County Receives Grant to Raise Awareness of Commuting Options on I-66

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, or NVTC, awarded Prince William County a $200,000 grant through its I-66 Commuter Choice program for a Transportation Demand Management, or TDM, campaign to increase the public’s awareness of regional travel choices such as OmniRide and the Virginia Railway Express, or VRE, to relieve congestion along the I-66 Corridor.

The county received the grant to fund its I-66 Corridor Education Campaign.  “Put I-66  Traffic in Your Rearview Mirror” was chosen as the campaign’s tagline.

“If successful, the campaign will help relieve congestion on the I-66 Corridor, offer alternative travel choices, cut commuting cost, and make a positive impact on the environment,” said Prince William County Department of Transportation Communications Analyst Gretchen Johnson.

The Prince William County Department of Transportation hired consultant Reingold, Inc., to develop the comprehensive and fast-paced communications plan to get the word out about travel options for the I-66 corridor. The plan includes paid radio spots, gas station ads to run at gas pumps, a webpage and resources to increase online searches.

The Transportation Department conducted a survey targeting I-66 commuters. The survey ran between April 24, 2023, and May 5, 2023, and received nearly 1,800 responses, along with input from OmniRide and VRE.

The survey showed that 86 percent of the respondents commute to work, and another 10 percent of the respondents commute to attend classes. The remaining 4 percent of respondents do not travel either for work or school, but travel for other purposes. Commuters who work full-time and drive alone to work represented 86 percent of the respondents. Forty percent of those commuters work in the private sector and 30 percent are government workers.

The top four survey responses provided the following information: 14.2 percent of those who commute were concerned about reliability of commute options, another 13.8 percent cited commute expenses, 12.7 percent were concerned about commute safety, and 11.4 percent considered the number of days they commuted.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits of public transportation and ridesharing to address those concerns. VRE provides low-cost, train service from Prince William County to Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia employment hubs, reduced fares for frequent riders and commuting savings as compared to driving alone. The OmniRide commuter bus service, with access to I-66 express lanes from Gainesville to the district, can cut as much as 20 minutes off the average commute. Additionally, all OmniRide I-66 fares are currently 50 percent off regular prices and VRE is fare-free on Fridays.

For more information, visit pwcva.gov/my66commute.