Metro is modifying more than two dozen bus routes starting Sunday, with the goal of streamlining service and improving rides for passengers.
Some of the changes are minor, with a shift of a stop or a bus time. But others involve adding an express line or shortening a route.
The changes are not related to a proposed set of cuts to bus and rail service proposed earlier this month to plug a $40 million budget deficit. That plan to cut about $4 million in service — by closing rail station entrances, spreading out bus stops, lengthening the wait time between buses and trains — would not begin until at least late January.
Smaller changes
» In the District: 19 other lines will also have minor changes, including the 32 Pennsylvania Avenue, 42/43 Mount Pleasant, the 52/53/54 14th Street, the 70 Georgia Avenue, the 79 Georgia Avenue Metro Extra, the 90/92/93 U Street, the B2 Bladensburg Road to Anacostia, the M4 Nebraska Avenue, the N3 Massachusetts Avenue, the S1/S2/S4 16th Street, the V7/V9 Minnesota Avenue Line, the W4 Deanwood and the X2.
» In Virginia: the D.C.,Washington,Fenty,Mayor,City Hall,Council,Jonetta Rose Barras:26398904:26398904:Jonetta Rose Barras/E/P Columbia Pike Line and the TAGS S80/S91 Springfield Circulator.
» In Maryland: the F4/F6 New Carrollton to Silver Spring Line, the 87 Laurel Express Line. There will also be bus stop shifts at the Prince George’s Plaza, Rockville and Wheaton Metrorail stations.
For more details, visit www.wmata.com.
Instead, the changes are part of a regular quarterly tweaking of schedules and routes, said Metro spokeswoman Bessy Guevera. Metro has been trying to improve bus service as a way to expand capacity on the transit system without building new rail lines. The changes are intended to help keep the chronically waylaid buses on schedule.
The summer’s addition of the NextBus service has helped riders time their trips online or via phone by using Global Positioning System devices on buses to know when the next bus is actually on the way. Still, the system has been plagued with buses running off the printed schedule as they navigate traffic-clogged roads.
Among the biggest changes:
» 28/Leesburg Pike Line: The busy Virginia line that shuttles 5,000 riders daily between King Street Metrorail and Tysons Corner will have a new express route, the 28X, during peak travel periods between Broad Street and Tysons Corner and Baileys Crossroads. Metro also is extending hours with one additional early morning and two more night buses. The turn-around loop at Tysons Corner will be shorter to cut several minutes from the schedule.
» 28/Leesburg Pike Line: The busy Virginia line that shuttles 5,000 riders daily between King Street Metrorail and Tysons Corner will have a new express route, the 28X, during peak travel periods between Broad Street and Tysons Corner and Baileys Crossroads. Metro also is extending hours with one additional early morning and two more night buses. The turn-around loop at Tysons Corner will be shorter to cut several minutes from the schedule.
» Q2 Veirs Mill Road Line: The popular line that runs between Shady Grove and Silver Spring Metrorail stations will split for much of the day so the Q4 runs between Rockville and Silver Spring and the Q6 will run between Shady Grove and Wheaton. The Q2 will continue to run the full line in the early morning and evening. Other routes on the Q Line will be modified to bypass Montgomery College. Eventually the agency also plans to offer a limited-stop express route.
» The D routes: The D.C. routes that carry some 15,000 passengers each day will have three new lines, connecting Glover Park to Federal Triangle, Ivy City to Dupont Circle and Ivy City to Franklin Square. The three other D lines will run with greater frequency.
