“This system has been pretty much untouched for 30 or 40 years. It’s changed a lot. Unfortunately, this wasn’t done in stages, it was a big change all at once,” Randy Clark, CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said in an interview. The changes are scheduled to take effect next summer.
Similar reforms are underway in cities across the country. Restructuring bus routes is seen as an affordable way to increase public transit use, which was declining even before the COVID-19 pandemic upended travel patterns — and now it’s an opportunity to address ongoing changes in ridership driven in part by jobs that allow people to work from home.
DC and Other locationsThe number of bus passengers Rebelled Buses are faster than rail, and many of these trips are outside traditional “peak” hours. Lower-income people, who are more likely to work in the service and hospitality industry, early mornings, late nights, and weekends, tend to use buses. Many traditional rail commuters who previously commuted by train from 9am to 9pm,–Five employees have not yet returned to the office during the week.
Metro officials said the changes are expected to expand weekend bus access and increase nighttime frequency, resulting in an estimated 13,000 additional weekday bus ridership. Currently, people use the Metrobus every weekday, with about half of them using it on Saturdays and Sundays.
Thirty-two new connections are planned, including routes from Bloomingdale to Tenleytown, L’Enfant Plaza to National Harbor, Fort Totten to Sibley Hospital and Anacostia to West Hyattsville, as well as increased bus service on Saturdays, Sundays and weekday evenings.
Another proposed connection would be to the proposed Purple Line rail line that would connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Plans also include increasing service frequency to the H Street NE corridor, where bars and restaurants have struggled in recent years due to declining crime and customer traffic.
But in parts of the city that are already poorly served by rail, residents say the bus cuts will leave them further isolated.
Bus service in Burnaby Woods and Upper Chevy Chase, on the city’s northwestern edge, will be moved east during the week and eliminated entirely on weekends.
James Nash, advisory district commissioner for that part of the city. Recent hearings Mr Nash called the plan “unacceptable” in a “bus desert” with no subway stations. “In the words of the Bible, to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have not, even what little will be taken away,” he said.
In 16th Street Heights, another neighborhood not served by Metro, more than a dozen bus stops would be eliminated. Maurice Jackson, a professor of history and African-American studies at Georgetown University, said the proposed changes would mean the end of the buses he’s been riding since coming to D.C. in 1972 and moving the nearest bus stop several blocks away. Though it’s an inconvenience for Jackson, he said the bus stop moves will hit young parents, seniors and those who don’t feel safe walking in the dark the hardest and ultimately push people who can’t afford cars out of the city.
He did not offer any comment on the proposal, saying, “I’ve been to a lot of hearings in my life. I have very little faith in this process.”
Ward 4 Councilwoman Janes Lewis George said she has similar concerns, adding that some of the routes that will be eliminated are used by students to get to school.
Clark said the new system is designed with “a really important equity lens” and aims to “make sure that the best transportation options are available to people who have limited transportation options,” adding that changes have already been made to the maps in response to rider concerns.
But Clark and other officials said they had to make compromises to keep the plan revenue neutral. In the long term, the system needs funding to expand by about 30% to adequately serve ridership needs, Clark said. Metro, which has no dedicated funding, just raised fares to cover a $750 million budget deficit.
“At this time we have to use a limited number of buses and operators to provide the best possible service,” Clark said.
While some people will have to walk further to the nearest bus stop and have to transfer more often, officials argue that it will ultimately save passengers time because buses will travel faster.
“It’s a real trade-off, because we want to make sure people, especially those with limited mobility, can get to where they need to be,” said Peter Cafiero, who manages Metro’s service planning. Online meetings “But on the other hand, it would really slow down the route because buses would be constantly being pulled out of traffic every block or half a block,” he said of the plan last month. Stops without pedestrian sidewalks or crosswalks are also being cut for passenger safety.
Some of DC’s lines still follow the routes of 1930s streetcars. Name and Number This reflects the miscellaneous companies that operated in the city before the unified system was created in the 1970s. Today, routes primarily in DC are labeled D for Downtown or C for Crosstown. In the suburbs, the letters represent jurisdictions: M for Montgomery County, P for Prince George’s County, A for Arlington and Alexandria, and F for Fairfax. Express buses are marked with an X.
Tens of thousands of people have commented on the plan, and Clark said the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive.” In response to less-than-enthusiastic reactions, Metro has made some tweaks, including restoring connections between Glover Park and Dupont Circle and adding a connection to Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said as a bus user, he understands the frustration of people who live in residential areas where stops will be cut.
“They’re going to cut a route that goes right by my house,” he says, the 23B. “It’s awful. It’s frustrating, but it’s understandable.” Alexandria rebuilt its bus system a few years ago for the first time since 1984, cutting less-used routes in favor of improving service in denser parts of the city where more people use the bus regularly.
“It was a huge success,” Wilson said.
