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The Georgetown/Union Station route of the popular Circulator bus is slated to cease traveling up Wisconsin Ave. to Whitehaven St. before it turns around, DDOT spokesperson John Lisle confirmed today.
The Georgetown Metropolitan first reported word of a possible change to the Circulator route on Monday, and later posted a follow-up piece reporting that City Manager Neil Albert had in fact already signed off on the plan. The second story also includes a form letter residents can send to urge D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to change his mind about the plan. The letter cites decreased bus service up Wisconsin Ave. in the last year due to the reorganization of the 30 bus lines as the main reason to keep the existing service.
The Georgetown/Union Station Circulator did not originally go all the way to Whitehaven Street, but was extended on a trial basis in 2007. In 2008, DDOT decided to keep the extension, citing a continued need along the southern section of Wisconsin Avenue for the service.
DDOT provided a list of reasons why they've now decided to eliminate the Whitehaven extension, which we've posted after the jump. The change is slated to become effective on or about October 4.
- The Circulator Whitehaven extension carried 2 percent of the entire Georgetown-Union Station route’s ridership but was responsible for 15 percent of its cost.
- The elimination of the extension to Whitehaven will allow the Circulator to reduce the number of in-service buses, which will lower the overall cost of providing the service.
- These cuts are made necessary due to budgetary considerations. The Circulator was forced to make reductions to its budget just as many other programs were across the District government.
- DDOT and WMATA staffs have worked together to enhance and improve the 30’s lines to make them a viable public transportation alternative for residents and visitors to Georgetown. The revised 30’s lines provide scheduled headways of 10 minutes or better all day, every day between Friendship Heights and Foggy Bottom via Wisconsin Avenue and M Street with a span of service from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.
- The residents in this area/segment of Wisconsin Avenue have a choice of two cross-town services offered by the 32/36 lines that run from the Friendship Heights Metro, along Wisconsin Avenue, via Georgetown, to Downtown and then onto SE Washington. They also enjoy the 31 bus line service that travels from Friendship Heights Metro, along Wisconsin Avenue via Georgetown to Washington Circle.
- All these services are currently being evaluated as part of the 30s and 70s Bus Service Evaluation scheduled to conclude in November 2009. One of the current considerations is the extension of the 31 route to service the Downtown beyond Washington Circle.
- Georgetown residents who want to go downtown also have the option of the frequent rush hour service on the D series buses via Q Street and the G2 route which operates across P Street with free transfers to north-south bus routes.
- Congestion along Wisconsin Avenue continues to be an issue. Since implementing the extension up to Whitehaven, we have been challenged with maintaining the 10 minute headways that is the foundation of the Circulator brand. In addition, the increased service provided by the 30’s lines eliminates the need to layer additional Circulator service on top of a much improved Metrobus service.
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Why exactly are we in protest of this plan? Why should all of us bear the financial burden of a service that benefits very very few?
Now get rid of the route to the SW Waterfront. Those busses are nearly always empty. Right now, the Waterfront offers nothing for tourists, except for Phillips, which draws most of its tourist trade from bus groups.
One day, when the waterfront actually offers something, you can bring the Circulator back.
Glad they got rid of this. It screwed up the timing of the line.
BUT KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE SW WATERFRONT ROUTE!!!
I love taking my own personal chauffeured bus to Union Station in the morning. Unfortunately, I think it might be next on the block.
sorry, I was referring to the SE, Nats-Union Station line.
I once took the SW line to and from a Caps game from a friend's house near the Waterfront. It was literally a private ride both ways! Like a limo...
I pass that bus all the time in the morning and afternoon. There's never more than two passengers on it.
Keep your stinkin' paws off my SW Circulator Bus! I've seen plenty of empty cabs driving around in circles. Okay, maybe there's invisible people sitting in the back. At least they wave to me.
The Circulator's L'Enfant to Waterfront leg definitely lags in ridership, but it still draws considerably better than the upper Georgetown or Union Station-Navy Yard runs. And the drivers are far better than those on the Union Station-Georgetown route, by which I mean faster. It should be put on notice, but not killed yet.
However, the Convention Center-Waterfront route, and every other route except for McPherson Square-Woodley Park, needs to lop off about two-thirds of the stops.
This is a good start. Now, cut the number of stops in half. The number of stops the Georgetown line makes does a disservice to the term "Circulator". It's ridiculous that it makes stops along every single block of K Street. Once every three blocks would be about ideal.
I don't know why thy stopped going up K st. That was speedy. Also, can they please take the governors off the buses that only let them go 15 mph???? I swear drivers get a bonus if they hit every red light.
amen! the k street line needs to be somewhat more like the 14th street line (maybe somewhere between the two right now in density of stops)
Yeah, taking out about 1/3 to 1/2 of the stops would help things on the K St. route a lot.
The Circulator system is quite possible the worst run bus service I have EVER encountered. The Drivers clearly don't give a damn about anything other than running out the clock, and the services general disdain for its passengers is shown by the frequent "spacing stops" they make. By "spacing stops" I mean when the bus will stop, full of people, on K street and wait for 5 or more minutes just to put some space between the buses on the route. This is the most infuriating thing about the system. Beyond that, the drivers are unbelievably slow and incredibly passive. They take no pride in the efficiency of the system or in getting their passengers to their destination quickly.
Are you trolling? I've found the drivers really nice. Also, the spacing stops are necessary. I agree they go to slow, however. I would take a circulator over a city bus any day of the week.
Not trolling at all. I find the service on the Circulator to be atrocious. The spacing stops are unbelievably inconvenient to those of us who ride the bus. As far as the drivers, have you ever gotten on the bus at Union Station, inside the garage? They stand around like a bunch of schoolgirls and pay absolutely no attention to people waiting to board the bus or trying to figure out which one is leaving next. If you ask, you're met with attitude, as you're clearly interrupting their social hour. I've been taking the MetroBus a little more lately because the drivers are at least a little more aggressive and drive the actual speed limit.
definitely a troll.
charliegal: i disagree. the commenter makes some valid points and observations.
Sorry to hear that. But I've rarely had a bad experience with the Circulator. I love the Adams Morgan-to-McPherson Square route (love the infrequent stops). Haven't had to deal with a "spacing stop" on K Street for a long time. My only pet peeve is the passengers, who seem oblivious to the fact you have to push the button that says "open doors" after the bus stops. Well that and the slow speed.
I love the 14th St-Adams Morgan-Woodley route (and actually find that the drivers go somewhat faster on it, probably in part because they don't have to stop so often), but you're damn right about the K Street route. I rode from Gtown one night when a driver was being trained, and the damn bus was single-handedly causing a traffic jam. We can't have hit 15 mph that whole ride.
Yeah, I take the K St. Circulator everyday, and more or less every driver has been friendly. While the spacing stops are seriously annoying, it's been really pretty rarely that I've seen them do it.
Yeeeeah, I guess this plan makes sense. Wisconsin does seem overloaded with all the Metro and Circulator buses.
Now can we please get a Circulator running from Dupont to Georgetown? Seriously, these are two of the biggest neighborhoods in the city and getting between them is unwieldy. No, I don't like waiting 5 days in between D and G buses. And no again, the Georgetown Blue bus is not reliable.
"They also enjoy the 31 bus line service..." Does anyone enjoy a bus line? Language, people!
Circulator drivers range from very pleasant (mostly) to apathetic to every now and then a bit crazy. But I ride it frequently and think it's a bargain, especially since they didn't raise the $1 rate with Metro's most recent round of fare increases. The slowness and, yes, even the staying put despite a green light due to spacing are annoying at times, but tolerable.
sparemonk: i'm sure there are a few folks who really do "enjoy" a bus line, if you catch my drift...
The revised 30’s lines provide scheduled headways of 10 minutes or better all day, every day between Friendship Heights and Foggy Bottom via Wisconsin Avenue and M Street with a span of service from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Is this actually true? Because it definitely doesn't seem like that when you're, you know, waiting for the bus.
I guess I don't care all that much. When I take a bus on that route, I'm almost always going between Foggy Bottom and Calvert Street, and the Circulator didn't go that far anyway.
Also, what does this mean for the late-night Whitehaven to Farragut service? Will it become Foggy Bottom to Farragut ... a parallel of the Blue/Orange Line?
Oh good, this behemoth was always in the way, stopping to chat with other drivers, etc. When they weren't hitting buildings. http://dcist.com/2007/04/bus_hits_george.php
maybe they just should be running the shorter buses that are used on the 14th street route...
Wow this is a dumb idea. Whoever thought of this brilliant plan obviously does not depend on the circulator for their daily commute. If the "streamlined 30's buses" are packed now, imagine once they 86 this circulator route.
Just silly.
Since implementing the extension up to Whitehaven, we have been challenged with maintaining the 10 minute headways that is the foundation of the Circulator brand.
True, true. Branding here is a very important issue. I mean, with all the consumer choices out there in busses around the city . . . you've got to stay on top of your game in terms of brand identity.
I know when I see a Circulator(R) bus, I automatically associate it with much higher efficiency. It's as if the red paint somehow allows it to magically apparate at the various stops or move at ridiculously high speeds even though traffic. Hmmm . . . now that I think about it . .. .it's just like that bus in the Harry Potter movie---same red paint and all! Mere coincidence, I think not.
Why does the Convention Center/SW route turn around at O street? If it went like 3 blocks further up to Rhode Island it could service Shaw/Howard. 5 blocks more and it could pull in a lot of Bison and U street folk.
What Metro doesn't mention is that the service "enjoyed" by bus riders on alternate lines (30s, D buses, etc) are so infrequent and unreliable that many riders opt to take the Circulator instead. (headways of 10 min or less on the 30s, my ass) So where will the Circulator buses turn around instead?
Bummer. There goes my dream of connecting the Georgetown Circulator and the Adams Morgan Circulator at the Cathedral into a Northwest Loop. That's the one route that no bus or rail serves, and makes the division in the city all too stark. Alas. If I could just get to Georgetown, I might go there.
Percents and cost-benefit belay the public service. It's very 1960s to view transport as merely for commuters. Moving drunk people home from Georgetown on reliable late night public transport is worth cost. Otherwise the public pays the hard way with drunk drivers. I don't believe either of those bus lines listed runs as late as the Circulator does. Let alone on any sort of schedule.
it seems like the city doesn't realize that sometimes, in order for this service to work, you have to deal with partially empty buses for awhile until people learn that the service is there. if you never promote it and don't give people a chance to warm up to it, taking it away almost as soon as you offer it, it'll never get decent ridership.