March 20, 2006
Circulator Starts New Service Around Mall
The D.C. Circulator, that new bus service that many once hated but have now grown to ignore, is set to kick off a new route around the Mall on Tuesday.
According to WTOP, the new Circulator line will circle the National Mall, run every five to 10 minutes and stop at the Smithsonian and National Gallery buildings. The folks who operate Tourmobile -- which currently circles the Mall and other major sites -- are none too happy with the news, knowing that few tourists will opt for their $16-17.50 day pass when the Circulator charges but a single dollar. We hear a lawsuit may be in the offing.
We imagine that driving a bus would be a patience-testing experience. But driving a bus packed with tourists around the National Mall all day? Those brave souls better be getting paid overtime.
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Tourmobile gives tours and offers directions and answers questions. The $1 bus ride may sound tempting to many tourists, and I am sure many will use it. But some how I doubt it will last at that price. B/c they will ask so many questions of the drivers that the Circulator will have to do something. It is really hard for a driver to drive and to deal with an extremely high volume of the following: strollers and people who are looking for directions and asking them to stop or trying to open the windows to take pictures and asking what that thing that they see is.
Finally, a Circulator route that addresses reality not fantasy. I cringe everytime I see the one person riding the bus from SW waterfront to the Convention Center. It's a shame my tax dollars have to be wasted to prop up schemes that exist soley to create appearances.
Oh, I don't know if it will be ALL that bad. The Cable Cars in San Francisco, although, yes still used by some commuters (if it's close) are basically a tourist attraction and the fair is only $2 (a little more than regular transit) and the historic trolly cars that go up and down Market Street and along the Embarcadero to Fishermans Warf and AT&T Park also get a fair amount of tourists require a certain type of driver (like the guy on the F-Market that sings!) those are considered the cushiest jobs in the system. Commuters are actually way more annoying (and easily annoyed) than tourists.
On what grounds would there be a lawsuit? That's ridiculous.
Yey! I'm glad the Circulator people are sticking it to Tourmobile. I often found it ridiculous that the city wouldn't offer a transportation option for residents to get around the mall.. all because a tour bus (who charges a HUGE fee) operator was complaining. Tourists aren't the only people on the mall!
The Circulator is an awesome service.
The Circulator needs drunk bus route: Woodley Park, Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Georgetown. It would be hell on the drivers, but they would pull in a ton of cash on weekends.
Does DC even cover the costs of the Circulator? I thought it was a private endeavor. I think DC chipped in start up costs, but after that, I'm not sure our tax dollars have anything to do with the empty buses driving from SW.
Has DC ever had handsome cabs on the mall? I think that would be great if you could get a handsome cab ride around the mall, especially at night. I know there are some safety issues that people in NYC complain about with horses on public streets, but perhaps they could use the pathways, which are not exactly crowded at night. I don't know, maybe it's totally impractical, but it would be a nice addition, if possible.
hma: Except for the Georgetown part, the 90-series bus lines serve as great drunk buses.
I think getting the tourists off the metro and onto their own bus system is a brilliant idea... perhaps the mall bus should be extended to popular attractions downtown as well.
I like the idea of the Circulator in theory and it's great they are planning to make a route that people might actually use.
It's pretty frustrating, though, to get stuck behind one as it blocks a lane of NY Ave in front of the Convention Ctr to allow one person to get on, then one to get off. Or on K St. Or in G'town.
I've never seen more than four people on a Circulator at any one time - at any time of day. Has any study been done to see if the extra traffic these buses cause is offset by ridership? By what measurement will the Circulator be a success? Is it worth the $10 million investment by the District?
So far, it seems like a bust to me.
Finally, if this was such a great idea, why hasn't Metro done it before now? (not saying that Metro is great, but still)
On the Union Station-Georgetown line, I see quite a few people on it...not packed, but enough to make it worth not metroing to Foggy Bottom to take the Georgetown Connector.
I have used the Circulator several times to go to Georgetown, and I really like it.
Once more bars open on H Street and until the streetcars are finalized, I would like to see a shuttle bus (or perhaps the Circulator) from Union Station, the H Street Corrifor, and to RFK on game nights.
I believe that Tourmobile has some sort of contract with district for exclusive rights to the mall route and that would be the basis of the lawsuit.
Sara,
Aren't tourists helping to pay for metro? Most ride when DC residents are working so I don't see the major deal with tourists on metro. I actually wish more road during the day so the metro rates wouldn't go up every year (at least it seems that way).
I love the Circulator--I ride it from Union Station area to Georgetown all the time and it is usually mostly full when I ride it after 5:30ish. I've also rode from the Convention Center down towards the waterfront but getting off at the Mall area. I can't wait to use the new line to get from one end of the Mall to the other. Go Circulator Go!
The Circulator is great. I ride it daily on my commute from Chinatown to 21st and K and it always has 30-40 people on it at 8:30...And the majority of time on my way home I can't get a seat.
Re: the Tourmobile contract-- I'm fairly sure (after a Google search) that the contract is actually with NPS and not the DC Government. So that might make for some interesting "who do I sue" questions for Tourmobile.
"Go Circulator Go?"
Christ. I really hope that a good number of these posts are emanating from within WMATA...
I swear I wonder if I'm the only one who reads the paper nowadays. First of all while WMATA provides the drivers, the buses and the routes were originally planned by D.DOT, since Metro has done such a shitty job of providing cross town buses. The G2 is obscenely unreliable, the 30 series buses bunch every single time, and the rest aren't any better. The buses are definitely better quality than anything Metro has except the few CNG buses, they are open, and well lit, almost as good as some of the best city buses in Europe. Getting to Georgetown is either an enduring wait for a bus that never comes or a very long walk.
Unlike MD or VA, DC is wholly dependent on WMATA for bus service, and WMATA hasn't felt the need to care one whit about DC. D.DOT intented to put the pressure on WMATA, to show that with a little focus, they could start their own lines, and remove WMATA's monopoly. Of course DC would simply prefer WMATA provide decent service, but nothing has motivated WMATA to change that thus far. Perhaps Dan Tangherlini, former head of D.DOT can change that.
NPS holds the contract with Tourmobile, but the streets are public property, and DC can't be prohibited from running a bus line there. Most tourists will opt for the Tourmobile, but DC residents need a Circulator there. Try getting to the FDR memorial on WMATA or anywhere in the heat of July on the Mall.
DC Circulator is GREAT. I've taken it from 11th & K to Georgetown for lunch MANY times. Whomever said taxpayers dollars were being wasted on that bus is WRONG - Circulator is a private project.
How about pressuring the leadership and politians to encourage purchase of more Van Hool A330 European style busses? It would be nice to have Van Hool busses on Metro Bus routes. The leadership uses the excuse of Buy America policy, the reason why they won't purchase more Van Hools. I feel rider convenience and comfort is more important than a bureaucratic Buy America policy.