Metro News Release

For immediate release: March 20, 2014

Metrobus service changes effective March 30 include more trips to improve reliability, reduce crowding

A new Route W1 that will provide improved connections between Bellevue/Fort Drum and Southern Avenue Station via Congress Heights Station and restructured service on the Hunting Point-Pentagon Line and McLean-Crystal City Line are among the improvements that will take effect Sunday, Mar. 30, as Metro advances its Better Bus initiative and seeks to reduce crowding and improve reliability for customers along routes in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

The Better Bus initiative includes more limited-stop MetroExtra routes and refinements to 11 existing priority corridors. Under the program, more than 150,000 customers—roughly one third of all weekday bus customers—will benefit from more frequent service, additional capacity, or expanded hours of operation.

Many of these changes are the direct result of passenger feedback and a comprehensive study conducted on several routes to provide faster travel times and improved connections.

Among the highlights of service changes effective March 30:

  • Introduction of the new W1 service between Fort Drum and Congress Heights
  • Trips will be added to Route F4, K9 and T18 to reduce crowding and extend the hours of service
  • Service in Laurel will be restructured to provide later weekday evening service on Route 89
  • Service will be restructured on the Hunting Point-Pentagon Line (Routes 10A,10B,10E), adding Route 10R with service to Rosslyn that bypasses the Pentagon, and on the McLean-Crystal City Line (Routes 23A,23C) adding Route 23B in rush hours to provide service every 12 minutes between Ballston and Shirlington.   

View upcoming bus timetables

Below is a complete summary of bus changes effective March 30, 2014:

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Route 60 – Fort Totten-Petworth

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.
  • Time between buses during weekday, midday hours will increase to every 45 minutes to improve on-time performance.

Route 80 – North Capitol Street

  • Every other trip departing Fort Totten will end at McPherson Square at most times of the day on weekdays. 
  • Near Potomac Park, southbound buses will use the Virginia Avenue underpass at 23rd Street and no longer serve stops on Virginia Avenue at 22nd and 25th Streets NW.  Alternate bus stops are available along Virginia Avenue NW at 21st and 24th Streets NW.

Routes A4, W5 – Anacostia-Fort Drum

  • The last northbound Route W5 trip will be changed to operate as a Route A4 trip.
  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

Route M2 – Fairfax Village-Naylor Road

  • Service will be eliminated with alternate service available on routes 39, F14, M6, V5, and W4.

Routes M8, M9 – Congress Heights Shuttle

  • Service will be eliminated and replaced by new Route W1.
  • Additional alternate service is available on routes A2, A6, A7, A8, W2, W3, and W4. 

Route U4 – Sheriff Road-River Terrace

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.
  • Time between buses will increase to every 35 minutes during weekday mid-days to improve on-time performance.

Route V5 – Fairfax Village-L’Enfant Plaza

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.
  • Time between buses will increase to every 15 minutes to reflect traffic conditions.

Routes V7, V9 – Minnesota Avenue-M Street

  • An additional weekday westbound Route V7 trip will depart Minnesota Avenue station at 7:18 AM to reduce crowding.
  • Route V9 service will operate between Benning Heights and Navy Yard-Ballpark Metrorail Stations. Route V7 buses will continue to serve the Bureau of Engraving.

Route W1 – Shipley Terrace-Fort Drum

  • This NEW route will provide improved connections between Fort Drum, The Shops at Park Village (Giant Food), THEARC, Southeast Tennis and Learning Center, Congress Heights Station and Southern Avenue Station, partially replacing Route M8 and M9 service.
  • Route W1 will operate weekdays between 5:45 a.m. and 8:15 p.m.

Route W4 – Deanwood-Alabama Avenue

  • Weekday service will be increased to reduce crowding. 

Route W9 – South Capitol Street Limited

  • Afternoon rush hour trip times will be adjusted to better coordinate with Virginia Railway Express train departures at L’Enfant Plaza.

Route X8 – Maryland Avenue

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

MARYLAND

Routes 87, 88 – Laurel Express

  • Select Route 87 trips will be extended from Greenbelt to New Carrollton to continue to provide connections between Laurel and New Carrollton Metrorail station.
  • Route 88 service will be eliminated and replaced by extended Route 87 service. 

Routes 89, 89M – Laurel

  • Weekday service will operate approximately three hours later providing hourly service.  The last northbound Route 89 will depart Greenbelt at 10:07 PM and the last southbound Route 89 trip will depart Laurel at 10:56 p.m. This change addresses riders’ desire for more reliable service that operates later into the evening. 

Routes A11, A12 – Martin Luther King Jr. Highway

  • Buses will no longer serve the former Landover Mall site.

Route F4 – New Carrollton-Silver Spring

  • Additional trips will be added to the Saturday and Sunday schedules to provide earlier morning service and later evening service.
  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

Route K9 – New Hampshire Avenue-Maryland Limited

  • Additional trips have been added to serve the FDA-FRC complex in White Oak.
  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

Route T18 – Annapolis Road

  • Additional weekday morning trips have been added to reduce crowding.

VIRGINIA

Routes 7A, 7F – Lincolnia-North Fairlington

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

Route 7B – Lincolnia-Park Center-Pentagon

  • The southern route endpoint will be changed from Southern Towers to Northern Virginia Community College-Alexandria on Fillmore Avenue.

Routes 9A, 9E – Huntington-Pentagon

  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.
  • NEW Route 10S will replace all 9E service.

Routes 10A, 10E, 10R, 10S – Hunting Point-Pentagon

  • NEW Route 10R will provide service every 30 minutes between Alexandria, Crystal City and Rosslyn during weekday rush hours.
  • NEW Route 10S will replace Route 9E service during weekday rush hours between Rosslyn and Braddock Road Metrorail Stations.
  • Service to Pentagon will be provided by Route 10A and 10E. Route 10R and 10S will operate to Rosslyn, bypassing Pentagon and providing an alternative to the Blue Line.
  • Weekday rush hour Route 10A service will be replaced by Route 10R service northbound in the morning and southbound in the afternoon providing a direct connection and reduced travel time between Rosslyn, Crystal City and Alexandria.
  • A new schedule will reflect trip time adjustments.

Route 10B – Hunting Point-Ballston

  • Buses will serve Arna Valley at bus stops on South Glebe Road and West Glebe Road. Buses will no longer serve 26th Street, Adams Street, 28th Street and Meade Street to provide faster travel times and improved connections between Alexandria, Crystal City and Rosslyn.
  • Alternate service within Arna Valley is available on ART Route 87.

Routes 13F, 13G, 13Y – National Airport-Pentagon-Washington

  • NEW Route 13Y, Arlington-Union Station, will replace all 13F and 13G service.
  • Route 13Y service will operate between Reagan National Airport and Union Station via Crystal City, Pentagon City, the Pentagon, 14th Street NW and E Street NW on Saturday, Sunday and holiday mornings until 7 AM.

Routes 23A, 23B, 23C, 23T, 23W – McLean-Crystal City

  • Route 23A will provide service between Tysons Corner Center and Crystal City on weekdays during non-rush hours and all day weekends.
  • NEW Routes 23B and 23T will provide service during weekday rush hours. Route 23B will operate every 24 minutes between Crystal City and Ballston and Route 23T will operate every 24 minutes between Shirlington and Tysons Corner Center. Routes 23B and 23T will provide a combined 12 minute time between buses between Ballston and Shirlington.
  • NEW Route 23W, Westpark Shuttle, will provide service between Tysons Corner Center and Tysons-Westpark Transit Station serving Tysons Galleria until the Silver Line opens.            
  • Route 23C service will be eliminated with alternate service provided by routes 15K and 15L in the McLean and Langley areas.

For additional information or assistance, please call Metro Customer Service at (202) 637-7000.

News release issued at 1:57 pm, March 20, 2014.