Tag Archives: circulator

The Daily Feed
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Blue Bus is now Circulator

Georgetown Blue Bus / Circulator Notice

Hey Rosslyn, Georgetown, Dupont: notice anything different transit-wise? As of today, the Georgetown Metro Connection (AKA the “Blue Bus”) has switched over to the DC Circulator (AKA the “Red Bus”). The route and stops are the same, but the buses are different, and now you can use Smartrip. And the really good news is that most of the old Blue Bus drivers have also been moved over to driving Circulators, so they haven’t lost their jobs in the switchover.

One major change to watch out for, however: the Rosslyn stop has moved across 19th St to the Georgetown University shuttle pickup point. That sucks a bit since you now have to cross a street if you’re coming from Rosslyn Metro

More from TBD Neighborhoods.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, The Daily Feed, The District, The Mall, WMATA
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Wisconsin Avenue Circulator Route Is No More

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

As reported earlier this month, the in peril Wisconsin Avenue section of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator route has officially been cut.  According to the DDOT, the  new Georgetown routing will be Washington Circle to K Street (under the Whitehurst Freeway), right on Wisconsin Avenue, right on M Street, right on Pennsylvania Avenue, returning to Washington Circle and on to Union station.  The rerouting will also cut all the Circulator stops on the north side of M Street, as the new route will only operate eastbound on M Street.

Other Circulator service changes involve discontinuing the Smithsonian-National Mall from October 4, 2009 until April 3, 2010.  As well as added stops to the Union Station-Navy Yard and Woodley Park/Adams Morgan-McPherson Square Metro routes.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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Save The Georgetown Circulator

Photo courtesy of
‘Driving, Not Reading!!! :)’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

The Georgetown Monitor reported yesterday that the DDOT is seriously considering a significant cut to the Circulator’s Georgetown service based on budgetary concerns and ridership totals.  Despite Ward 2 DC Councilman Jack Evans’ protests, City Administrator Neil Albert has apparently already signed off on the plan.

The only hope for keeping the service is for DC residents and businesses to appeal to Mayor Fenty directly.  If you’re interested in joining the petition to prevent further Circulator service cuts to this area, GM has a sample letter you can sign.

***For clarification, the DDOT’s proposal would eliminate the Wisconsin Avenue portion of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator’s route, specifically from M Street to Whitehaven Street.

The Daily Feed
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Street Car Named DC(ire)

Photo courtesy of
‘Peter Witt 1’
courtesy of ‘Bobolink’

Apparently back in the 60’s Washington, DC used to have a fairly cool little streetcar system running throughout certain parts of town. Since I hail from Toronto, which has a robust streetcar system, and even have great-grandparents who drove the streetcars, I’m a huge fan of them! Well it would appear as though I may not have to go back to the true north to ride one because Fenty’s transportation director, Gabe Klein, is working to revitalize the DC streetcar project that started under Anthony Williams but has since stalled. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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RIP N22: New Circulator Woes

Photo courtesy of
‘Bus Signs’
courtesy of ‘FredoAlvarez’

The new Circulator routes, which promise easier and faster transport between Columbia Heights-K St./Woodley Park-McPherson Square, launched this week. The Columbia Heights route has been long-anticipated and the switch seemed to hold promise. The change also, however, replaced the 98 and N22 bus routes, leaving us wondering, really, why?

The N22 route Circulator is essentially the same route, except it eliminates many of the stops of the N22, including several between the Capitol Building and Union Station. My friend and co-worker takes this bus and has been 15 minutes late everyday since the Circulator began. Not only is the commute from Barracks Row to Union Station longer, the stops now promise a longer walk on both ends AND while the Circulator professes to stop every 10 minutes, the wait has been closer to 25 minutes, every day. 

It’s still early – they could definitely still be working out the kinks. Has anyone else’s commute been disrupted by the switch? Better or worse?

Talkin' Transit, The Features
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Talkin’ Transit: O Bus, Where Art Thou?

Photo courtesy of
‘waiting’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Chock full of WMATA today.

First up, it looks like the Circulator will be taking over one or two Metrobus routes this spring. This would increase the local service to five looping routes from the current three. Which routes aren’t yet determined, but Circulator officials have stated they can offer the same service as Metro for less money. Whether Metro agrees or not remains to be seen.

Additionally, the Fairfax Connector is proposing to operate three Metro lines beginning this summer.

Metro’s desperate to plug a $154M hole in their budget, so it would be in their best interest to look at letting local services handle it. But Metro would lose the line’s fare revenue and subsidies from the jurisdiction that is paying Metro for the service. While the operating costs would go away, they may be reluctant – or stubborn – to let that money go.

The Examiner‘s Kytja Weir does a great job looking deeper into the issue. Continue reading →