Improving Bus Service with ‘Less Stop, More Go’

October 3rd, 2013

Bus- Boarding DC 119 052406 WMATA Photo by Larry Levine 5-24-06The distance between stops is of key concern to Metro and its customers. More closely spaced stops provide customers with more convenient access, as they are likely to experience a shorter walk to the nearest bus stop. However, closely-spaced stops are also likely to result in a longer ride for customers because of the number of times the bus stops — to decelerate, come to a complete stop and then accelerate and re-merge into traffic — is increased.

Having fewer stops along a bus route benefits passengers not only by reducing the time it takes for them to make their trip, but by making the service more reliable and predictable.  Customer benefit is maximized when the only stops considered for removal have low average weekday ridership for boarding and alighting. We have chosen the 96/97 line, known as the East Capitol Street-Cardozo line, which runs between Capitol Heights Station, Stadium-Armory Station, Union Station, U Street Station, Woodley Park Station, and Tenleytown Station.  Some of the bus stops in the Woodley Park area are also served by the X3 route.

As a part of the Metrobus Service Evaluations, a study was done on this line which ended in January 2013.  That study, which recommended bus stop consolidation, was reviewed by the District Department of Transportation, and went through several rounds of public meetings.  During the month of September, WMATA met with affected officials from council members’ offices and ANCs. A map of those low ridership stops, and a list, is below:

1 Capitol Heights map2 Stadium Armory map3 New Jersey Avenue map4 Woodley-Cathedral map

  • East Capitol St and 60th Street NE, eastbound, Stop #1000797. Routes 96,97
  • East Capitol St and 60th Street NE, westbound, Stop #1000782. Routes 96,97
  • East Capitol St and midblock between 58th Street NE and 60th Street NE , eastbound, Stop #1000781. Routes 96,97
  • East Capitol St and 52nd Street SE, eastbound, Stop #1000778. Routes 96, 97
  • East Capitol St and Division St NE, westbound, Stop #1000819. Routes 96, 97, W4
  • East Capitol St and #4250, eastbound, Stop #1000805. Routes 96, 97
  • East Capitol St and #4250, westbound, Stop #1000774. Routes 96, 97
  • East Capitol St and 19th Street NE, westbound, Stop #1000808. Route 97
  • East Capitol St and 15th Street NE, westbound, Stop #1000806. Route 97
  • East Capitol St and 15th Street NE, eastbound, Stop #1000793. Route 97
  • Mass Ave and 16th, eastbound, Stop #1000701. Route 96
  • Mass Ave and 16th, westbound, Stop #1000707. Route 96
  • East Capitol St and 4th Street NE, eastbound, Stop #1000780. Routes 96, 97
  • East Capitol St and 4th Street NE, westbound, Stop #1000800. Routes 96, 97
  • M St and 1st Street NW, eastbound, Stop #1001340. Route 96, P6
  • New Jersey Ave and O Street NW, northbound, Stop #1001395. Route 96
  • New Jersey Ave and O Street NW, southbound, Stop #1001391. Route 96
  • New Jersey Ave and Q Street NW, northbound, Stop #1001499. Route 96
  • New Jersey Ave and Q Street NW, southbound, Stop #1002978. Route 96
  • Calvert Street and #2601, westbound, Stop #1001841. Routes 96, X3
  • 29th Street and #2727, northbound, Stop #1001880. Routes 96, X3
  • 29th Street and #2745, southbound, Stop #1001888. Routes 96, X3
  • Cathedral Ave and #2931, eastbound, Stop #1002020. Routes 96, X3
  • Cathedral Ave and #2937, westbound, Stop #1002018. Routes 96, X3
  • Woodley Rd and 35th St NW, eastbound, Stop #1002090. Routes 96, X3
  • Woodley Rd and 35th St NW, westbound, Stop #1002083. Routes 96, X3
  • Woodley Rd and 36th St NW, westbound, Stop #1002091. Routes 96, X3

This list is not final, and we would like your comments.

You can submit comments:

WMATA Office of Bus Planning
Bus Stop Consolidation Program
600 5th Street NW, 7-B
Washington, DC 20001

  • Call the Office of Bus Planning, (202) 962-2440
  • Call WMATA customer service, at (202) 637-7000

Comments will be accepted through 10/18/13.  At the end of the comment period, we will post notices at all of the stops listed here to let our customers know the final decision, as well as on this blog.  Stops will be removed on Sunday, December 29, 2013.

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  1. Douglas Bell
    October 3rd, 2013 at 18:05 | #1

    The bus stops at 2727 & 2745 29th St NW serve residents of three significant apartment complexes: Cleveland House, The Delano, and 2800 Woodley. I live in The Delano and I rely on these stops to get onto the 96 route, which is the only full-time route that serves residential areas of Woodley Park. I am often not the only person waiting at those stops when I am waiting to catch the bus.

    I read the results from the 96/97 bus study, which was conducted shortly before I moved to The Delano. They claimed that these stops only get one or two alightings per day; that sounds like a really, really lowball estimate to me.

    There are more residents moving into this area every week, and they will rely on these buses. These stops are centrally located in the middle of a block of 29th Street that is on a fairly steep hill.

    I strongly urge Metro to NOT cancel these two bus stops, and in particular, to add some actual pavement at the 2745 29th St bus stop in order to help improve the safety of that stop.

    • Jamie
      October 4th, 2013 at 11:04 | #2

      Douglas,

      Most of our buses are equipped with Automatic Passenger Counters. Between March and June 2013, the average weekday ridership for the southbound stop (the one with no sidewalk) was 7 on and 4 off. The northbound stop had 8 on and 7 off.

      In either direction, you can either get off the bus at the top of the hill, and walk down towards your apartment, or walk from your apartment to the bottom of the hill, and get on the bus there.

  2. Adam
    October 3rd, 2013 at 18:36 | #3

    Please also look at the 90, 92, and 93 on 8th St NE. There are stops on H St, K, L, and Florida – a stop almost every block. It really slows down the bus along that busy road.

    • Jamie
      October 10th, 2013 at 11:05 | #4

      After our work on the 96/97 line is complete, we do plan to repeat this process on other routes, although I’m not sure which ones yet.
      In terms of the stops that you mentioned for the 90s line: The intersection of 8th and H Streets NE is an extremely busy transfer point between the 90s and the X Lines. 8th and K is a busy transfer point between the 90s and the D Lines. 8th and L, as well as the next stops on Florida Avenue also have decently high ridership.

  3. name
    October 4th, 2013 at 10:04 | #5

    This has been talked about for 30+ years and every single time small groups of neighborhood protesters with nothing better to do come out and b* to hell about how there might be some old person on the block who needs every single stop on the route. As if old and infirmed people weren’t bypassing the bus altogether and using MetroAccess as a personal taxi service.

    This goes no where without significant support from someone on the City Council with some balls. Unfortunately we don’t elect people with a backbone, personal conviction and mental competence to the council, we elect people that can easily be manipulated and bent to the will of the smallest, loudest groups around.

    This issue is a total loser of a political issue. No one gets reelected on this.

  4. Will
    October 4th, 2013 at 11:14 | #6

    I’d also like to suggest some stop elimination for the D6 line. In particular, it stops at both 8th and 9th Streets NE, you can throw a tennis ball between these stops, they are probably only 100 feet from one another. The main stop here should be 8th, where people transfer to the 90s line, and the 9th street stop should be eliminated.

  5. Mark Near RFK
    October 4th, 2013 at 23:38 | #7

    I think that 2 blocks between stops is a good distance compromise. Remember that most people have to walk a block or several to get to a busstop anyway, so adding a block may be the tipping point beyond which this mode is impractical. I also think that a stop on the D6 route on C Street NE at 18th STREET could be eliminated because it is a half-block from one at 18th PLACE. I think that the one at 18th Place should remain because it is more nearly equidistant between the 2 surrounding stops at Constitution Avenue and 17th Street (and it’s closer for ME!). Now if we could only discover the black hole that the busses on this route fall into sometimes…

  6. Jay
    October 7th, 2013 at 23:04 | #8

    I urge WMATA to not cancel the following stops:
    29th Street and #2727, northbound, Stop #1001880. Routes 96, X3
    29th Street and #2745, southbound, Stop #1001888. Routes 96, X3

    These stops serve three large apartment buildings that include a number of older residents that rely on this bus line. This is not to mention the fact that the travel times for the 96 route aren’t really that bad to begin with. Are there that many complaints about this travel time on this particular route, or is this a fabricated problem?

  7. Michael
    October 8th, 2013 at 22:21 | #9

    When looking at discontinuing stops how about also looking at the geography of the area and whether the stop is up or down a hill from the next one.

    One thing I have always wondered why are the number of stops in each direction not equal, on some lines you may have 2 stops in one direction for every 1 stop in the other direction.

  8. Kelli
    October 10th, 2013 at 13:07 | #10

    I like this initiative, but I’m not sure of the metrics you are using to implement it. Are boarding/alighting counts the only consideration for eliminating stops?

  9. Adam
    October 10th, 2013 at 20:58 | #11

    @Jamie Thank you for responding. That’s interesting that 8th & L also has high ridership (I agree that 8th & K and 8th & Florida should be kept). I hope you’re not basing decisions about where to place bus stops only on ridership numbers…also please consider geography. 8th & K and 8th & L are just one block apart. The riders who get on at L St can just walk to K St one block south, or to Florida Ave one block north, and one stop out of three stops in a three-block area will be eliminated.

Comments are closed.