Various DCist contributors and readers have reported seeing police-escorted convoys of old, empty Greyhound buses noisily making their way through the city since Saturday. Sirens wailing and lights flashing, these convoys have been spotted on Connecticut Avenue just north of Dupont Circle, along U Street, and in the vicinity of Chinatown. Rumors have been quick in coming — A foreign dignitary? A city-wide test of the civil emergency response system? A couple of cops and their bus driving friends out for a good time?

DCist decided to engage in a little guessing and a little digging.

The most likely reason for the convoys, and one verified by the Public Information Office of the Metropolitan Police Department, is the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference. Touted by the Post as drawing much of “Washington’s political firmament,” this year’s conference, held at the Washington Convention Center, features such speakers as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and many others. The buses were probably used to ferry participants to and from area hotels to the Convention Center. According to MPD, this is a service AIPAC paid for. Thankfully for the easily perturbed, the conference is set to end today, and along with it, those convoys. Or so we hope.

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