Prince William

By the time heavy construction begins on the $2.3 billion widening of Interstate 66 outside the Capital Beltway next year, commuters in western Prince William County will be able to sign up and pay for van-pool services through a smartphone app. Others will be able to tap their phones to summon a ride to a commuter bus lot.

Two recently approved projects embrace the use of Uber-like apps to expand commuting options in this sprawling area of Northern Virginia where car dependency is high, transit is limited and the once-popular van-pooling services are in decline.

“This is not just new technology for the area, it is also new technology and service in an area that has been a bit of a desert for transit options,” said Chuck Steigerwald, director of strategic planning at the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), which oversees a regional van-pool service and runs commuter buses from Prince William to Washington.

he apps will be critical, he said, to encouraging people to use transit and van-pool services during peak construction on the I-66 expansion, a project that also aims to change the way people move along the corridor.

“They are designed to create that commuting culture before those lanes open up,” Steigerwald said. “So in five years, you will have a different mobility pattern in this corridor.”

The initiatives are part of a package of 15 projects funded through the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s I-66 Commuter Choice program, which will use toll revenue from the new 66 Express Lanes. The latest set of projects, worth $12 million, were approved last month by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and focus on expanding bus service and improving access to park-and-ride facilities, bus stops, and Metrorail and Virginia Railway Express stations.