GEORGE bus service ends

The GEORGE bus, once operated by the City of Falls Church, made its last run on Friday.

The City Council decided earlier this month to discontinue GEORGE because of a bleak budget forecast. The city paid for the service through a combination of its budget and money from a trust fund that includes gas tax revenue and transit funding from the state. Dipping further into the trust, which also pays for Falls Church's portion of Metro funding, would result in a $347,000 shortfall next year, officials said.

The bus service began eight years ago as a pilot program using modified diesel engines that recirculated some of the exhaust gases. It was financed through grants from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. Metro operated and maintained the buses. Falls Church began funding George in 2005, and Metro continued to operate the system.

Service had been modified over the years, but GEORGE most recently operated on two rush-hour routes between points in the city and the East Falls Church and West Falls Metro stations.

(Photo Courtesy City of Falls Church)