Mayor Muriel Bowser and the District Department of Transportation announced seven potential routes for the DC Circulator bus in Ward 7, and asked transit riders to give their opinions.

“The new Ward 7 Circulator route is an essential part of our efforts to connect all eight wards through an affordable and convenient public transit system,” said Bowser in a press release. “We look forward to hearing feedback from residents on which route best meets the needs of the Ward 7 community.”

Unlike the Metro buses that operate in the city through WMATA, the city runs the DC Circulator. The Potomac Avenue-Skyland route, which provided service to parts of Ward 7, was eliminated in 2018. Currently, there is no Circulator running in wards 3, 4, 5, and 7.

Bowser budgeted $13 million for a new Ward 7 Circulator route in 2019, which would add to the six current routes in operation.

Her budget that year also included making the Circulator free, claiming it would lead to more transportation equity in the city. But the D.C. Council pushed back. The council’s transportation committee wrote that the free fares were “an expensive proposal with little to no evidence to date that it will achieve its stated goals” of helping low-income residents. The council’s intervention meant that, after seven months of free service, riders started paying $1 to ride the Circulator again in October 2019.

In the newly released survey about the Ward 7 route options, transit riders can rank the seven potential routes for the Circulator and leave suggestions to propose alternative routes. The seven routes were chosen by a focus group that included members of the Ward 7 community, according to the release.

DDOT will host a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, October 14 to discuss and further inform residents about the Circulator plans and route options.

The survey will close on October 23, 2020 and a final transit development plan will be released in December, according to DC Circulator site.

These are the proposed options:

• Union Station-Deanwood-East Capitol Street (Northeast Alignment Alternative 1): Currently served by Metrobus Route 97 peak service, this 14.56 mile route would serve Deanwood, Benning Road, Stadium Armory, and Union Station Metro Stations.
• New York Avenue-Deanwood-Benning Road (Northeast Alignment Alternative 2): Metrobus routes B2 and W4 would share connections on this 10.57 mile route; an alternative end of line at Union Market would extend the route to 17.26 miles.
• Potomac Avenue-Benning Road (Southeast Alignment Alternative 1): Metrobus routes M6 and W4 would share connections on this 9.30 mile route.
• Alabama-Good Hope-Naylor Road (Southeast Alignment Alternative 2): This 10.92 mile route is currently served by Metrobus routes M6 and the 30s.
• Skyland-Minnesota Avenue-Deanwood (North-South Alignment Alternative 1): Currently served by Metrobus U7, this 12.59 mile route would serve Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue Metro Stations, and Skyland; an alternative end of line at Fort Lincoln would extend the route to 18.06 miles.
• Navy Yard-Benning Road (North-South Alignment Alternative 2): Metrobus route W4 would share connections; this 10.85 mile route would serve Benning Road and Navy Yard Metro Stations, and Skyland.
• Navy Yard-Benning Road via Minnesota Avenue (North-South Alignment Alternative 3): Metrobus route W4 would share connections; this 10.95 mile route would serve Benning Road and Navy Yard Metro Stations, and Skyland.