Fairfax Connector carried about 9.57 million riders in fiscal year 2026, a 1.1% drop from fiscal year 2025, even as Northern Virginia's local bus systems collectively grew 6.6%.

FFXnow attributed the decline partly to the seven-week federal government shutdown that ran from Oct. 1 through Nov. 12, 2025, using data from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). The Connector operates several routes through McLean, including Route 703 between West Falls Church and McLean Metro stations, Route 721 along Chain Bridge Road, and Route 715 serving Langley.

The numbers were presented at the Sept. 3 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC). The five Northern Virginia local bus systems combined carried 21.16 million passengers during the fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who sits on the NVTC board, said the system is strong but that more outreach may be needed to make sure residents know what's available.

"We have a very robust system," Palchik said.

Not every system lost riders. Alexandria's DASH posted a 20.9% increase. Loudoun County Transit jumped 27.8%. Arlington Transit rose 1.1%. Fairfax City's CUE bus service was the only other system to decline, falling 4.5%.

Sophie Spiliotopoulos, manager of NVTC's data visualization program, attributed the uneven recovery to differences in how each system serves its riders. Metrobus in Northern Virginia also declined, falling 4.8% to about 14.23 million riders.

Metrorail remained the region's dominant system, carrying about 78.9 million Northern Virginia riders in fiscal year 2026. Virginia Railway Express ridership climbed 8.9%. The region is approaching but has not yet matched pre-pandemic ridership, which totaled about 130 million in fiscal year 2019, according to the FFXnow analysis.

For McLean riders, a change is coming on Route 7. Metrobus plans to launch a new F2X route in November, running limited stops between Spring Hill Metro station in the Tysons area and West Alexandria. The route is funded through NVTC's Commuter Choice program.

Route 7 is the second busiest bus corridor in Northern Virginia, according to NVTC. The existing Metrobus F20 line runs along most of the corridor with 12-minute daytime frequency. Spiliotopoulos said the F2X will improve that frequency.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit into the county's Comprehensive Plan in 2023. NVTC's planning for the corridor is in Phase 4, a mobility analysis that began in May 2025 and is expected to take 12 to 18 months. Officials aim to begin considering funding options for a broader corridor upgrade by 2028.

NVTC board chair Sarah Bagley, who also serves as vice mayor of Alexandria, and Palchik both said transit agencies that gained riders in fiscal year 2026 should share strategies with those that lost ground. Fairfax Connector also discontinued Routes 622 and 552 effective June 27, according to the county's schedules page.