CUE Bus

CUE Bus (City-University-Energysaver[5]) is a bus service operated by the City of Fairfax, Virginia, and is completely separate from the Fairfax Connector bus service run by Fairfax County. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 579,500, or about 3,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.

CUE (City-University-Energysaver)
ParentCity of Fairfax, Virginia
LocaleFairfax, Virginia
Service typeBus service
Routes2
Stops186 [1]
FleetGillig[2]
Daily ridership3,000 (weekdays, Q2 2023)[3]
Annual ridership579,500 (2022)[4]
Fuel typeDiesel, Diesel-electric
Websitecuebus.org

Routes and services

CUE operates two loop routes between George Mason University and the Vienna Metro station, each running in both directions for a total of four named routes. The Green loop, consisting of routes Green 1 (clockwise) and Green 2 (counterclockwise) operates on the east side of Fairfax, while the Gold loop, consisting of routes Gold 1 (clockwise) and Gold 2 (counterclockwise) operates on the west side.

In addition to providing service to GMU and Vienna Metro, the CUE serves all major activity centers in the City of Fairfax, including downtown, Kamp Washington, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Circle and Fair City Mall.

In 2009, the City of Fairfax partnered with Montgomery County, Maryland, in the purchase of new buses. As a result, six 35-foot, low-floor Gillig Hybrid buses were added to the fleet in August 2009. These new buses are expected to consume much less fuel, as they operate off an electric engine when operated at 35 MPH or lower, and 35 MPH is the maximum speed limit in Fairfax.[6] These buses are now retired as of May 2022.

The CUE Bus system owns and operates twelve 35-foot, low-floor Gillig clean diesel buses in its fleet, half of which replaced the remaining 30-foot Gillig Phantom buses in the fall of 2015, the other half entered service and replaced the hybrid buses in May 2022.

Zero-Fare Pilot

In 2020, CUE stopped collecting fares to reduce passenger contact during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained zero-fare after that point. In January, 2022 the City Council approved a plan to formalize a 3-year zero-fare pilot program that would make CUE free to ride through June, 2025.[7][8] In Spring of 2022, CUE was awarded a Transit Ridership Incentive Program grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation that allowed the City to extend the pilot program for an additional year, making CUE free to ride through June, 2026.

Fleet

As of May 2022, CUE's fleet is entirely diesel-fueled.

Image Builder and
model		 Model year Length Numbers
(Total)		 Vehicles
in service
Gillig
Low Floor BRT		 2015 35 ft (11 m) 833–838
(6 buses)		 6
2022 839–844
(6 buses)		 6

Retired fleet
Year Builder and model Numbers Year
retired		 Notes
1982 Transportation Manufacturing Corporation
T-30 CityCruiser		 801–803 1997
1986 Bus Industries of America
Orion I (01.502)		 804–808 1998
1987 809
1990 810–814 2003
1997 Gillig
Phantom 30'		 815–816 2009–2010
1998 817–820
2003 821–826 2015
2009 Gillig
Low Floor BRT HEV		 827–832 2022

References
  1. "Appendix A: Listing of Bus Stops and Shelters". Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  2. "Fairfax CUE Transit Development Plan: Fiscal Years 2011–2016" (PDF). Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  3. "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  4. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  5. "City of Fairfax, VA : CUE Bus Rider Information". City of Fairfax, Virginia. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  6. "CUE Bus Adds Six Hybrid Buses to Fleet". City of Fairfax, Virginia. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  7. "Minutes of the regular meeting of the Fairfax City Council on January 25, 2022". www.fairfaxva.gov. City of Fairfax, VA. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  8. "CUE Zero-Fare Pilot". www.fairfaxva.gov. City of Fairfax, VA. Retrieved 22 November 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.