Results tagged “transportation”

One day into to the official relaunch of WMATA's Next Bus service, and we've heard a lot positive feedback from bus riders about the usefulness of the system. But some problems with the real-time Metrobus arrival tool are already apparent.

We didn't get this quote down during this morning's press conference, but City Desk provides:

NTSB’s Debbie Hersman this morning confirms that the the striking train was a 1000-series car and that the struck train was a mix of 3000- and 5000-series. She notes that the NTSB has "long been on record" about the crashworthiness of the 1000 series. "We recommended to WMATA to either retrofit those cars or phase them out of service," she says. "Those concerns were not addressed."

UPDATE: City officials are sticking to seven confirmed dead, despite earlier news reports that nine people died. The two additional reported deaths may or may not have been due to confusion about the two critical patients -- we'll continue to monitor reports.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board voted unanimously today to add the Purple Line to its long-range transportation plan, a key approval in the lengthy process to build the new line. Whether the proposed 16-mile line connecting Bethesda to New Carrollton will be light rail or bus rapid transit is still an open question, but a decision on that could happen as early as the end of the summer, assuming the next step, an environmental review process, doesn't drag on and on.

Pretty great news for those of you who regularly travel between D.C. and Baltimore: transportation officials say they've reached an agreement that will allow SmarTrip users to use the cards seamlessly on the Maryland Transit Administration system in and around Baltimore, WTOP reports.

Written by former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent

The Examiner ran an interesting piece this morning on the results of a 2007 survey that suggests that Metrorail riders in the D.C. metro area are wealthy (they have a whopping median income of $102,110) and college educated (80 percent!), while Metrobus riders are less well off: their median income is $69,620, and 59 percent have a college degree. First things first: the most obvious point to be made here is that even Metrobus riders in the D.C. area appear to be very, very well off according to this survey. I mean crap, I realize that figure isn't an average income, but I now feel like one of the poorest people on the bus.

Frustrating but entirely predictable update on Metro's federally mandated cell phone service expansion plan from the Examiner's Kytya Weir today. You'll recall that as part of a $1.5 billion funding package passed by Congress last fall, Metro is required to expand cell phone service coverage to all major companies, including Verizon, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile, to the 20 busiest underground rail stations by October. But of course as Weir writes, it turns out the entire project will "remain a patchwork of service for up to three more years." You will be able to use your phone inside those 20 stations by the end of the year, but not in the subway tunnels adjacent to those stations for a long time later. Metro isn't required to have service up and running in all 47 of their stations until October 2010, and the entire system, including tunnels, until October 2012. So in other words, you'll soon be able to make calls regardless of your service provider while you're standing on many station platforms, but at least for the next couple of years, don't necessarily plan on continuing those calls once you board a train.

This weekend sure is a busy one. What with the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade is on Saturday morning, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk on Sunday morning, plus Wizards, DC United and Nationals games all happening on Saturday night, off-peak hours this weekend on Metro are likely to resemble rush hour. In order to keep up, Metro has no weekend track work scheduled, and they've instituted a number of service changes.

WMATA this week announced a long list of Metrobus route service changes that will go into effect starting Sunday, March 29. Among the highlights: the N22 Navy Yard Shuttle Line and the 98 Adams Morgan-U Street Link will be discontinued to make way for new Circulator routes (starting dates for those lines still have yet to be officially announced); the S9 16th Street Express Line will begin operating during peak weekday hours (on Monday); the 53, 70, 71, 90, 92, 93, and 96 bus routes will be modified to start or end at a different stop; and the L2, the 79 Georgia Avenue Metro Extra Line, and S1 lines will see increased frequency during the morning rush. Consult Metro's full list of bus route and schedule changes to see if your route is affected.

Man, what a day. Just to update those of you still reading at this late hour: Metro is now reporting "emergency track work" at Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center. Trains are sharing the same track between Mt.Vernon Sq and U Street-Cardozo stations, causing delays in both directions, and as of 7:10 p.m., they don't expect it to be fixed for at least 2 more hours. Add this Green/Yellow line delay to the existing problems on the Orange line between East Falls Church and West Falls Church, and you've got a really long late evening commute for all the workaholics still at their desks (or, preferably, those of you heading out to bars). Good luck out there.

It's been a tough morning for WMATA crews working to clear the derailed maintenance vehicle from tracks outside the Courthouse Metro station—the estimates for when this problem is going to be cleared up keep getting pushed back. Here's the story so far, as told through emailed METRO Alerts:

Back in December we reported that BoltBus and Megabus had moved their stop from 11th Street NW just above G Street to around the corner on G Street NW between 9th and 10th, right next to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The move sparked a little bit of controversy, as it wasn't clear whether the location was any better in terms of interrupting traffic, and some customers were reportedly uncomfortable with its proximity to the soup kitchen across the street. Well Penn Quarter Living reports that after Megabus relocated a third time, to 9th Street NW just above H Street along the side of the old convention center site, as of today BoltBus will follow them there. BoltBus's web site confirms the move to 9th and H Streets at the old convention center parking lot.

I've been following all the transportation plans and announcements for weeks. I've poured over Metrobus corridor plans, street closure maps, parking restriction maps, Metrorail station closures, bridge closure rules, jumbotron locations, and lists of security checkpoint entrances. And to all of you out there still sitting there, at 10 p.m. on Inauguration Eve, wondering exactly which way you're going to get down to the Inauguration festivities tomorrow morning, all I can say is, best of luck to you.

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The AlertDC system, responding about four hours late to the game, is reporting that the water main break at 16th and L Streets NW that throttled downtown traffic this morning is not estimated to be repaired until 6 p.m. at the earliest. That means you should plan on your trek home possibly being as infuriating as the trip to the office was this a.m. DDOT is still advising motorists to avoid 16th and 17th Streets downtown.

Penn Quarter Living reminds us that as of Monday, popular discount bus lines BoltBus and MegaBus moved their shared stop two blocks from its previous location, from 11th Street NW just above G Street to around the corner on G Street NW between 9th and 10th. With the rush to get out of town for Christmas in full swing today, do note the change if you're riding one of these two bus lines up I-95. You'll recall that back in June, DDOT attempted to relocate all commercial bus lines to a single location at L'Enfant Plaza, but later backed off the plan due to public outcry. Do you think this new G Street location makes a better bus stop than 11th Street? Neither DC2NY nor any of the Chinatown lines have moved their stops.

$68,000. That's how much money WMATA earned from web advertising in the last fiscal year. It's also, according to the Examiner, what the agency says is keeping Washington's public transit riders from being able to use Google Transit, a story which has picked up considerable steam since Greater Greater Washington got it started and we reported on it last weekend.

The Washington Times reports that the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project will be completed and all 10 lanes opened by Monday morning's rush hour. It's difficult to quite comprehend what the end of this project will mean for commuters; it's virtually impossible to remember a time when the Wilson Bridge, either the old or the new one, didn't cause huge backups. As long as the weather cooperates this weekend though, it should be the last time you'll have to avoid the bridge due to construction. Road crews will be paving and re-striping new lanes through Sunday at noon, creating, naturally, huge delays.

Think your neighborhood isn't connected to the city's transit system well enough by bus? You can make your voice heard at public meetings for the DC Neighborhood Circulation Study this week and next week. The study aims to identify and improve current deficiencies in transit connectivity and surface transportation efficiency. The meetings start today and run through Dec. 16, focusing on various areas of the city: the Trinidad area meeting is today at the Trinidad Rec Center (1310 Childress Street NE); Wednesday is the Capitol View/Benning Heights area meeting at the 6th District Police Station (100 42nd Street NE); Northwest D.C. is Thursday at the Trinity AME Zion Church (3505 16th Street NW); the Bellevue area is next Tuesday at the the Specialty Hospital of Washington-Hadley (4601 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SW). All meetings have an open house starting at 6:30 p.m. and presentations beginning at 7.

As promised, WMATA launched a redesigned web site today, accessible either from MetroOpensDoors.com or www.wmata.com. It's certainly a step in the right direction as far as giving Metro the appearance of being a part of the 21st century goes, though for longtime Wmata.com users, it'll take some getting used to.

The Wilson Bridge will be restricted to a single lane this weekend, and officials are warning drivers to avoid it all together or risk facing traffic delays of 90 minutes or more. The lane closures are part of ongoing construction aimed at opening two new through lanes on the Beltway, which are currently slated to open next weekend.

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.

As we reported earlier this week, the District of Columbia arranged with Metro to open the rail system an hour earlier than normal this morning, at 4 a.m. instead of 5 a.m., in order to accommodate shoppers looking to be the first to arrive for early bird sales on "Black Friday." Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein emailed to let us know that 2,287 people rode Metro between 4 and 5 a.m. today, and that the cost to the city to pay Metro to open early was $27,000. That comes out to the District having paid $11.80 for each early bird rider. Given that today is also a tax-free holiday for shoppers in the District, that $27,000 is money the city won't make back in sales tax revenue, either.

As if travel and transit weren't already bad enough this Thanksgiving weekend, federal authorities are warning of a potential terrorist plot on the New York City subway system during this holiday season. And while the FBI may be calling the threat "plausible but unsubstantiated," WTOP is reporting that D.C.'s Metro system is responding by placing itself on alert as well. A Metro spokesperson told WTOP that they have "no reason to believe that the D.C. system is a target," but Metro Transit Police officers are now being put on a state of "increased vigilance and visibility," meaning you may notice more transit police in Metro stations and at bus stops.

There aren't a ton of reasons you'd be heading to Judiciary Square on the weekend, but be aware that the entire Metro station will be closed on Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., due to security measures for the G20 Summit. The National Building Museum, where the summit of panicked world finance ministers is being held, will also be closed all weekend. And note that if you work late on Friday night, the F Street entrance at Judiciary Square will close at 7 p.m., but you can still access the station that evening by using the 4th and D Street entrance.

Veterans Day is Tuesday, which means federal workers have the day off and transit schedules will be different. WMATA says that Metro will be operating on a modified Saturday schedule tomorrow; that means the system will open at the regular 5 a.m. time, but peak travel times will operate on a non-peak basis. In other words, budget a little extra time on your way in to work tomorrow, since there will be fewer trains running than normal. Other changes for Tuesday include that off-peak fares will be in effect all day and parking at all Metro lots will be free. Metrobus and MetroAccess will operate on a normal, non-holiday schedule.

Back in May, we learned about the National Zoo's desire to install an aerial tram, similar to the one at the San Diego Zoo (pictured left). Today, the Examiner and AP are reporting that massive, 20-year long $1 billion master plan to renovate the Zoo has been approved, and it includes installing the aerial tram.

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 Metrorail system pay full price for both.

Metro decided to give the region a weekend off from maintenance delays...but not until next weekend. On the weekend of November 14-16, there's no scheduled track work. Complete weekends without any track work are relatively rare for Metro, so get out there and ride the rails with impunity! There will, however, be delays this weekend on the Red, Blue, and Orange lines. You'll need to factor in an extra 25 minutes if you're riding between Eastern Market and Stadium-Armory or Friendship Heights and Medical Center.