includes the Eagle Express.

“Once they begin to duplicate our services, the government will scale back,” said Hare who doesn’t anticipate a change before winter.

The Eagle Express has had an average of 95 riders per day during October but Fairfax would like to see this number increase to 400.

“It’s been growing slowly,” said Paul Mounier, Fairfax County senior operating transit planner.

Mounier encourages commuters to consider using the Eagle Express because the shuttle’s fare is comparable to other forms of commuting and it’s also reduces the amount of single-occupancy vehicles on the roads.

He expects the route’s ridership to improve once OAA reduces its service.

The shuttles services are one of numerous options Belvoir provides to help reduce the amount of single-occupancy vehicles on post.

Juanita Green, garrison transportation demand management coordinator, encourages people to visit the rideshare page on Belvoir’s website to learn more about mass transit commuting.

The internal shuttle is one service that Green encourages more people to use, because it’s a free way to travel around post during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

The service, which started in July, features two 15-passenger vans that transport people to nearby offices during peak hours weekdays.

The service is open to military personnel, and common access card-holder Family members and employees 18 and older.

People under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.