The District is hoping to expand its popular D.C. Circulator bus service from Union Station to the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium in the spring, part of a broader extension of the city’s tourist-friendly bus system from three to five looping routes.
The new route would replace the N22 Metrobus, giving riders a cheaper $1 alternative to the current bus line that costs up to $1.35 for cash fares. It also would extend Circulator service to new attractions for tourists and residents alike: The $621 million Capitol Visitor Center that opens today, the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, the new U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters on New Jersey Avenue Southeast and the booming residential area cropping up in the Navy Yard area.
Since the Circulator system began in 2005, it has carried more than seven million riders while providing connections to areas of the city not directly accessible by Metrorail or Metrobus without multiple transfers. D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman John Lisle said the system has tried to focus on well-traveled routes that could serve both visitors and residents with easy-to-remember bus schedules set at 10-minute intervals.
“The Circulator bus has a great brand to it,” Lisle said. “It’s popular. It’s more friendly to tourists, so it’s something we’re trying to expand.”
This latest expansion proposal also calls for replacing the 98 Metrobus route, known as the Adams Morgan-U Street Link, with a Circulator line.
Both new lines, if approved, would begin March 30. Metro’s board of directors plans to discuss replacing the N22 route Thursday, deciding whether to set a public hearing on the proposed takeover by the Circulator. A public hearing on the elimination of the 98 line was held last month. However, the board still would need to approve the switches before they could take effect.
Currently the N22 line runs from Union Station, past the east side of the Capitol, toward Eastern Market, then to the Navy Yard Metro stop.
It averages 1,560 riders on weekdays, said Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith, an increase from 1,000 riders since Metro expanded evening and weekend service in the spring to serve the new baseball stadium.
Lisle said he expects the Circulator would follow a similar route and serve about the same number of passengers.
