Metro Considers Bus Service Improvements to Respond to Customer Demand

[Howard Hartman]

Metro Considers Bus Service Improvements
to Respond to Customer Demand

Schedule adjustments to improve reliability and better equipment utilization discussed

At today’s Metro Board Customer Service and Operations Committee, Board members approved a planning effort to look at Metro’s responsiveness to bus customers with more reliable, cost-effective service in the locations where ridership demand is growing.

“The goal of this effort is to transport more customers by bus to the places they want to go, as well as to improve on-time performance,” said Jack Requa. “We are in the very beginning stages of looking at ways to make the service work better for our customers, despite the challenges of increased traffic congestion and constrained budgets.”

Some of the ideas under consideration include:

• Updating legacy schedules to reflect current road conditions and traffic patterns
• Increasing the frequency of bus departures in high-demand corridors
• Extending select routes to improve connectivity and access to local destinations.
• Realigning underperforming routes or equipment to maximize seats available to customers

A sampling of some of the service changes under consideration include the extension of limited stop 28X service to Mark Center (BRAC133); extending both the M8,9 to Stanton Road and Alabama Avenue SE, and the 25A to Park Fairfax to give residents transit access to local shopping centers; and creating new C8 service into the FDA offices at White Oak and into the National Archives facility in College Park.

The Board Committee’s approval is merely the start of a planning progress. As it goes forward, community and public input into any substantial proposed service adjustments will be solicited and the Board will review proposals. No change would be implemented before mid-2012.