DCST supports frequent, safe, reliable, speedy bus service on the DC Circulator and Metrobus to serve residents all over the city and transport them where they need to go. Especially given Metro's struggles, it's important to offer high-quality bus routes that meet DC's mobility needs.
DCST is working on the following issues regarding bus service:
- Circulator: The DC Circulator has struggled with reliability and does not operate all of the buses it should. Also, the Circulator is not meeting its promised service standard of a bus every 10 minutes. DCST aims to support DDOT to restore the Circulator to a high level of quality. DCST also supports DC's efforts to try out new all-electric buses.
- Bus garages: One cause of Circulator problems is inadequate maintenance space. The Circulator needs a new garage for maintaining its buses. Also, Metrobus will soon need to renovate or replace its aging Western (near Friendship Heights) and Northern (upper 14th Street) garages. DCST urges the District to ensure it has adequate industrial land for future transportation storage and maintenance needs.
- Bus priority: As DC's population grows, traffic will increase. The only way to move more people on limited road space is to prioritize vehicles like buses which move many people in a small amount of space. DC should explore bus priority corridors including bus lanes, signal priority, off-board fare payment, and more.
From the Blog
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WMATA set out a timeline to electrify its buses. A DC Council roundtable asks: why not sooner?
Metro plans to fully convert its fleet to electric buses by 2045. But DC Council officials are urging the agency to speed up its timeline, holding a roundtable this month on the issue.
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DC Sustainable Transportation applauds Mayor Bowser’s ReOpen DC transportation agenda and urges rapid implementation
WASHINGTON, DC - DC Sustainable Transportation (DCST), applauds the transportation recommendations of Mayor Bowser’s ReOpen DC Advisory Group, released last week. “We stand ready to assist her in implementing the changes to our transportation systems and infrastructure needed to protect public health and get the District's economy working again,” said Joe Sternlieb, Chair of DCST and CEO of the Georgetown Business Improvement District.
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The ReOpenDC report recommends reallocating street space for walking, restaurants, and buses
"DC should reallocate sidewalks and streets to support physical distancing for residents and greater outdoor capacity for restaurants and other businesses," says one section of a new report, released Thursday by Mayor Muriel Bowser, "as well as reconfigure road lanes to prioritize Lifeline Network bus corridors."
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Transportation mostly survives DC budget cuts
DC will continue most of its existing transportation efforts next year under a draft budget released by DC mayor Muriel Bowser. The K Street Transitway, Pennsylvania West, bus and bike lanes, and other projects continue to move forward.
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WMATA is on track for a budget compromise that achieves some key rider asks (but not all)
Most but not all of Metro's proposed cuts to bus service are off the table, under a draft budget proposal the WMATA Board will vote on Thursday. So is an extra charge for riders using cash on buses, which advocates had opposed. Unfortunately, a plan to make transfers between buses and trains free was a casualty of the budget process.
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Organizations and officials ask Congress to help public transit during the coronavirus
Ridership on public transit systems nationwide has plummeted and many, including Metro, are actively discouraging people from riding unless absolutely necessary. This is going to obliterate transit systems' budgets, and so over 220 elected officials and organizations signed a letter to Congress on March 18 asking for emergency funding for transit in a coronavirus relief bill.
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The good, the bad and the unexplained: what you need to know about the WMATA budget
Soon, WMATA will formally be asking riders and other members of the public to weigh in on its next budget. There's a lot riders should understand, and weigh in on, in addition to proposed cuts or changes to bus service which have rightly attracted a lot of attention — some of which transit advocates have been requesting for years, and other items which are worrisome.
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What the heck is going on with the WMATA budget?
Up to 68 Washington-area bus routes could face cuts in 2020 (and some could see increases), under a draft budget document presented to the WMATA board Thursday. At the meeting, various board members then proposed numerous of amendments, and the board ultimately put off any action for a month. What's going on, and what should riders take from this?
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Video: How are downtown DC’s red hot summer bus lanes working out?
What’s black and white but red all summer? DC’s H and I street pilot bus-only lanes are getting more publicity, now from a short film produced by TransitCenter and Streetfilms.
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Road trip! DC Councilmembers try out the H & I pilot bus lanes
DC’s dedicated bus lanes need long-term political commitment to thrive amid the jungle of competing demands for our street space. That commitment had a visible boost Monday, as a group of DC councilmembers gamely tried out the H & I pilot bus lanes, and shared their thoughts on the value of bus priority in the District.
