A D.C. Council committee Tuesday backed a plan to run a city-funded Circulator bus into Arlington, but it rejected a last-minute proposal to start a new route serving residents east of the Anacostia River.
Under the legislation, the Circulator would take over the route serviced by the Georgetown Metro Connection, which runs between the Dupont Circle and Rosslyn Metro stations. Current law bars the Circulator from operating outside D.C.
The Public Works and Transportation Committee approved the plan by a 4-1 vote. The bill now moves to the full council.
The Circulator operates on five routes: Georgetown to Union Station, Woodley Park/Adams Morgan Metro to McPherson Square, the Smithsonian loop, Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront, and Union Station to Navy Yard. At no point does it cross the Anacostia.
Circulator stats
» $1 fare
» Daily ridership ranges from 11,000 in February to 19,000-plus in August
» Most riders younger than 50
At-large Councilman Kwame Brown objected to the Rosslyn bill after his proposal to add a sixth Circulator route between Union Station and Southern Avenue Southeast, on the District-Maryland border, was rejected. The District should not provide a service to Virginia residents if it is unwilling to do the same for D.C. folks, Brown said. “My conscience won’t allow me to leave people out,” he said.
D.C. leaders continue to wrestle with the five-year-old Circulator’s identity. How much should the government invest in a separate bus system? Which Metrobus routes would be better served by the Circulator?
“I’m not prepared to answer that today, but it’s definitely on my mind,” said Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham, the committee chairman.
The Circulator is generally viewed as a clean, reliable and affordable transportation option linking entertainment and business districts. There is interest in adding routes, council members said, but not if that expansion means declining service.
Without more data, such as ridership and cost projections, there’s no way to predict whether an expanded bus service could survive.
“If people east of the river are waiting 45 minutes for a red Circulator bus, then it’s not functioning,” said Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells. “What we don’t want to do is make a promise we can’t keep.”
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson disagreed. The council should not wait to bring the Circulator to poorer neighborhoods, he said.
“People are tired of waiting,” he said. “They want service.”
The District Department of Transportation is open to expansion, said spokesman John Lisle, but the big issue is funding. That council members want Circulator routes in theirs wards, he said, “speaks to how popular the service is.”
