Living Near George Mason Without a Car: Which Fairfax Apartments Sit on the CUE Bus

You can live near George Mason without a car: six George Mason apartments on Find My Place sit within a three-minute walk of a CUE bus stop, and CUE rides are free. The Flats on University, Fairfax Square, Fairfax Circle Villa and Gainsborough Court are the true bus commutes, at roughly 8 to 20 minutes to the campus stop. The Main on University and eaves Fairfax City have stops at the curb too, but they're close enough to walk.

Key Takeaways

• CUE runs four loops (Green 1, Green 2, Gold 1, Gold 2), and every one of them stops at Rappahannock Ln at Patriot Circle on the Fairfax campus.
• Closest stop to any complex we checked: Layton Hall Drive at The Flats, about 0.07 miles from The Flats on University.
• No fare. The City of Fairfax runs CUE fare-free, and Mason lists it as free with a Mason ID.
• Skip The Reserve at Fairfax Corner if you don't drive (its nearest CUE stop is over a mile away).
• Weekends are thin: Saturday service runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday only 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Prices below are base rent as listed on Find My Place in October 2026.

How We Decided Which George Mason Apartments Are on the CUE Bus

A complex made this list only if a named CUE stop sits within about 0.15 miles of its listed address, roughly a three-minute walk. We took stop names and coordinates from the City of Fairfax CUE schedules and maps page, including the route data file the city publishes there. Then we measured straight-line distance from each address on our off-campus housing near George Mason page to every stop.

Straight-line distance is not walking distance. A stop across Route 50 can feel a lot farther than 0.1 miles, so open a map before you sign. We also left out Masonvale (Mason's own faculty, staff and grad community, not an off-campus rental) and listings without a usable address.

Fairfax Apartments With the Best CUE Bus Commute to GMU

The Flats on University, Fairfax Square, Fairfax Circle Villa and Gainsborough Court are far enough from campus that you'd actually ride, and close enough to a stop that riding is easy. Ride times come from the city's published schedule and are approximate.

The Flats on University: about 8 minutes to campus

The Flats on University at 3895 University Drive has a stop literally named after it. Layton Hall Drive at The Flats is where Gold 2 drops you on the way home, and Gold 1 picks up nearby at Layton Hall Drive at Layton Hall Apartments, heading to campus. It lists from $1,064 a month.

One warning on that price. The two-bedroom is listed cheaper than the four-bedroom, and the three-bedroom costs the most, so we can't tell whether it's per bed or per unit. Ask the leasing office before you budget.

Fairfax Square Apartments: about 11 minutes to campus

Fairfax Square sits about 0.14 miles from the Main Street and Maple Ave stops, served by Green 1 toward campus and Green 2 back. One-bedrooms start at $1,825 for the whole unit, and the three-bedroom Ashton I is $2,756. Split three ways, that's about $919 each.

Fairfax Circle Villa Apartments: 15 to 20 minutes

Blake Lane is Gold route territory. Fairfax Circle Villa at 9555 Blake Lane is about 0.11 miles from the Blake Ln at Blake Ln Loop stops. Gold 1 takes about 19 minutes to reach campus, and Gold 2 gets you home in about 16.

It's 2.9 miles out, but it has the lowest one-bedroom starting rent of any apartment complex on our Mason page. One-bedrooms start at $1,790 and the four-bedroom is $2,785, which works out to about $696 a person.

Gainsborough Court: 15 to 20 minutes

Gainsborough Court Apartments and Townhomes at 3700 Jermantown Road is about 0.08 miles from the Jermantown Rd at Cavalier Ct stops. Gold 2 heads toward campus from there, and Gold 1 brings you back. Rent starts at $1,890 for a one-bedroom and runs $2,885 to $3,270 for three bedrooms.

GMU Apartments Near a CUE Stop That Are Walkable Anyway

The Main on University and eaves Fairfax City have CUE stops at the curb but sit so close to Mason that the bus is mostly for errands and Metro runs. The Main is 0.4 miles from campus and about 0.11 miles from the University Drive and Chain Bridge Road stop. It's per-bed pricing (four-bedroom plans list at $1,379 to $1,459, while one-bedrooms jump to $2,279), and the leasing site sells individual bed spaces.

eaves Fairfax City on Kitty Pozer Drive is 0.6 miles from Mason and roughly 0.13 to 0.14 miles from the Chain Bridge Rd stops at Canfield Street and School Street. Whole-unit one-bedrooms start at $2,200. From either building, the bus is a nice backup on a rainy day, not your commute.

Which Fairfax Apartment Is Not on a CUE Route

The Reserve at Fairfax Corner is not on a CUE route in any practical sense. It's 3.0 miles from Mason, and the nearest CUE stops (Jermantown Rd at Fairfax Blvd) are about 1.1 miles away. That's a 20-minute walk before you even reach a bus.

The listings look tempting, including a shared room in a two-bedroom for $1,228. Without a car, though, you'd be spending more time walking to the stop than riding.

What the CUE Bus Costs and When It Runs

CUE costs nothing. The City of Fairfax CUE Bus page describes it as fare-free service throughout the city. Mason's own wording, from Parking and Transportation, is "Free with a George Mason ID between the Fairfax Campus, City of Fairfax, and Vienna Metro." Carry your ID anyway.

• Weekdays, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Saturday runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (buses roughly every hour).
• Sunday is short, just 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Peak weekday frequency is about every 20 to 40 minutes, dropping to hourly midday on some loops.

Heads up: the city currently lists CUE stops between Lion Run and Fairfax Circle as out of service, with Gold 1 and Gold 2 detouring. Check the CUE page or the TransLoc app before you lock in a lease near Fairfax Circle.

Getting From Fairfax Apartments to Vienna Metro and D.C. Without a Car

Every CUE loop ends at the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station on the Orange Line. From the campus stop, Gold is the faster way to the Metro, at roughly 25 minutes. Green takes closer to 30 because it loops through the east side of the city first.

Mason also runs its own free shuttles for students with a Mason ID. The Sandy Creek/Vienna Metro shuttle runs at least every 30 minutes on weekdays in fall 2026, per Mason's shuttle services page. Our Fairfax student housing page sums it up: a car-free commute works if you live near a route.

Frequently Asked Questions About George Mason Apartments on the CUE Bus

Is the CUE bus free for George Mason students?

Yes. The City of Fairfax runs CUE fare-free, and Mason lists it as free with a Mason ID between the Fairfax campus, the City of Fairfax and Vienna Metro.

Where does the CUE bus stop on the George Mason campus?

Rappahannock Ln at Patriot Circle. All four loops (Green 1, Green 2, Gold 1 and Gold 2) stop there, according to the city's route data.

Which apartment has the shortest CUE ride to GMU?

The Flats on University. Gold 1 gets you from Layton Hall Drive to the campus stop in about 8 minutes, and Gold 2 brings you back in about 6.

Does the CUE bus run on weekends?

Barely. Saturday service is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with buses roughly once an hour. Plan Sunday-night returns from D.C. around that.

Can I live in Fairfax without a car as a Mason student?

Probably, if you pick the right building. Stick to a complex within a few minutes of a CUE stop, and use the CUE and Mason shuttles for Metro trips. Grocery runs and late-night Sundays are the hard part.