Metro Rolling Out Proposed Bus Route Changes at Public Meetings

For about a decade, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has been monitoring ridership on their bus routes.

On Tuesday night, the transportation company hosted its first public meetings to share the proposed route cuts and improvements. Julie Hershorn, manager for Metro’s bus service planning division, said passengers' concerns were considered during the planning process before proposed changes were brought up.

"Every year we do a productivity report," Hershorn said following the City of Falls Church public meeting, one of the two Metro held Monday night. The other was hosted in Washington, D.C. "And for some time we’ve been tracking our ridership on our buses."

To better serve the masses of ridership in the Washington metropolitan area, Metro is considering cutting back on some bus routes and adding more service on heavily used routes. Hershorn said 15 passengers to every one would see benefits from the proposed changes. Only focusing on bus routes, Metro wouldn’t see any changes until mid-2012 at the earliest.

Hershorn said the public meetings are to hear what passengers have to say about bus routes they frequent and to have those comments included in any final decisions. For fiscal year 2012, Metro has an operating budget of $1.5 billion with $535.2 million of that allocated specifically for bus routes.

For Northern Virginia, several bus routes would see improvements in service if the proposed changes were approved.

Under the proposed changes, the 23-A and C, which run between McLean and Crystal City, would have adjusted running times to increase reliability. The same has been considered for the 25-A, which runs between Ballston and the Pentagon. The 28-A and X, which travel Leesburg Pike, would get added service going eastbound in the mornings and westbound in the morning.

News wasn’t good for all routes at the Falls Church meeting. Hershorn said the proposal would eliminate the Saturday service on the 3-T route that goes through Tysons and Pimmit Hil.

“The 3-T is proposed to be eliminated once the Silver Line service starts,” Hershorn said.

Pimmit Hill resident Carol Martz is not pleased to hear of the possible elimination of bus service in her neighborhood. Martz, the former president of the Pimmit Hills Citizens Association, said she doesn’t ride the 3-T much but there are others who depend on the service to travel on a daily basis.

“Our people really want the 3-T to continue,” Martz said to the sparse crowd at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School in Falls Church. “We have a lot of people that ride that bus.”

Three public meetings remain on Metro's proposed changes. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an open house starting at 6 p.m.:

Oct. 12

First United Methodist Church, 6201 Belcrest Rd., Hyattsville, Md.

Oct. 13

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1830 Connecticut Ave., NW
 Washington, D.C.

Fairlington Recreation Center – Room 134
3308 South Stafford St., Arlington