Chapter 6, Part 1, ACCS Strategic Plan

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Financial Plan

Review of Sources and Uses

EXISTING FUNDING SOURCES

ACCS operates with funds from several sources, as outlined in this section. The amount provided by each funding source in the past five years is listed in Table 20, with projections for the next five years in Table 21. More details about the funding sources follow the tables.

Table 20: FY2020–FY2024 ACCS Funding History

⁶⁷ This is a DRPT CAP grant that was discontinued after FY2021. It is no longer a potential funding source.

⁶⁸ These funds came from the County's revenues that support general operations. ACCS only received these funds in select previous years, and they are no longer a potential funding source.

⁶⁹ This is competitive grant funding associated with the I-66 Commuter Choice program that ended on January 31, 2024. ACCS only received these funds through FY2023. It is no longer a potential funding source.

Table 21: FY2025–FY2029 Funding Projections

Fees

These are commission fees paid by transit providers and other transportation services who sell their products through ACCS, including at Commuter Store locations and through CommuterDirect.com. Fee payments are received from Maryland MTA/MARC, VRE, WMATA, and E-ZPass.

Commission fees declined during the COVID-19 pandemic due to increasing telework but have since stabilized and are currently holding constant. As shown in Table 21, fees are projected to remain at approximately $1,800,000 annually through FY2029, but this revenue could be affected if there are changes in how transit agencies sell their passes or changes in how WMATA manages its SmartBenefits program. The sources of this fee revenue are further broken down in Table 22.

Table 22: FY2025 – FY2029 Annual Revenue Projections from Fees

⁷⁰ This is for MARC commuter train and MTA commuter bus passes.

⁷¹ Transit Link Cards are a specific type of ticket for customers that use WMATA, plus either MARC, MTA, or VRE as part of their commute.

⁷² VRE Transit Link Cards are a small portion of the overall VRE sales made at CIC and at the Commuter Stores. It is a special pass used on both VRE and WMATA.

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Site Plans

This is revenue from TDM site plan conditions on private developments in the County. New buildings have site plan condition language that stipulates payments must be made annually to ACCS or its successor to sustain direct and indirect on-site and off-site transportation management activities. As shown in Table 21, TDM site plan revenue is currently budgeted for

$800,000 in FY2025 and will be raised to $900,000 in FY2026. This revenue is increasing due to new site plans approved each year by the County, resulting in additional sites making contributions to ACCS.

Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) and Regional Surface Transportation (RSTP)

CMAQ funding from the federal government is allocated to projects by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), which functions as the metropolitan planning organization for Northern Virginia in this capacity, although it is not federally designated as such. Per Title 23 of the United States Code and the VDOT Employer Agreement contract, both of which outline Arlington's allowed uses of this funding, the purpose of CMAQ funding is to provide educational, promotional, and/or other related TDM assistance with the goal of reducing single-occupancy auto usage. RSTP funding, also from the federal government, provides funding for capital projects such as federal-aid highways, public bridges and tunnels, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and transit.

CMAQ and RSTP funds are currently approved for ACCS use through FY2029 through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). As shown in Table 21, CMAQ revenue increased to $7.1M in FY2024, but is projected to range between $5.5M and $6.5M for FY2025 and thereafter, subject to federal authorization and available revenues.

VDOT TEIF

The Transportation Efficiency Improvement Fund (TEIF) is an annual formula-based funding source. Per the VDOT Employer Agreement contract, which outlines Arlington's allowed uses of this funding, the funding is not dependent on achievement of specific values. As shown in Table 21, this revenue was reduced to $114,000 in FY2025 and is expected to remain constant.

Transportation Capital Fund (TCF) - Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Property Taxes

These are property taxes on commercial and industrial properties in Arlington that may be used towards transportation improvements as outlined in the State Code of Virginia. As shown in Table 21, this revenue is expected to increase by a small amount each year.

POTENTIAL NEW FUNDING SOURCES

This section identifies potential new funding sources that may support ACCS programs, as outlined in Table 23.

Table 23: Potential New Funding Sources

This text-only version is offered as a more accessible alternative to this PDF document: Arlington County Commuter Services Transportation Demand Management Plan (PDF, 3.85 MB).

Text-Only Table of Contents