Results tagged “bus>”

Last week, we reported that the Georgetown/Union Station route of the popular Circulator bus would cease traveling up Wisconsin Ave. beginning Oct. 4, and Monday the District Department of Transportation announced several other route changes to the Circulator buses. The changes will result in the complete cancellation of the National Mall loop during the off-season, plus the loss or addition of service to some stops on other routes.

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.

A Metrobus driver and a bicyclist had a minor collision at the intersection of 14th Street and New York Ave. NW this morning, Metro's Taryn McNeil confirmed. The incident occurred at about 11:45 a.m. this morning.

The two new DC Circulator routes have been updated on the DC Circulator web site. You may now download a PDF that includes all five Circulator routes.

Sundays are normally quieter days on the city's public transit system, but yesterday saw one of the biggest changes to the way customers board Metrobuses since the introduction of SmarTrip cards in 2001.

Whilst browsing through our usual feed of transit news, we came upon this USA Today article about the Drive 55 campaign -- it was of modest interest, but nothing that seemed to be too D.C.-area related. After all, the speed limit for all our major highways in Maryland and Virginia have been set at 65 since the national limit was raised by Congress in November 1995 (see page 20 of this PDF), and only a scant few of the District's roads could even come close to safely allowing such high speeds.

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 years.

It hasn't exactly been hot for the last few days, but the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission wants to remind you that the dog days of summer will soon be upon us, and with them, a number of Code Red air quality days that will prompt the agency to provide free rides on Northern Virginia bus routes. So on Wednesday, April 30, all bus routes in Northern Virginia, including Metrobus, Arlington Transit, Fairfax Connector, Loudoun County Transit, the DASH bus, Virginia Regional Transit, the Falls Church GEORGE, and PRTC will offer free rides all day to get the area reacquainted with the need to take advantage of bus routes when it's most important.

We're always interested in new ideas and policies playing out in other major cities around the world, and this morning The New York Times reports on a fascinating experiment in public transit planning going on in Mexico City. Buses and trains in that other Distrito Federal are apparently awash in frotteurs, and complaints by women of incessant random groping and rubbing on the city's public transit system have led to the establishment of women-only buses.

The Post is reporting that in an 8-2 vote, Metro's finance committee has approved a series of fare hikes at their full meeting today. The plan they approved was the one recently offered by Maryland members of the board, which is less expensive for suburban customers who park and ride. The vote basically guarantees that the full board will approve the fare hikes later today. Here's how the new fares will break down: >> The...

Last week's comment section was full of goodness (and a technical glitch, sorry). From schools to traffic to illegal second timeouts, there was plenty to go around. The comment of the week comes from G Lover Park (who also narrowly missed the coveted best username of the week award). G Lover had a brilliant theory:

If you're heading out of the office to hop on the Green line at this very moment, may we suggest a bus? An unidentified man was struck by a train at 4:40 p.m. at the Fort Totten station and Metro put out the word to expect major delays. From WMATA: (Green line) trains are single-tracking through the area, taking turns headed in both directions between West Hyattsville and Georgia Ave-Petworth Metrorail stations. Shuttle buses have...

On Sunday the Post ran a big story on the future of SmarTrip cards containing some good news for DCist commenters who have long complained that the problem with SmarTrip is that you can't use them and take advantage of any of Metro's special discount passes. WMATA has announced that by the end of 2008, SmarTrip technology will allow customers to realize the benefits of its special passes like the 7-Day Fast Pass, Montgomery County's...

I actually saw this photo last night on Intangible Arts' blog, as he described walking home after his bus became stuck in traffic due to the shooting we mentioned earlier at 13th Street and Columbia Road last night. The short series of images he accumulated as he strolled through the neighborhood after a short rain, wondering about the police activity but noting the continuing, leftover holiday silence, is a classic entry in the book...

The guitarist for the pop-punk band Hawthorne Heights passed away before the group's show at the 9:30 Club over the weekend. Casey Calvert, 25, was found dead on the band's tour bus at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, parked outside the venue in Northwest D.C. A cause of death has yet to be determined, but Calvert's bandmates have been quick to defend against speculation that drugs were involved. They posted the following message to their...

We missed this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but is it really ever too late to point and laugh at New Yorkers? We didn't think so. So, people are probably aware that Five Guys franchises are proliferating across the Eastern U.S. like nuclear weapons in central Asia. The greasy, peanut-laden fingers of our locally born burger stand have spread as far as Delafield, Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee; and Miami, Florida. They've even broken...

Thanks to the holiday, What's That You Say?, our roundup of the best comments, is a day late. But keep your comments coming, and don't forget to register if you haven't. You may already be a winner of the not-really-prestigious weekly avatar and username contests! Comment of the Week: jen209 on D.C. being named only the 8th gayest city in the country: So maybe we ARE the gayest, it's just that all of our gays...

Fox5 reported on Sunday that a member of their staff, Gwen Tolbart, was injured in a collision between her car and a Metrobus on Saturday night on her way home. Tolbart was thankfully not seriously hurt, but the bus driver, Harvey Carey of Lanham, has now been charged with failing to stay in the proper lane, which resulted in the accident.

WMATA has put out a release to remind everyone that the first in a series of six planned public hearings on the proposed Metro fare hike is tonight. All six hearings start at 7 p.m., with open-houses beginning at 6:30 p.m. before each one. Tonight's hearing is in Reston, at the Bechtel Conference Center, which is at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive. To get there, take the Orange line to the West Falls Church station, and...

WMATA has announced that the Huntington and Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail stations will closed this weekend due to major track work, so there will be no Metrorail service between those two stations and the King Street station. Beginning Friday at 9 p.m. and going through the Veteran's Day holiday to midnight on Monday, Yellow line trains will be running to Franconia-Springfield via King Street. Shuttle bus service will operate between Huntington and King Street, with a...

Mark your calendars: WMATA put out a release earlier today announcing the dates of a series of six public meetings at which you can voice your opinions about the proposed Metro fare hikes, which would go into effect in January. The full set of proposed increases is here, but the basics include raising the base fare of Metrorail from $1.35 to $1.65, keep bus fares the same as long as you use SmarTrip cards (add...

WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details: >> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65 >> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35 >> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70 >> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain...

Good morning, Washington. It looks like California's still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase "firefighters all but concede defeat," and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the...

Editors Note: We enjoyed the tour diaries J. Tom Hnatow wrote for us as part of These United States' last tour, so we asked him if he wouldn't mind doing it again as the band embark on their first ever intercontinental tour of the UK and Europe. He graciously agreed. Look for his dispatches from the road abroad over the next few weeks. Tuesday, October 16, 2007 We walk (and walk and walk) from Baker...

Many of you have already visited the "Solar Village" since it opened its gates last Friday on the National Mall. Last weekend the long lines literally wrapped around each house entered into the 2007 Solar Decathlon, with people eager to get a tour from the students, alumni and faculty from each university competitor. The ten competitions have been judged all week, from Architecture last week to Engineering today, with individual winners announced for each leg...

Some people love kids. Some people feel differently. Kids provide unconditional love, but they can also make any flight or train ride interminable. They have great imaginations and can be funny and sweet, but they can also ask the same question 80 times, just because they want to. But whether you're a kid person or not, it's hard to argue with their ability to say complete nonsense. Maybe the non sequiturs match up with whatever...

Any D.C. resident with a laptop who regularly makes a trip to New York or Philadelphia on Amtrak has probably longed for wireless internet access on their journeys. On Monday, Amtrak announced it has installed wireless internet, but just in their stations. Sadly it's not awesome, free internet, but regular old T-Mobile Hot Spots, which costs money. The hot spots will be available at Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Wilmington Station in Delaware, Philadelphia...

Written by DCist Contributer Josh Kramer The Eagle – American University: >>AU students lamented losing their Hollywood Video this week, which is holding a giant closing sale and selling all of its movies. It's unclear what will become of the space, conveniently located next to the AU shuttle bus stop and the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. >>Sgt. Zachary Tellier, a 1998 AU graduate, was killed by enemy fire while fighting in Afghanistan on the 29th of...

We told you long ago, in 2005 that is, that the District planned to roll out 788 new bus shelters as part of a $150 million deal with Clear Channel Outdoor. The shelters are finally starting to slowly creep across the city. On 8th Street between Capitol Hill proper and H Street NE, at least four shelters have been ripped out and are in the process of being replaced with the fancy new digs....

Good morning, Washington. We have to admit it — we have a soft spot for cheerleader-related crime. And this is a good one: the AP (via WTOP) reports on the case of Anna Lois Miles, a cheerleading coach who is charged with holding an illegal gambling event to raise money to... wait for it... repay bail money she borrowed from the parents of a girl she coached after being arrested for writing bad checks!...