Adam Tuss, wtop.com

TYSONS CORNER, Va. – When it comes to choosing between a car and a bus, most commuters choose their own vehicles because they can control when they leave and when they arrive. But a new push to create Beltway express lanes could change that.

Transportation leaders say the lanes promise a speedy commute and offer scheduled, predictable service on the Beltway for the first time.

“Any buses that ever got on the Beltway, especially during rush hour, you knew what time you got on, (but) you never knew what time you got off,” says Virginia Department of Transportation Communications Director Steve Titunik. “It’s not a great way to market a bus service.”

He says there is pent up demand for this kind of transit service that will ferry riders to places like Merrifield and Tysons Corner.

“We will have those buses connecting all these areas here in Northern Virginia,” says Titunik.

The estimated opening date for the Beltway express lanes between Springfield and just north of the Dulles Toll Road now stands at December 2012, according to VDOT. Two new lanes are being added in each direction.

Follow “>WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)