CUE Bus

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CUE (City. University. Everyone.)
File:Fairfax CUE logo.svg
File:CUE 2009 Gillig Advantage BRT-HEV 830.jpg
A CUE Bus at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia in November 2021. The "Take your CUE" livery has since been replaced.
ParentCity of Fairfax
LocaleFairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Service typeBus service
Routes2
Stops186 [1]
FleetGillig[2]
Daily ridership3,400 (weekdays, Q3 2025)[3]
Annual ridership958,800 (2024)[4]
Fuel typeDiesel, Diesel-electric

CUE Bus (City. University. Everyone.,[5] formerly City-University-Energysaver) is a bus service operated by the City of Fairfax, Virginia, and is completely separate from the Fairfax Connector bus service run by Fairfax County. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 958,800, or about 3,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2025.

Routes and services

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CUE operates two loop routes between George Mason University and the Vienna Metro station, each running in both directions for a total of four named routes. The Green loop, consisting of routes Green 1 (clockwise) and Green 2 (counterclockwise) operates on the east side of Fairfax, while the Gold loop, consisting of routes Gold 1 (clockwise) and Gold 2 (counterclockwise) operates on the west side. Headways on each individual route are approximately 30–35 minutes on weekdays before 6pm and 60–70 minutes on weekdays after 6pm as well as all day on weekends.

In addition to providing service to GMU and Vienna Metro, the CUE serves all major activity centers in the City of Fairfax, including downtown, Kamp Washington, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Circle and Fair City Mall.

In 2009, the City of Fairfax partnered with Montgomery County, Maryland, in the purchase of new buses. As a result, six 35-foot, low-floor Gillig Hybrid buses were added to the fleet in August 2009. These new buses are expected to consume much less fuel, as they operate off an electric engine when operated at 35 MPH or lower, and 35 MPH is the maximum speed limit in Fairfax.[6] These buses are now retired as of May 2022.

The CUE Bus system owns and operates twelve 35-foot, low-floor Gillig clean diesel buses in its fleet, half of which replaced the remaining 30-foot Gillig Phantom buses in the fall of 2015, the other half entered service and replaced the hybrid buses in May 2022.

Zero-Fare Pilot

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In 2020, CUE stopped collecting fares to reduce passenger contact during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained zero-fare after that point. In January, 2022, the City Council approved a plan to formalize a 3-year zero-fare pilot program that would make CUE free to ride through June, 2025.[7][8] In Spring of 2022, CUE was awarded a Transit Ridership Incentive Program grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation that allowed the City to extend the pilot program for an additional year, making CUE free to ride through June, 2026.

Fleet

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As of May 2022, CUE's fleet is entirely diesel-fueled.

Image Builder and
model
Model year Length Numbers
(Total)
Vehicles
in service
File:CUE 2015 Gillig Advantage BRT 837.jpg Gillig
Low Floor BRT
2015 35 ft (11 m) 833–838
(6 buses)
6
File:Fairfax CUE 839.jpg 2022 839–844
(6 buses)
6

Retired fleet

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Year Builder and model Numbers Year
retired
Notes
1982 Transportation Manufacturing Corporation
T-30 CityCruiser
801–803 1997
1986 Bus Industries of America
Orion I (01.502)
804–808 1998
1987 809
1990 810–814 2003
1997 Gillig
Phantom 30'
815–816 2009–2010
1998 817–820
2003 821–826 2015
2009 Gillig
Low Floor BRT HEV
827–832 2022

References

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