You already knew about the new Ciculator route planned for Adams Morgan, which looks set to replace the 25 cent 98 "link" route as early as March. The Examiner reports today that another new Circulator route, this time running from Union Station to the brand new Capitol Visitor Center to Nationals Park, is also in the works. This Circulator route would replace the N22 Metrobus route. Metro's board meets on Thursday, and plans to discuss......

This story about a New York City bus driver who was stabbed to death over a bus transfer. Horrific. You can be sure plenty of people will complain and struggle against the new SmarTrip-only transfer regime about to be put in place on Metrorail and Metrobus, but if it prevents even one incident like this in our city, it will have been worth the growing pains.......

So sayeth The Examiner, which has Ward 1 Council member and Metro board member Jim Graham confirming that the buses have already been ordered and are scheduled to arrive in March. The new Circulator route is intended to replace the 98 bus, the 25 cent shortbus link that connects U Street to 18th Street. The $1 Circulator will go much farther than the 98, and will include parts of K Street, U Street, up through......

You already knew that in January, WMATA is doing away with all paper transfers and increasing the SmarTrip transfer window to three hours. This morning the Post explains that these transfer changes will at long last include discounts for bus to rail transfers that riders (and DCist commenters) have been asking for since SmarTrip was first introduced. Currently, rail to bus transfers are discounted, but commuters who start on a Metrobus and then enter the......

We knew this was something WMATA had been considering for some time, especially with the agency's big push toward emphasizing universal adoption of SmarTrip cards, but today it's official: Metro is eliminating paper transfers in January. Beginning January 4, 2009, only bus riders using SmarTrip cards will be able to take advantage of free bus-to-bus transfers and discounted rail-to-bus transfers. Bus drivers will no longer hand out paper transfers, and machines that dispense paper rail-to-bus......

Metrobus riders, take note: The Examiner has good news for you in the form of Metro deciding on a roll out schedule for several new express bus routes over the next three years, with the first being a hotly anticipated, limited-stop Express S line bus traveling up and down 16th Street NW. Metro is currently planning on having the Express S operating by the end of 2009. Other scheduled express bus services include: 2010: An......

A handful of Metrobus route and service changes took effect on Sunday, the most notable of which is an increase in the frequency of the 5A line, which travels between L'Enfant Plaza and Dulles Airport. Three westbound and three eastbound buses have been added every weekday, which is good news for anyone who regularly uses the often very crowded 5A. The additional buses will leave D and 7th streets SW at 6:25 a.m., 2:30 and......

If you aren't getting your fill of commenting on local transit issues through the 16th Street Bus Study or the DC Neighborhood Circulation Study, there's yet more chances to make your voice heard. WMATA announced today that they'll be holding public meetings beginning September 24th regarding possible improvements to 14 bus lines, including the oft-travelled "D" and "2" series of lines. For more information regarding the sessions - or to register your complaints online if......

A car struck a Metrobus at 16th and U Streets SE, near Good Hope Rd. SE, at 11:50 a.m. this morning, resulting in 16 people reported injured. The Post says the driver of the car ran a red light before it hit the bus. Two people were in the car, and a driver and 13 passengers were on the B2 route bus. All of the injuries appear to be minor.......

According to the Post, Metro finally got its on-time measuring system working in Metrobuses after 35 years. So, that's the positive news. The statistics uncovered, on the other hand, pretty much confirm what everyone already assumes about the buses' ability to stick to a schedule: namely, that they have no such ability. A report to be released on Thursday will show that overall, Metrobuses were on-time (defined as falling somewhere between two minutes early and......

Did you get an email from Metro yesterday? If you did, you're now an important part of a new program that's attempting to find ways to improve the service of the S bus lines, which run between Silver Spring and downtown D.C. The first step in the The Metrobus 16th Street Line Study was surveys which were distributed to riders of any S line bus on June 18. The email contains details about a community......

If you’re planning on riding Metrobus this weekend, you’ll need to contend with some re-routing due to three festivals about town. The National Capital Barbecue Battle, the Peace in the Streets Parade & Festival, and the 13th Annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival will alter some 17 bus routes, including many on the 30 line. On the bright side, if you’re attending the Blues Festival, your ride on routes 16B, 16G and 16J between noon and......

A Metrobus driver and two other people were shot just before 1 p.m. today in the bus bay area outside the Anacostia Metro station. One of the shooting victims is described as being in critical condition -- NBC4 says he appeared to be about 18 years old and suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The Metrobus driver sustained a non-life threatening injury due to a bullet grazing his head. The third victim also suffered......

We'd be remiss if we didn't point out a story from this morning's Examiner which quotes Metro Assistant General Manager Gerald Francis saying the agency is considering spacing out bus stops on many Metrobus lines in order to improve bus service. Perhaps Francis and company have been reading DCist comment threads? The too-frequent spacing of bus stops, which occur at nearly every block on some lines, has been a rallying cry for District residents for......

Photo by cstein96 Just a few days after Metro's board gave preliminary approval to the restructuring of the 30s bus lines, the Examiner has a story reporting that Metro General Manager John Catoe is now shifting his attention toward improving Metrobus service after spending his first year focusing mainly on Metrorail. Among Catoe's priorities for Metrobus: hiring more bus supervisors and giving them dispatcher authority that would allow them to make alterations to bus......

This is how Metrobus drivers are supposed to pull up to stops: flush with the sidewalk, and out of other lanes of traffic. But as anyone who either regularly rides city buses or drives in this city well knows, many, many times, Metrobus drivers instead just pull the front of the bus in to a stop, leaving the tail end blocking traffic from going forward behind them. WTOP reports on Metro General Manager John Catoe's......

Metro has announced several changes to Metrobus service that will go into effect on Sunday, March 23, including a new bus route to National Harbor called the NH1. It begins at the Southern Ave. Metro station, and runs every 20 minutes during rush hour and every 30 minutes during off-peak times. Buses will run between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the week. There are also some route changes, mainly in the name......

Transit is inherently tied to politics, and as such, involves quite a bit of perspective. Bearing that in mind, here's a question for those readers out there that drive to work everyday: how would you like having tolls escalate with the amount of traffic density in order to fund those same roads that you currently sit idly on? Well, if the Department of Transportation and the Bush Administration have their way, you might be looking......

We've talked about WMATA's proposal to make big changes to the popular 30 buses before. The current plan would eliminate the 30, 34, and 35 routes, and add two express routes, a 37 and 39, which would make 10 stops instead of the current 27. It would also establish a new route, M5, to operate over the current 34 line between the Naylor Road and Eastern Market Metro stations, a #31 route to operate over......

Yesterday we briefly mentioned some new figures from Metro showing a big increase in assaults on Metrobus drivers. The number of assaults has risen from 36 in 2002 to 84 in 2007. Of the assaults last year, 56 were in the District, 21 were in Maryland and seven were in Virginia. "The assaults range from being spit on, to hit with sticks, bricks, poles, open hands, guns and knives to fondling and attempting to undress......

Many Washingtonians are already making their way out of town for the holidays, and WMATA wants them to know that by the time they get back, some Metrobus routes and timetables will have changed. Beginning Dec. 30, a number of bus schedules will be adjusted, though mostly in small ways. You can check out the entire list of changes here to see if your regular bus route will be affected. Many lines will simply adjust......