Less Stop, More Go: The 23 Line
Customers boarding the 23A at Ballston
The 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. This also can lead to increased fuel and maintenance costs.
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.
Following a successful bus stop consolidation on the 96/97 this past December, WMATA is proposing to discontinue some low ridership, closely spaced stops on the 23A, B, T, which currently runs between Crystal City and Tysons. Some of these stops are shared with routes 3T, 9S, 10A, 10B, 10E, 10R, 13Y, 15M, 25A, 25B, 25E, 38B, and ART Routes 41, 51, and 52. Since the routing of the 23 Line will be modified upon the opening of the Silver Line, we are only focusing on the section between Crystal City and the intersection of Old Dominion Dr & Chain Bridge Road. A large portion of Old Dominion Drive in Fairfax was also not considered for bus stop consolidation due to its lack of sidewalks. WMATA conducted a study of the 23A in 2010. As in other studies, bus stop consolidation was recommended, but not acted upon until now. This effort, along with another bus stop consolidation along the 30s Line in DC, will be implemented on August 24, 2014.
In April, WMATA met with reached out to Arlington County transportation staff , as well as Fairfax County DOT, Dranesville District Supervisor’s office, and five neighborhood civic groups, to discuss provide information and receive feedback on this proposal. And in April and May, WMATA met with Arlington County DOT staff and reached out to the Arlington County Board as well as 21 members of various civic and business groups. The list of bus stops that we propose to consolidate was refined, and our proposal is below:
Click on the map thumbnail for the full sized version.
| Street | Cross Street | Direction | Route(s) | Stop ID |
| South Bell Street | 15th St | southbound | 9S 13Y 16H 23A 23B | 6000209 |
| Crystal Drive | 18th St | northbound | 9S 13Y 23A 23B | 6000894 |
| S Clark Street | 20th St | southbound | 9S 23A 23B | 6000156 |
| 23rd Street | 26th St | eastbound | 10A 10R 23A 23B | 6000123 |
| 23rd Street | S Kent St | westbound | 10A 10R 23A 23B | 6000128 |
| S Arlington Ridge Rd | 23rd St | southbound | 10A 10E 10R 23A 23B | 6000118 |
| S Shirlington Rd | S Kemper Rd | northbound | 10B 23A 23B 23T ART 87 | 6000056 |
| S Kenmore St | #1941 | northbound | 10B 23A 23B 23T | 6000112 |
| S Kenmore St | #1936 | southbound | 10B 23A 23B 23T | 6000113 |
| S Glebe Rd | 14th St | northbound | 23A 23B 23T | 6000186 |
| S Glebe Rd | 14th St | southbound | 23A 23B 23T | 6000189 |
| S Glebe Rd | 9th St | northbound | 23A 23B 23T | 6000248 |
| S Glebe Rd | 9th St | southbound | 23A 23B 23T | 6000246 |
| S Glebe Rd | 7th St | southbound | 23A 23B 23T | 6000282 |
| N Glebe Rd | Cathedral Ln | northbound | 10B 23A 23B 23T | 6000361 |
| N Glebe Rd | Cathedral Ln | southbound | 10B 23A 23B 23T | 6000785 |
| N Fairfax Dr | N Taylor St | eastbound | 2A 23A 23T – 25A 25B 25E 38B ART 51 | 6000526 |
| N Fairfax Dr | N Taylor St | westbound | 23A 23T ART 51 | 6000531 |
| N Glebe Rd | VA-237 | southbound | 23A 23T | 6000589 |
| N Glebe Rd | 13th St | southbound | 23A 23T ART 52 | 6000608 |
| N Glebe Rd | 17th St | northbound | 23A 23T | 6000654 |
| N Glebe Rd | 17th St | southbound | 23A 23T | 6000663 |
| N Glebe Rd | N Wodley St | northbound | 23A 23T | 6000703 |
| N Glebe Rd | 20th St | southbound | 23A 23T | 6000695 |
| N Glebe Rd | Lee Hwy | northbound | 23A 23T | 6000750 |
| Old Dominion Dr | N Dinwiddie St | westbound | 23A 23T | 6000773 |
| Old Dominion Dr | Kirby Rd | westbound | 23A 23T | 5001611 |
| Old Dominion Dr | Kirby Rd | eastbound | 23A 23T | 5001615 |
This list is not final, and we would like your comments.
You can submit comments:
- In the comments on blog post below,
- Using the contact form on www.wmata.com/betterbus
- Sending a letter to:
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 06/20/14. At the end of the comment period, we will post notices at all of the stops listed here, as well as on this blog, to let our customers know the final decision, . Stops will be removed on Sunday, August 24, 2014.
I live in South Arlington on 14th St. S. off S. Glebe Rd. I ride a WMATA bus to every weekday, but never the 23A.
Having reviewed your .pdf map showing the stops you propose to eliminate, your plan makes sense to me. I approve!
If you can make bus routes more efficient (and, in the process, presumably achieve marginal savings in fuel, wear-and-tear, and money) without unduly burdening customer access, you should–most riders will ultimately appreciate and benefit from buses that more reliably adhere to the posted timetables. Thanks!
I realize that this is a post about stop consolidation, but I would also ask that you consider moving stops on this line. Certainly, Crystal City’s legacy street pattern is difficult to serve, but moving the eastern end of the route entirely to S 23rd and Crystal Drive would help with wayfinding; I’ve been confused before about where stops are located depending on whether I’m traveling inbound to Crystal City or outbound. Of course, you need to keep the loop at the north end so that the bus can get around into the bus bay by Crystal City metro, but I would love to see the southern portion in Crystal City simplified.
Otherwise, thanks for considering consolidation!
I am a regular bus rider who uses one of the stops that is proposed to be eliminated. Since becoming aware of the potential bus stop consolidation along South 23rd St in Arlington, I’ve been paying close attention to how many times the bus actually does stop. It is very, very rare that any individual bus stops on two consecutive blocks. In fact, it’s far more common for the bus to pass three, four or more stops without picking up or dropping off passengers. So I don’t think that eliminating stops along 23rd Street will lead to better overall service – the only result would be to result in longer walks to and from the stops. I would be interested to know if WMATA has actual data that conflicts with my own observations.
I would add that with the cutbacks in blue line metrorail service between Pentagon and Rosslyn, WMATA should be looking for ways to mitigate the disruption for South Arlington commuters who connect to the Orange Line in Rosslyn. The recent introduction of Route 10R bus has been a huge positive step toward doing that. Eliminating bus stops would be an unnecessary backward step.
I live in NW DC. My stop – proposed for consolidation – is southbound 1002560 at the corner of Wisconsin and Ellicott NW. If that stop were closed, I would have to use the stop at Wisconsin and Fessenden. From observation, that would be additional distance of MAYBE 50 feet that I would have to walk in the morning. This is an outrage, and if I have to do it, I will stop paying taxes and barricade myself in my house.
I am joking, go for it. :)
If it makes my commute faster, I will some how muddle through, weeping the entire way…