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By KELLY HANNON
Stafford and Fredericksburg could get a larger say in Virginia Railway Express operations.
A VRE committee has proposed new membership for the VRE Operations Board.
Voting would become proportionate to ridership, and so would the cost of belonging to VRE. Since ridership is growing south and west of Northern Virginia, this could mean a shift in power, and bearing of expenses of commuter rail, from Washington's inner suburbs to outer suburbs.
"It's a big change," VRE CEO Dale Zehner said.
"What we're doing is looking at ourselves and saying, 'Are we going to expand? Are we going to expand south and west?' I think if we want to do that, we have to change our agreement and open it up a little bit," he said yesterday in an interview.
Today, Stafford and Fredericksburg share a single representative on the seven-member VRE Operations Board. Yet 20 percent of VRE's passengers live in Stafford and Fredericksburg. Another 11.2 percent of riders from Spotsylvania board the trains at Stafford and Fredericksburg stations.
Subsidies are a little unbalanced, too. VRE calculates each locality's subsidy based on a formula of 90 percent ridership and 10 percent population.
Twenty percent of VRE riders live in Fairfax, but because the county has a total population of more than 1 million people, it pays an annual subsidy of nearly $4 million. By comparison, Stafford, with 16.7 percent of ridership and a population of about 117,000, is paying $917,147.
The proposal would phase out the population component. Stafford's subsidy would rise to $1,293,752 over four years. Fredericksburg would go from paying $111,115 to $174,099.
VRE member localities levy a 2 percent gas tax at the pumps to pay for this subsidy. Stafford and Fredericksburg earned enough from gas taxes between July 2005 and June 2006--the most recent fiscal year--to accommodate a higher subsidy.
"This is much more equitable because it's based on ridership," said Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde, who takes the Stafford/Fredericksburg seat on the VRE Operations Board this month. "It's set up so the system can grow county by county."
The proposal to change the master agreement must be passed by all eight VRE members and two regional groups--the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission--before it can go into effect. Zehner said the proposal could change, depending on the wishes of the localities.
It would be the first change to VRE's master agreement since the early 1990s, when the railway started.
If it passes, as is, each locality would get a seat on the VRE Operations Board.
If 15 percent of riders live in a locality, that city or county gets two seats. Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford would each have two seats, according to current ridership numbers. A new ridership survey would be taken every October, and board seats adjusted accordingly.
This structure will prepare VRE to absorb new members in the future, Zehner said.
Fauquier and Spotsylvania have hundreds of residents who regularly ride the train, but their localities do not support the rail system.
Zehner used an analogy appropriate for the holiday season.
"You can go to a cocktail party with eight people. Now, you introduce more people to the party you may not know. You have a different party," Zehner said. "You have the same situation with organizations. This has been a tight group of eight jurisdictions making VRE happen. If we invite some people in, there could be dynamic change, and we want that change to be as easy and palatable as we can make it."
Matt Kelly, a Fredericksburg city councilman, said the proposal would benefit the city and region. Kelly chairs the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional transportation agency.
The new structure would give Caroline and Spotsylvania immediate representation on the Operations Board, if they choose to join, Kelly said.
The city's role could be magnified, too. "I don't think that at any time there was any effort where we were frankly not getting our voice heard," Kelly said. "I think it's just better we have a voice at the table where we can speak on our own."
Discussions surrounding VRE's governing structure will take place during annual budget negotiations.
The VRE Operations Board will get its first look at the fiscal year 2008 budget on Dec. 15. There is a proposed 2 percent passenger fare increase, but that figure could change during the budget process, Zehner said.
VRE staff are still meeting with city and county representatives regarding the proposed fiscal 2008 budget.
And once the Operations Board approves a budget, it then travels to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission for a vote in January. VRE member jurisdictions also vote on the budget in late spring.
To reach KELLY HANNON:
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
