Metrobus

This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (October 2009)

WMATA Metrobus

New Flyer D40LFR #6105 leaves the Suitland station on the D14 line.
Parent	WMATA
Founded	1967
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Locale	Washington Metropolitan Area
Service area	Washington Metropolitan Area
Service type	Local and express bus service
Routes	319[1]
Fleet	1,480[2]
Daily ridership	439,424 (August 2009 weekday average)[3]
Operator	WMATA
Chief executive	John B. Catoe
Web site	www.wmata.com

Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Its fleet consists of 1,480 buses covering an area of 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²) in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. There are over 300 bus routes serving 12,216 stops, including 2,398 bus shelters. In fiscal year 2009, Metrobus provided more than 133 million trips.^[4] On a typical weekday, it provides more than 400,000 trips.^[3]

Metro stopped issuing and accepting paper bus transfers as of January 4, 2009; bus and rail riders must use a SmarTrip card to receive the transfer discount.^[5]

Metro is currently in the process of having 203 New Flyer BRT buses delivered. These new buses will be painted in a Red/Silver (Local) and Blue/Silver(Express) paint scheme. 38 of these 203 buses will be painted in the Express paint scheme while the other 165 will be painted in the Local paint scheme. Metro is also currently in the process of repainting its current buses into the Local and Express paint scheme. Red/Silver painted buses will be used on local routes and Blue/Silver buses will be used on Express routes. These buses will have either "local" or "express" on the top of each side of the bus for easy identification.^[3]

Fares

The current Metrobus fare structure is as follows:^[6]

• Local bus within District of Columbia (except as noted below): $1.35 (using cash) $1.25 (using SmarTrip)
• Routes 94, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, M8, M9, W2, W3, W4, W6, W8 and W9 : 75¢
• Routes Southbound B2, P1, P2, P6, U2, and 90 at stops at or south of Good Hope Road.: 75¢
• Express bus: $3.10 (using cash) $3.00 (using SmarTrip)

Discounts may be available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and DC schoolchildren.

Express routes: B30, J7, J9, P17, P19, W13, W19, 5A, 11Y, 17A, 17B, 17G, 17H, 17K, 17L, 17M, 18E, 18G, 18H, 18P, 29E, 29G, 29H, and 29X.

Transfers and passes

All Metrobuses have SmarTrip card readers which automatically deduct the correct fare from a rider's SmarTrip card (including transfer credit). Formerly, Metrobus issued paper transfers which gave the rider free transfers to any regular bus for two hours. Beginning January 4, 2009, when a rider uses a SmarTrip card they will automatically receive rail-to-bus transfer credit, and bus-to-bus free transfer time for regular buses is increased to three hours. Express routes have different requirements. This section discusses the transfer policy to and from Metrobus and other regional bus operators. The routes can be Metrobus routes or routes of other regional operators. Note that as of January 4, 2009, transfer credit is issued on a SmarTrip card, riders using cash payment cannot obtain a paper transfer, and thus must pay full fare upon boarding the bus.

NOTES:

1. Local Buses: Metrobus local routes, Ride-On, The Bus (Prince George's County), DC Circulator, Fairfax Connector (except Routes 380, 595, and 597), Connect-A-Ride, Fairfax CUE, DASH, and Arlington Transit.
2. Express Buses: Metrobus express routes, PRTC OmniRide, PRTC MetroDirect, Fairfax Connector routes 380, 595, and 597.

Fleet roster

All buses are fully accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. All buses have bike racks except for C001-C004.

Orion V bus running the T17 route

NOTES:

1. C001-C004 are owned by the Transportation Association of Greater Springfield (TAGS) and operated by WMATA from Four Mile Run under contract, only on Routes S80 and S91.
2. 3951-3954 are owned by the City of Falls Church and operated by Forsythe Transportation under contract from the Arlington Garage only on GEORGE services. These buses have now been renumbered and are no longer operated by WMATA as of July 6, 2009. [1]
3. 1101-1129 are for the DC Circulator service, with partial funding by WMATA, operated by First Transit under contract.
4. 2801-2814 are painted in blue and grey livery for the route 79, also known as MetroExtra. The rest (2818-2822 and 2824-2825)are in normal WMATA bicentennial colors, red, white & blue. All of the 2800s operate from Bladensburg Division.
5. 2401-2464 were originally going to be Pierce Transit buses but were delivered to WMATA instead with WMATA specifications.
6. 5401-5422 were "piggybacked" onto an enormous 60-BRT order by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. These new 60-BRT buses are painted in red and grey with white and blue striped curved divider from top back to bottom front. This is WMATA's new "LOCAL" paint scheme.^[3]
7. 2823 and 5311 are the first two buses to be repainted in the new "local" paint scheme.
8. 2320 is also painted in the new "local" paint scheme.[2] 2320 is the first New Flyer C40LF bus from the 2001-02 model year to be rehabilitated and refurbished by Metro.
9. 6040 incurred damage to the rear of the bus after being struck by a northbound MARC commuter train during the afternoon rush on March 26, 2009. WMATA (26 March 2009). "MARC train collides with Metrobus". Press release. http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=2515. Retrieved 27 March 2009. 
10. 2815-2817 are painted in the new Express paint scheme and is "Green crushed. [3][4]
11. 2665 is painted in the new Express paint scheme and is "Green" crushed.
12. 6301-6423 are in the Local Scheme and 6424-6461 are in the Express scheme.

Divisions

Metrobus stop marker, seen here at Rosslyn station.

There are 9 divisions (a.k.a. garages, yards or lots) in the Metrobus system. Two of them are open on weekdays only.

Open seven days a week:

• Bladensburg (B), located at 2251 26th Street NE, in the District. (It is the largest lot in the system.)
• Four Mile Run (F), located near the stream of the same name in southern Arlington at 3501 South Glebe Road, just south of Crystal City. This garage handles West Ox and Royal division routes on weekends. Uses orion vii CNGs on their routes on weekends.
• Landover (L), located at 3433 Pennsy Drive in Landover.
• Montgomery (M), located at 5400 Marinelli Road, just east of Rockville Pike in Rockville. It is situated a block east of the White Flint station.
• Northern (N), located at 4615 14th Street, NW in the northwestern portion of the District. The facility is a former trolley barn for the Capital Traction Company.
• Southern Avenue Annex (P) (also known as simply "The Annex"), located on the Capitol Heights, MD side of Southern Avenue by Marlboro Pike. This garage, which was previously open weekdays only, has now expanded to seven days a week due to the closing of Metrobus' Southeastern division garage on March 28, 2008.
• Western (W), located on 5230 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of the District.

Open weekdays only:

• West Ox (A), located at Alliance Drive and West Ox Road in Fairfax, VA, right next to Lee Hwy (US 29). This division replaced the Arlington division. Uses Orion Vs, Orion VIs, New Flyer DE42LFAs, and New Flyer DE37LFAs on weekdays.
• Royal Street (R), located on 600 North Royal Street in Alexandria.Uses Orion Vs only on weekdays.

MetroExtra

New Flyer C40LFR #2809 MetroExtra bus outside Shaw–Howard University station.

The 79, also known as MetroExtra, is a limited stop bus line that operates between Silver Spring Station and Archives. Metro Extra operates along the 7th St/Georgia Ave (DC) corridor. Service started on March 19, 2007. Metrobus' MetroExtra fleet consists of 14 2007 New Flyer CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses painted in the blue and silver scheme (2801-2814), all of which operate out of the Bladensburg division. Although 2801-2814 are painted in the MetroExtra scheme, these buses can appear on other routes as well, depending on what is available.

^[7]

16th Street Express

New Flyer DE42LFA #6424 Express branded bus at the south side of Franklin Square on I Street NW.

The 16th Street Express, also known as the S9, is a new Limited-Stop service that operates between Silver Spring Station and McPherson Square along the 16th Street corridor in Northwest, Washington DC.. Although the destination is McPherson Square the true layover is Franklin Square, which is two blocks east of McPherson Square. It began service March 30, 2009. The 16th Street Express uses New Flyer Hybrid BRT buses. These buses are painted in a blue and silver paint scheme with "Express" branding. 10 of 38 of these Express branded buses will be used on the S9 [5]. The buses are similar to the MetroExtra painted buses, except they are painted grey on the front half and blue on the back half. And they also have "Express" on the top sides of the bus. The regular bus fare of $1.35 ($1.25 for SmarTrip users) is used for the S9. These buses primarily operate out of the Northern division.

Planned limited-stop routes

Routes offering or planned for limited service, which will eventually be put into service are:^{[citation needed]}

• Columbia Pike
• Richmond Highway $
• Georgia Avenue (in District of Columbia) $
• Potomac Yard
• Southern Avenue / National Harbor
• 30s Line $
• 16th Street $
• University Boulevard / East-West Highway (Montgomery County)
• Veirs Mill Road
• Leesburg Pike
• New Hampshire Avenue
• H Street / Benning Road
• Eastover / Addison Road
• Little River Turnpike / Duke Street
• East-West Highway (Prince George's County)
• Greenbelt-Twinbrook
• Massachusetts Avenue / U Street / Florida Avenue / 8th Street / MLK Avenue
• 14th Street
• Colesville Road
• Anacostia - Congress Heights
• Georgia Avenue (in Montgomery County)
• North Capitol Street
• Rhode Island Avenue
• Rhode Island Avenue Metro to Laurel

$= Currently served by a Limited-Stop line(s).

Richmond Highway Express

A Metrobus Orion VII #2684 in REX colors.

Richmond Highway Express, also known as "REX", is a Limited-Stop bus line that operates between King Street Station and Fort Belvoir along the Richmond Highway corridor in Fairfax County, Virginia. Metrobus' current REX fleet consists of 12 2006 Orion VII 40 ft CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses painted in a blue-and-gold paint scheme (2674-2685), all of which operate out of the Four Mile Run division. REX began service on September 26, 2004, replacing parts of Route 9A (which now operates between Huntington Metrorail station and the Pentagon). Metrobus' original REX fleet consisted of 12 2000 Orion VI 40 ft buses wrapped (but not painted) in a blue-and-gold scheme (2073-2084) before the aforementioned Orion VII 40 ft CNG buses arrived in 2006.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)

• List of Metrobus routes (Washington, D.C.)
• Metro Transit Police Department

References

v • d • e Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Services Metrorail • Metrobus Metrorail lines      Red Line •      Orange Line •      Blue Line •      Yellow Line •      Green Line Future projects      Silver Line •      Purple Line • Columbia Pike Streetcar • DC Streetcar General managers Jackson Graham • Warren D. Quenstedt • Theodore C. Lutz • Richard S. Page • Carmen E. Turner • William A. Boleyn • David L. Gunn • Lawrence G. Reuter • Robert Polk • Richard A. White • Dan Tangherlini • Jack Requa • John B. Catoe Jr. Miscellaneous List of Metro stations • Metro Access • Metro Transit Police Department • Major incidents • Metro rolling stock • Metro signaling and operation • SmarTrip