Major changes are coming to Metrobus beginning Sunday, June 29.
More than 500 bus stops in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will be eliminated for WMATA’s Better Bus Network redesign.
Metro said Better Bus is the first major redesign of the system in more than 50 years.
“Over the course of decades, there’d be a hospital and that hospital is no longer there. We have a new hospital. We have schools that have changed. We have — if you look 20 years ago, what Noma was today, Noma didn’t exist like that 20 years ago, right? And we have different changes all throughout the region, and Metro, like a lot of transit agencies, never took the opportunity to do constant adjustments. Now we had to reset the entire table, right?” WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke said of the redesign on Friday.
All Metrobus routes and schedules will change — and every single route will be renamed, Metro said.
“If you’re in the District, your old numbers are now changing to letters D and C. D is downtown, more or less north-south. C is crosstown,” Clark said.
How do I know if my bus stop will be removed?
Metro has posted signs at the bus stops to warn riders of the upcoming changes.
Riders can also go here to find a full list of the stops that Metro is removing.
How can I find my new Metrobus route?
To figure out your new bus route:
- Go to WMATA.com/BetterBus
- Type in your current route in the blue box that says “New Bus Network Tool | Find Your New Route”
- Click “Find My New Route”
For the majority of the 527 stops Metro is taking off the map, there’s another bus stop nearby, according to Metro.
Metro has touted the redesign as an effort to consolidate and improve bus service, but some riders have voiced concerns about their closest bus stops being eliminated.
“I don’t know how we are going to get around. I really don’t,” 82-year-old Yvonne Williams said. She lives in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast D.C. “We’ve got to keep the bus on Edgewood.”
Williams walks with a cane. She said the closest stop to her on the D8 line, which she uses to get to medical appointments, is one of the hundreds of stops that will be removed.
“We are very empathetic with anyone that has a change that might not work for them. I think the last thing I saw was about 95% of people that use the bus today are going to have better service. And so these are challenging decisions that are made,” Clarke said. “So overall, aggregate, more people are going to get better service, including a lot of people that desperately need it. Lower income people, people that have no other option, we are providing more and better service for them.”
Montgomery County Ride On and Prince George’s County TheBus are also changing service on June 29 and June 30, respectively. Go here for more details and information.
Metro is hosting community meetings throughout the month to help riders learn about the changes. Head here for meeting information.
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