By Una Yarsky
Earlier this year, WMATA announced the Better Bus initiative, a city-wide shift in bus routes and nomenclature across the DMV. The project aims to improve vehicles, communication, bus lanes, and transit signals. Every Metro bus route will have a new name, and many will have updated service, stops, and run times. The Metrobus fare will not change and will remain $2.25. The Better Bus initiative will be Metro’s first major overhaul of the bus system since it was first created in 1973 and takes effect on June 29.
A number of bus stops across the city were eliminated in order to streamline bus efficiency. WMATA officials took rider’s suggestions into consideration and eliminated 527 low-ridership stops across the city, Maryland, and Virginia. Additionally, bus routes will be renamed, beginning with a letter to represent the area the route covers. “A” will indicate Arlington and Alexandria, “F” for Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church. “M” will stand for Montgomery County, and “P” for Prince George’s County. In the city, “C” will stand for crosstown routes and “D” for downtown. Express routes will include an “X” at the end of their designation. Bus stop signs across the region were updated in March to reflect the upcoming changes in routes, with the old bus routes sectioned in blue while the new bus routes, names, and destinations are in larger print and highlighted in red.
In Southwest, this initiative means that the #74, which runs between the Convention center to the Southwest Waterfront Station, and Circulator routes will be replaced by the C55. The C55 will run between L’Enfant and Union station, beginning at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station, making stops by Waterfront Metro station, Buzzard point, King Greenleaf, Navy Yard, and Eastern Market before reaching Union Station. The C55 will run every 30 minutes.
For more information on the bus route shifts across the city, visit the Metro website at wmata.com/betterbus or call 202-GO-METRO.
