The DC Circulator will cease service due to budget cuts. Courtesy of Fredo Vasquez
By Southwester Staff
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that DC Circulator bus service, including the Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza route that runs through Southwest DC, will phase out of service.
Service reductions will begin October 1, and service will end on December 31. In a July press release, DDOT cited DC’s 2025 budget as the reason for the change, and noted that employees were provided with written notification of the planned service closure.
“We greatly appreciate the valuable service DC Circulator provided to the District over the past 18 years,” Acting DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum said in the same press release. “We are grateful for the employees who supported the program and the riders who chose Circulator as part of their commute.”
As services wind down, DDOT says it will work with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to determine service levels to help reduce the impact to the public.
Effective October 1, 2024, the following route adjustments will be implemented:
• Termination of Rosslyn-Dupont Circle (RS-DP)
• Elimination of late-night service on Woodley Park-Adams Morgan (WP-AM) and Georgetown- Union Station (GT-US)
• Remaining routes will operate on 20-minute headways, a 10-minute increase from current arrival times.
• Woodley Park-Adams Morgan (WP-AM), Georgetown-Union Station (GT-US), Congress Heights-Union Station (CH-US), and Eastern Market – L’Enfant Plaza (EM-LP) routes will end service at 9 p.m. daily, rather than midnight.
The National Mall route will continue to operate until 7 p.m. daily.
Riders who need assistance navigating alternative travel options are encouraged to visit wmata.com and use the Trip Planner feature. For current routes and DC Circulator updates, please visit dccirculator.com.