When Pachyderms Fly   The white elephant has sprouted wings: METRO rail through Tysons Corner will run overhead, on pylons, not underground. Bus Rapid Transit could handle more commuters at a fraction of the cost.   The feds have spoken, and so has the Governor: Rail through Tysons Corner will run above-ground. The resulting eyesore will limit the re-design of Tysons and reduce the number of people likely to work, live and shop in Fairfax County's downtown. The fixation of Virginia policy makers and business leaders on this white elephant is incomprehensible.   I take Metro to Washington, D.C., whenever I can. But rail is not the only answer to the congestion problem through Tysons and on to Dulles Airport. A modern, well-designed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system could move more people through Tysons and out to Dulles Airport than heavy rail could -- at far less expense.   The proposed METRO extension would carry folks east and west but would not help the majority of commuters who come into Tysons Corner each morning from the north and south. A BRT system, organized around large, under-roof facilities much like the METRO stations, could accommodate these commuters.   Not only is Bus Rapid Transit cheaper to set up, it can be launched far more quickly, and it can be adapted to changing development and commuting patterns. In Los Angeles the a BRT system connecting to the “end of the line” of a rail system has been spectacularly successful: Opening only a year ago, it is carrying as much traffic today as was projected for the year 2020.   Fairfax business and civic leaders who want to unclog the congested Tysons business district have dreamed of running mass transit to Washington Dulles International Airport for 30 years. But the financial cost of heavy rail is prohibitively high: estimated at $4 billion, assuming no cost overruns. Less than 25 percent would come from the federal government.   An added advantage of the BRT system is that it would be at ground level -- not 35 feet up in the air with ugly cement pillars every 75-to-100 feet as the proposed rail system now will be constructed.   The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has agreed to increase the density at Tysons Corner by three-fold if rail comes through the area. Is it any wonder that the business community wants rail? Those supervisors should allow the same density for Bus Rapid Transit. A well-designed bus system with well-constructed, traveler-friendly terminals could carry many more people than rail. More folks could live, work and shop in Tyson, and more could get out to Dulles as well -- a win-win for the taxpayers and the business community.   High Occupancy Toll lanes are planned to come north on I-95 from Fredericksburg, around the Beltway and out to Dulles. If these lanes and Tysons were opened to a modern Bus Rapid Transit system, a regional system could accommodate far more riders than heavy rail ever could. The Jefferson Institute’s study last December outlined the advantages of the BRT alternative.   With news that the feds are requiring the ugliest and most pedestrian-hostile alternative of heavy rail through Tysons, BRT looks even more attractive. Even without the federal funds, Virginia plans to raise $3 billion for Rail to Dulles. BRT could be funded for a third of that amount, leaving some $2 billion on the table.   That's a lot of money, even in state government. Two billion dollars could pay for a lot of other projects. If the lawmakers expect the taxpayers to “buy in” to a transportation improvement program, then they need to spend public monies as wisely as possible. Bus Rapid Transit is clearly the more economical alternative.   The Rail-to-Dulles fixation is sucking up too much money, and it will harm the future economic development at the most important economic focus in Northern Virginia – the Tyson’s Corner to Dulles corridor. The Kaine administration needs to take the next logical step and scrap heavy rail in favor of BRT.   -- September 11, 2006