Save The Circulator!

As GM reported on Monday, DDOT is considering a significant cut in the Circulator service through Georgetown. GM has found out that the proposal is a lot further on than he feared and thus the necessity for action is much more urgent.

DDOT has decided to cut the Circulator extension based on budgetary concerns and ridership totals. Apparently Jack Evans has already fought the cut and lost and City Administrator Neil Albert has already signed off on the plan. The only hope we have to keep the service is for residents and businesses to appeal to Mayor Fenty directly.

So please write to the Mayor at:

Mayor Adrian Fenty
Executive Office of the Mayor
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 316
Washington, DC 20004
or email at Mayor@DC.gov

And let him know that cutting Circulator service to Georgetown in half is an unacceptable reduction in bus service to a corridor that has already lost a significant amount of service in the last two years.

A sample letter prepared by CAG is after the jump:

Dear Mayor Fenty:

This letter is to express our deep concern about plans to cut the Circulator route up Wisconsin Avenue. Our reasons are as follows:
• Until a couple of years ago, bus service on upper Wisconsin Avenue was very good. We had a choice of Nos. 32, 34 and 36, plus the Circulator. At the time of the 2008 “Metrobus 30s Line Study” we were assured that our level of service would be maintained. This has clearly not happened – and the latest plan would reduce that level still further.
• Currently, we have just two regular busses that now go down Wisconsin Avenue and serve the center of Washington, namely the 32 and 36, plus the Circulator. The new limited-stop busses (37 and 39) travel from Friendship Heights to downtown, but go via Mass. Avenue.
• The third bus which comes down upper Wisconsin Avenue is the 31, which travels from Friendship Heights just to Foggy Bottom – a not-very-useful- for-most- residents service.
• However, we do appreciate the efficient Circulator. If plans to cut the Circulator service to upper Wisconsin are in fact implemented, our bus service will be decimated – halved, in just two years.
• The Circulator services a diverse population. At the starting point (Whitehaven Parkway) are two schools (Hardy and the British School) which attract a large number of users. The Safeway Supermarket will reopen in the Spring. The bus travels through a significant residential area. These users will all lose a key option for downtown travel.
• Just 18 months ago, in April 2008, you issued the following Statement:
“After hearing significant feedback from the community and Jack Evans, Ward 2 Councilmember, on the current route of the Circulator, the District Department of Transportation has decided to maintain the route along Wisconsin Avenue. While Metrobus’ 30’s line has been streamlined and enhanced, there is still an identifiable need along the most southern section of Wisconsin Avenue for a more fluid and timely service, making the supplemental service offered by the Circulator every 10 minutes a great solution for transporting residents and visitors around the District.”

The Metrobus’ 30s line has not been “streamlined and enhanced” from our point of view. Repeat: If the Circulator service is cut, our bus service will have been halved in just two years.
We urge you to act, and to maintain a basic service which is essential to discourage car usage and provide reasonable access to downtown.

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizen