The Pike Transit Initiative is a collaborative project in Northern Virginia between Arlington and Fairfax counties and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to bring transit improvements to the Columbia Pike corridor. Officially known as the Columbia Pike Transit Alternatives Analysis, the project began in 2003. Following three successive defeats of city council candidates who supported the streetcar proposal in 2014, the project was shelved indefinitely.
Contents
Pike Ride
Pike Ride, a specially-branded set of bus lines, run along Columbia Pike to the Pentagon and Pentagon City Metro stations. Currently, 16,000 people ride buses along Columbia Pike each day. Service is provided by Metrobus and Arlington Transit.
Streetcar
In 2006, the Arlington and Fairfax County governments approved a "Modified Streetcar Alternative" for the corridor, which involves building a streetcar line while retaining extensive bus service. The 4.7-mile streetcar line is expected to cost $138.5 million. The first streetcar was expected to begin service in 2011.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority approved $36.9 million for the streetcar in January 2008. However, since then, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Authority may not collect taxes, as it isn't an elected body. This leaves funding for the streetcar project in limbo.
According to Arlington Now, freshman County Board member Libby Garvey was the sole board member elected at the last election to oppose construction of a streetcar. Garvey quoted mayor of Toronto Rob Ford's criticisms of streetcars, only to realize his credibility had been eroded due to a series of scandals.
Garvey stirred further controversy in 2014 when she supported and raised funds for John Vihstadt, a Republican, instead of fellow Democrat Alan Howse, because he agreed with her opposition to the streetcar line. Vihstadt was the first Republican to be elected to the County Board in fifteen years. Garvey defended her defection by asserting her most important obligation was to voters, not to the Democratic Party machinery, and resigned from the local Party apparatus.
In late November 2014 the County Board cancelled the streetcar plan. Eric Jaffe, writing in City Lab, characterized the cancellation as "abrupt" and acrimonious. According to Jaffe, the alternate plan under consideration would follow the same route as the streetcar plan, would stop at the same locations, and would use similar stations, all door boarding, and fare pre-payment, like the streetcar plan, except it would use buses rather than streetcars.
Post Streetcar Plans
In July 2016, the Arlington County Board approved a Transit Development Plan that includes enhanced bus service along Columbia Pike. There will be 23 enhanced bus stops, with BRT-like amenities like near-level boarding, real-time bus arrival information and off-vehicle fare collection. This proposal, called a Premium Transit Network, has since been delayed until 2019 due to Metro rebuilding efforts.