New Shuttle Service Makes H Street NE More Accessible
As anyone who has ever tried to get to H Street NE without a car knows, the area isn’t terribly accessible. Visitors to the area are often faced with a long walk from Union Station, trying to figure out the X2 bus schedule, or the often difficult task of finding a cab back at the end of the night. But all of that is has now changed.
Ward 6 D.C. Council member Tommy Wells and H Street business leaders held a press conference Wednesday in front of the Atlas Theater to announce the launch of a new free shuttle service that will run along H Street, from the Gallery Place Metro station to the Minnesota Avenue station. There are four stops planned between the two stations, and the stops do not overlap with existing X2 Metrobus stops.
Speaking at the press conference, Wells said that the shuttle represents a “very exciting collaboration between the community, business leaders, and the city council.” He stressed the importance of keeping H Street accessible during the period of construction that will take place over the next two years to prepare for a planned streetcar line. “We’re seeing a renaissance of H Street,” Wells said.
Wells said that he and Ward 7 Council member Yvette Alexander worked with the H Street Cooperative, a non-profit organization founded by area business leaders, to secure funding for the transportation solution. He also credited Mayor Fenty’s administration with helping make the shuttle line possible, and noted that the city is investing nearly $50 million dollars to help revitalize the streetscape of H Street.
Echoing Wells’s remarks, Ward 7 Council member Yvette Alexander noted that this shuttle service helps connect Ward 7 to Ward 6 and, by proxy, to the rest of the city. She said that she sees the future of Ward 7 as becoming the “new, downtown Ward 7” with a similar resurgence of retail and economic activity planned, with the new shuttle service playing an important role in connecting the area to Metro.
The shuttle will run from Gallery Place to Minnesota Avenue beginning at 5 p.m. daily and will run until Metro closes (midnight on weeknights, 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights). H Street Cooperative is working to get a web site put together with scheduling information and stops. Passengers can look for the buses with the H Street NE logo on the side.