Metro is seeking to cut back some of its bus service, affecting trips on more than 30 routes. The transit agency has called the changes “improvements” that are intended to “provide customers with more reliable, efficient and cost-effective service and to provide additional capacity where it is needed most.”
That means Metro plans to extend service on four lines, create a new route and give more time to other lines, while cutting some of the existing service.
| Want to have a say? |
| Metro is proposing to: |
| • Eliminate the R3, R5, L4, P1, P2 |
| • Scale back the 3T route and cut Saturday service |
| • Cut D.C. trips on the 62, 64, A4, B2, D2, D8, G2, H8, P6, U4, U5, W2, W6, W8 |
| • Cut Maryland trips on C4, J2, Q4, Y7, Y9, C22, C26 |
| • Cut Va. trips on the 1F |
| • Reroute or restructure L1, L2, F6, P6 |
| Metro has two public hearings on the proposals Thursday, with an open house starting at 6 p.m., followed by a hearing at 6:30 p.m. |
| • Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW (Note: The agency changed the location.) |
| • Fairlington Recreation Center, Room 134, 3308 South Stafford St., Arlington |
| The public can also submit written comments, received by Metro as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18. They can be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 202-962-1133, or mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Metro asks those who submit comments to reference “Hearing B11-03” in the submissions. |
The transit agency typically asks the public for input on service cuts when it is planning its budget. In the past three years Metro backed down from nearly all of its proposed cuts to bus and rail service after riders spoke out.
Now the agency has separated the cuts from the budget process, saying the changes are needed not for budgetary reasons, but for service quality. The changes reflect the current road conditions and demand, with the agency targeting routes with low ridership.
“The savings realized from reducing these non-productive services will be used to add capacity on crowded routes; add running time to routes that are consistently late; add trips to expand non-rush hour service to areas of the greatest demand; and restructure routes to streamline service,” the agency said.
Metro has been holding public hearings on the changes this week, with two more meetings slated for Thursday. Riders can submit comments in writing until next Tuesday.
Only 13 people testified in the first set of hearings on Tuesday and a handful had signed up for the remaining hearings, according to Metro’s Office of the Secretary.
