Bus Overhaul Proposal Released

In April 2023, WMATA released a draft plan to dramatically redesign the Metrobus network. As I wrote back then, this could significantly impact (and degrade, in my opinion) bus service through Georgetown. The headline changes included essentially eliminating the G2 route and then merge the D6 and D2 routes into one hybrid route. The plan did not release specific headway numbers (i.e. the length of time between buses) but with the reduction in lines, it seemed reasonable to conclude that the aggregate amount (and thus frequency) of buses through Georgetown would be reduced.

WMATA has now released an updated and clarified version of the new network. Here is how it would impact Georgetown:

WMATA is no longer proposing to merge the D6 and D2 into one route. It is now subsuming the D2 into a rather length new route called the D96:

Between Dupont and Burleith it would essentially follow the same route as the D2 (with a few tweaks to the route on the Dupont side). But east of Dupont it would go all the way to the mall by-way of 19th St. (Although on weekends, the bus would turn around at Dupont).

North of Burletih, the bus would continue up through Glover Park to New Mexico Ave. up to American University. From there it would jog over to Massachusetts Ave. to Western Ave. and then onward to Friendship Heights and ultimately downtown Bethesda. Frankly it is a fascinating route to consider. I don’t believe there has ever been a one seat ride from Georgetown all the way to Bethesda before. But my worry with such a long route is that it can lead to delays and bus bunching.

For what it’s worth, this is the proposed headway for the new D96:

Right off the bat, that is on its face less service than the D2. Here is a direct comparison:

Early morning:

• Early Morning:
  • D2 – Every 20 minutes
  • D96 – Every 30 minutes
• Morning Rush:
  • D2 – Every 10 minutes
  • D96 – Every 20 minutes
• Midday:
  • D2 – Varies but roughly every 25 minutes
  • D96 – Every 30 minutes
• Evening Rush:
  • D2 – Varies between 12-15 minutes
  • D96 – Every 25 minutes
• Evening:
  • D2 – Every 20 minutes
  • D96 – Every 25 minutes
• Late night:
  • D2 – Every 45 minutes
  • D96 – Every 30 minutes

So for just about every time of the day except late night, the D96 would offer longer waits between buses. This is especially true for morning rush. The difference between every 10 minutes and every 20 minutes is huge. That’s the difference between six buses an hour and three.

But it’s probably not accurate to consider only a D2 v. D96 comparison. That’s because the other new routes overlap quite a bit. And the first other one to consider is the proposed D94:

The D94 is essentially the western half of the existing D6. It is identical between Sibley and Rock Creek. But east of Rock Creek it takes a different route through Dupont and heads south in order to take advantage of the bus lanes on H and I streets. It eventually winds its way down to Chinatown before heading back.

So from a Georgetown resident simply looking to get to the Metro at Dupont, they often will take either the D2 or the D6, whichever comes first. So from that perspective, the effective headway is really the combination of the two routes. So it’s better to consider the frequency of the combined D96 and D94 routes. Here is the proposed frequency of the D94:

I won’t break this one down quite as much as the D96, but as you can see the frequency is basically 20-24 minutes during rush and 30 minutes outside that. The D6 is basically 15 minutes during rush and 30 minutes outside rush. So, once again there would be less service, at least during rush hour.

But there’s another route to consider: the D92.

This route appears to be an attempt to address the concerns about eliminating the G2 bus. It keeps the connection to Georgetown University, but changes the way it travels through the rest of Georgetown. The G2 currently goes along O, P and Dumbarton Streets, like this:

The new route would abandoned service through the heart of Georgetown and move it to Q St. This is fine if you, like me, live near Q St. But if you live, say, at O and 29th, the walk to a bus just got a lot longer:

Right now you would have a 500 foot walk to the G2 stop at 28th and Dumbarton:

Now your walk just doubled to 1,000 feet:

It’s not the end of the world, but if you have mobility issues and have counted on having a bus stop so close (which has been there literally since the streetcar days) it’s a big change.

Also a big change for this new route is how it travels through west Georgetown. Here is what the G2 does:

It loops around P, 37th, Prospect, 35th, back out on O St. The new D92 avoids the cobblestone stretches of O and P Streets and instead uses Q:

So, again, if you’re used to getting off the G2 at 33rd and P, the closest new stop is probably something like 35th and P. Not a huge difference, but still a notable change.

But getting back to the question of frequency, with the new D92 would supplement the bus service of those (like me) who use Q St. primarily. WMATA is proposing the following headways for the D92:

These frequencies are roughly equivalent to the current G2 headways. But they would be “bonus” rides for current D2 and D6 riders, since now they’ll largely overlap in ways that the D2, D6 and G2 currently don’t.

So what’s the bottom line? I think a fair way to compare the current level of service with the proposed service is to consider total buses-per-hour. And here’s how they line up:

Right now, if you are looking for a bus on Q St. to take you to Dupont, you will see this aggregate level of service:

• Rush hour: 10 buses an hour
• Midday: 5 buses an hour

For the combined new lines, here’s what you’d see:

• Rush hour: 8-9 buses an hour
• Midday: 6 buses an hour

So that’s a slight reduction of service for rush but a slight increase outside rush hour. So I’ll call that a push.

But if you’re somebody who’s on Dumbarton looking for a bus to Dupont, your wait would now be forever. So a fair way to view this whole change is that we’d be getting less service overall, but by robbing Peter-to-pay-Paul, only some of us would be greatly affected.

Of course, there are other bus routes in Georgetown besides the D2, D6 and G2. I will look into how those other routes would be affected tomorrow. Stay tuned!