You're on a mission and you're wishin'
Someone could cure your walkin’ condition
Got no scooter and you got no car
Then you got no ride and there you are
And what comes next? Hey, Bus to Move!
Bus gets dark when it starts to go
Then you dream a fine woman sittin' in your row
She's dressed in yellow, she says "hello
Come sit next to me, you fine fellow!"
You run over there without a second to lose
And what comes next? Hey, Bus to Move!
So to the bus you're strollin', real high-rollin'
Everything you have is yours and not stolen
Lookin' for a ride in all the wrong places
You see no bus just worried faces
WMATA comes out with somethin' to prove
So don't just stand there, Bus to Move!
Well, after five years of the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) threatening to alter or eliminate Glover Park’s D2 bus, and saving it at the last minute each year, it looks like finally the bus has hit the fan. WMATA’s “Better Bus” network redesign campaign will become “Worse Bus” for many in Glover Park if they do not respond favorably to past public commentary under review during the next two months. The public comment period closed on July 15th, and the WMATA Board will finalize the new route system in the fall, to begin operation in the summer of 2025.
The “WMATA Compact” was formed in 1967 as a consortium of the District of Columbia, The Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland, with the consent of Congress, considering the transportation system’s unique position in support of federal government operations. WMATA has a monumental budget challenge as they are required by the Compact to approve a balanced budget each year (what a novel idea). Also, they have a requirement that “all costs shall be borne by the persons using or benefiting from the Authority’s facilities and service,” though in recent years there has been a tremendous gap in user revenue and operating costs, partly due to Covid ridership reductions which have not rebounded fully. In fact, WMATA forecasts only $54 million in revenue (primarily from passenger fares and advertising), while expenses for fiscal year 2025 (7/1/24-6/30/25) are budgeted at $670 million! As a result, the four Compact members need to subsidize the bus system on a massive scale. The federal government carried the bulk of the burden during Covid with various relief subsidies such as the American Rescue Plan Act, though now that money is phased out. Though the three jurisdictions stepped up (at the last minute this spring) to fill the budget gap to avoid the draconian cuts they threatened, WMATA still has needed to make hard decisions on service cuts. To ease this pain recurring each year through eternity, they started the Better Bus initiative to redesign the route system to be more cost efficient and customer focused where possible, often making cuts to lines that had low ridership or high expenses.
Glover Park’s D2 bus is one of the low ridership routes (relative to other areas of the system) and has gotten repeated scrutiny for elimination or alteration. Currently, the bus drives through neighborhood, west of Tunlaw Road and New Mexico Avenue, with nine stops in the neighborhood – very convenient for those who live off of the main roads. Plus, the current route effectively is a short shuttle to and from the Dupont Circle metrorail station, making the bus arrivals a little more predictable (ok not always). The Better Bus initiative eliminates all stops within the Glover Park neighborhood, so riders will need to walk to the main roads of New Mexico Avenue or Tunlaw Road to catch a ride, or trek further to Wisconsin Avenue for more frequent bus service. From the furthest point in the neighborhood, this is about a 6-8 block walk.
The new bus routes are below. The PDF at the bottom has the full route map where you can zoom in and out to see the entire route system for DC:
D96 – from north at the Bethesda Metro station, to Western Ave, to Massachusetts Ave, to Nebraska Ave (past AU), to New Mexico Ave (entering Glover Park) to Tunlaw Rd, to 37th St (exiting Glover Park), continuing on the old D2 route to Dupont Circle metro, doing a loop through Farragut North metro and Foggy Bottom, to head back to Bethesda. About 7.5 miles in one direction! This route will be designed as a “low frequency” route, with bus intervals of 30 minutes, and very likely much distortion during rush hour considering the distance.
C85 – from the Knollwood Lifeplan Community in Chevy Chase DC at 6200 Oregon Ave, north to Western Ave (border of MD), then back south down Western Ave, to Utah Ave, a loop to Tenleytown Metrorail, to Massachusetts Ave, to Idaho Ave, west on Cathedral Ave, south on New Mexico Ave (entering Glover Park), to Tunlaw Rd, to 37th St (exiting Glover Park), to right on Reservoir (past GU Hospital), to Foxhall Rd, a loop to the new MacArthur High School on MacArthur Blvd (where the eliminated D6 used to run), then down Canal Rd and M St into Georgetown, to Pennsylvania Ave, to Foggy Bottom metro and GWU, then then reverse back to Chevy Chase along the same route. This is about an 8 mile route one way, and like the D96, will be a “low frequency” route with 30 minute intervals.
D82 - Those needing a higher frequency bus will need to walk to Wisconsin Avenue to catch the D82, which will run from Friendship Heights metrorail down Wisconsin Ave to M Street and Pennsylvania Ave, turning back around K St and 16th St downtown near the McPherson Square metro. The D82 will run every 12 minutes.
The new bus routes will run 5:30 am to midnight only (6 am start on weekends). Stay tuned, this plan is not final, though your voice likely will not be heard now unless you chain yourself to a D2 and scream a lot. You’ll be happy to know that the direct route from downtown to the MGM National Harbor Casino in Maryland has been preserved as a high frequency route operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If our ANC3B could lobby like the casinos, we would have Uber service on demand for all Glover Park residents….
*Non-altered song credits go to Delicious Vinyl Island, Marvin Young, Matt Dike, Marvin Ross and Young MC. No credit goes to Weird Al Yankovic.