Falls Church, VA, — Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields will send a “letter of intent” to Arlington County this week, with the consent of the F.C. City Council, with the aim of having Arlington operate a reduced operating schedule for F.C.’s GEORGE bus system as of July 1.

F.C. will drop WMATA as the operator of the system in favor of Arlington, if details can be ironed out, in hopes of a “more responsive” and more cost-effective relationship, Shields told the City Council tonight. The fare for the bus line as of July 1, which barely escaped total dismantling in the just-completed budget process, has yet to be determined, but will be at least $1 or up.