May

• Greg from Bristow asks
  With everyone getting covid vaccines, 5G signal strength will be greatly improved, so...does that mean wifi will be on the trains soon?

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the question Greg. Still no immediate plans to add WiFi onboard the trains.

• Hector from Manassas Park asks
  Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Tienes horarios en espanol?

  VRE Response
  Yes, Hector, at www.vre.org you can translate the schedule page (or any other page) to whichever language you need through Google Translate. Just look for the "Select Language" drop down at the bottom of the page.

• Johnny from Spotsy asks
  Since you livestream your board meetings, when is this going to move to a video format? Seems like a natural move during the pandemic. You can still pre-answer and screen questions to avoid gaffes.

  VRE Response
  No current plans to add a video or audio element to the Forum. 

• Scott from Bristow asks
  There was a study that COVID transmission is less likely through surfaces and more through the air. Will you lessen the sanitizing protocols you instituted with those fancy water sprays? Will you talk more about how (even though it makes the trains cold) that your HVAC system introduces fresh air constantly and replaces the air X times every hour?

  VRE Response
  We will continue all of the enhanced cleaning practices, as well as the social distancing and other measures implemented over the past year.

• Joyce from Fredericksburg asks
  Why are tickets no longer checked?

  VRE Response
  Thank you for your comment Joyce. We do require a safe but thorough observation of all tickets. Can you please provide information on which train you ride, that will help us pinpoint your concern.

• Tim from Lorton, VA asks
  I heard a VRE radio ad a few months back. First time I have ever heard one. Are you guys looking for more business? If you are, the person who wrote in last month was spot on that you need to increase the number of trains. You always say "when we see ridership increase, then we will increase the number of trains." Well, I absolutely LOVE the VRE, and yet I usually simply can't ride in the morning due to the limited schedule. I really want to, but I usually just can't. I ride the Fredericksburg line, and my choices in the AM from Lorton are 7:19am or 8:32am. The earlier one I usually can't make, and the later one is basically too late for me. If I miss the 7:19 then I drive to Franconia and take the Metro (or just drive in). IF I take the Metro in the morning then I can take the VRE back to Franconia in the afternoon commute. The radio ad surprised me, as I had never heard one before, and I wondered if you are looking to increase business. With the limited schedule I don't think you will be able to. It is the old riders who know how great the VRE is and will work around the limited schedule, and new riders may never give it a chance. For me the 8:04 train was good (now gone), which got you into town before 9:00am. And , I think that and Hour and Thirteen Minutes (the time between the 310 and 314) is really too long of a time in the morning between trains for a commuter train. New riders are going to balk before giving VRE a chance.

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the feedback Tim. We are actually making plans to return to full service and will be able to announce a date soon. We agree with the need to provide better frequency than we currently can utilizing the "S" schedule. As far as advertising, we are utilizing several different approaches to help drive ridership once we return to full service.

• Brett from Stafford asks
  The CDC says you don't need masks outside so you can have your meet the managers events this year, right?

  VRE Response
  We will probably not do the traditional Meet The Management events this year, but will look at some form of pop-up type events throughout the summer.

• Mera from Washington DC asks
  I catch the VRE at L'Enfant Plaza and some passengers like to feed the birds and the squirrels so now the animals are people-friendly. One squirrel is so used to being fed, he no longer scurries away from people but will run up to you and stand on his hind legs like he is begging for a treat. The birds tend to fly down and around as people walk up on the platform as if they are expecting food. Not to mention, the bird feces that stains the stairs and the walkway on the platform. Is it possible to put signage up to not feed the animals. It's unhealthy!

  VRE Response
  We'll take a look Mera. Thank you for the feedback.

• Sean from Spotsylvania asks
  Has there been any word on Step Ups returning to use? Also, has there been any conversation with Amtrak and the State of North Carolina about Step Ups being accepted on 79 & 80? It would help tremendously with people that need an early out on 79, or reverse flow commute on 80.

  VRE Response
  No word yet on resuming Step-Up service on the select Amtrak trains.  We are always looking for potential additions to the Step-Up option as a way to provide more frequency for our riders. 79 and 80 are long distance trains and the Step-Up trains are generally limited to regional trains.

Good afternoon and welcome to the May 2021 edition of VRE’s Online Forum.  Joining us today in our virtual studio are representatives from Keolis, CSX, Amtrak, and other VRE staff.  As a reminder, questions for the Online Forum may be submitted as early as 6:00 pm the day before the Forum and if you cannot stay with us for the duration, you can check our archive of answered questions at https://www.vre.org/about/online-forum/.

Let’s get on to the questions!