Northwest Georgetown June ANC Update
Hello, and welcome to your June Northwest Georgetown ANC update!
This month I wanted to focus on a single issue that will likely affect us in the near future: dramatic changes to the Metrobus.
WMATA is in the process of completely restructuring the entire Metrobus network. Literally ever single bus line is being revamp, replanned and renamed. The end result, dubbed the “Better Bus Network”, will completely alter how people in our city and region get around by bus.
Here is a video put out by WMATA explaining the project:
These changes would substantially impact Georgetown’s bus service. Each of the bus routes that travel through Georgetown is being redesigned (and renamed). These changes, if they got through, would start taking effect as soon as next year. So get ready!
WMATA has released the details for the proposed changes. The changes may be hard to grasp at first, since the network is so complicated. So the best way to analyze them is to consider each existing line and compare it with the line WMATA is suggesting will replace it.
There are six Metrobus routes that service Georgetown (not including the Circulator, which I’ll get to later). They include: the D2, D6, G2, 31, 33, and the 38B. Each of these routes would be replaced with new routes. I’ll discuss each below with a map:
The D2 would be replaced with the D96:
The first thing you will notice with this proposed route is that it doesn’t particularly resemble the D2. But the parts of it that traverse between Burleith and Dupont, it is basically identical to the D2 (its eastbound route through Dupont appears to be slightly different). It’s just that north of Burleith it takes a long journey through Wesley Heights all the way to Bethesda. And after Dupont it goes down through Foggy Bottom. That is because this route is expected to replace more than the D2. It’s also replacing parts of the N2, N4, N6, 42, and the 43.
Next, the D6 replacement, the D94:
Unlike the D96, the D94 is not an amalgam of multiple routes. It’s just the D6, shortened and renamed. It will still travel the same route from Sibley, through Georgetown to downtown. But rather than continuing on to RFK, it will stop and turn around at Chinatown. (The proposed D24 would provide service on the former D6’s eastern half).
Next up, the G2 replacement, the D92:
When the first sketches of the Better Bus Network were released last year, the route to replace the G2 did not include service directly to Georgetown University. So it is progress that this new route would go all the way to 37th St.
However, it would not travel the G2’s current east-west routes through Georgetown, which look like this now:
Instead the D92 would travel up to Q St. and continue on to Dupont from there. That is fine for riders (like me, and perhaps many of my constituents) who are catching a bus on Q St. and are happy to take whichever bus will get you to Dupont. But if you are a resident of the middle parts of Georgetown (between M and P) your walk to a bus stop would potentially be notably longer.
Next, the 38B replacement, the A58:
The 38B is sometimes called the “Orange Line With a View”. And the A58 would largely replicate that. But unlike the 38B, the A58 would go all the way to Seven Corners. So if you want a single seat bus ride to Home Depot or the Eden Center, your day is coming.
Finally the replacement for the 31/33 routes, the D82:
The 31/33 routes are remnants of the old 30 series routes that once traveled from Friendship Heights all the way to Southern Ave. in southeast (They also used to be streetcars, but that’s another story). Over the years, for efficiency WMATA has cut the route in half, with the 31 and 33 serving the western half. Both routes would be replaced with a single route, the D82.
The D82 would travel roughly the same route as the 31 and 33 routes do, with the exception that it will not travel down to the State Department like the current 31 route does. (Oddly, the D2 replacement would handle that leg now).
The big question with this route, of course, is what happens with the Circulator? Right now it appears that the Circulator is going to be no more. (The Circulator is not a WMATA bus route but actually run and funded by DC. It is being abolished due to budget constraints). Advocates (including the ANC) are pushing for the Circulator service (at least the Georgetown-Union Station service) to be replicated with a WMATA route. This could involve running more buses on the D82 and/or changing its route in order to reach Union Station. In either event, it is a challenge that needs to be addressed.
Bonus new route!: the C85:
One more route is being proposed that is not really trying to replicate an existing route (at least not an existing route through Georgetown). The C85 would offer service from Foggy Bottom, through Georgetown up through the heart of Ward 3. Critically, it would offer service directly to the new MacArthur High School (which may be its primary raison d’etre).
If you’re wondering where the new names come from, there’s a logic to them. They start with a letter: D or C for a route primarily in the District, A for Arlington/Alexandria routes, F for Fairfax routes, M for MoCo routes, and P for Prince Georges County routes. (It also looks like generally the D routes go through downtown DC while the C routes are mostly on the periphery.) Here’s a video explaining the history and the thinking behind the new names:
As a history buff, I’ll be sad to see legacy route names go, but there’s certainly something to be said about making them more legible to entry riders.
I’ll close with a comment on concerns that the ANC has about these changes. These concerns primarily relate to the frequency of service and how the changes to the existing G2 route will affect riders. We passed a resolution this week explaining this:
WMATA has released its proposed designs for a future Metrobus network, called the Better Bus Network. The proposals would represent a dramatic change from the current network and would directly impact bus service to and through Georgetown. While ANC2E appreciates that WMATA has responded to requests (including from ANC2E) to maintain Metrobus service to Georgetown University, currently provided by the G2, it is nonetheless concerned that the total bus service for Georgetown would be reduced and degraded with the Better Bus Network. Comparing the proposed service levels of the various routes for Georgetown versus the current routes reveals that there simply would be fewer buses available to residents, visitors and workers at key points through the day and week. For example:
The D96, which is intended to replace the D2, is proposed to come only every 20 minutes during morning rush, whereas the existing D2 arrives every 10 minutes.
Additionally, the D96 is slated to run only every 25 minutes in evening rush, compared with 12-15 minutes, which is how often the D2 arrives.
The D94, which is intended to replace the D6, would arrive every 20-24 minutes during rush hour, whereas the D6 arrives every 15 minutes.
The total bus service along Q St. to Dupont, including the proposed D92, D94 and D96 routes, would be 8-9 buses per hour during rush hour, compared with the 10 buses that currently run.
Bus service would be completely removed from O, P and Dumbarton Streets due to shifting the G2 replacement (the D92) to Q St. This will require current G2 riders to traverse a steep incline from where the current stops are located up to Q St. This will be especially burdensome on riders who are physically challenged or are traveling with bags in-tow.
This proposed reduction in bus service in Georgetown is very concerning given Georgetown has no Metrorail stop, over 12 million visitors annually, a disproportionately large percentage of the city’s employees, a large university, and a dense residential population reliant on public transit. These proposed cuts are even more concerning given the likely end to the Circulator bus routes by DDOT, which will require more people traveling to and from Georgetown to rely on WMATA's bus service. While the proposed D82 route is a sufficient replacement for the 31 and 33 routes, it is not a sufficient replacement for the 31, 33 and the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator.
ANC2E requests that WMATA and the District government work together to incorporate as much of the soon-to-be-former Georgetown-Union Station Circulator in either a new Metrobus route or additional service on the proposed Better Bus Network routes. Moreover, ANC2E requests that WMATA ensure that the total bus service provided by the new routes is at least equal to the current levels and does not include the total removal of bus service along O, P, and Dumbarton Streets currently serviced by the G2.
And with that, please have a happy and safe June! Feel free to reach out to me at 2e02@anc.dc.gov if you have any issue that needs addressing!