Circulator could fill Shuttle-Bug’s role for Southwest

As we reported last month, some Southwest residents are advocating for the return of the Shuttle-Bug, a minibus service in the Waterfront neighborhood. But re-routing existing Circulator buses could do a better job at lower cost, and it would be relatively easy to implement.

Shuttle-Bug ran every 20-30 minutes and was originally designed as a temporary service while much of the superblock surrounding the Waterfront metro station was a construction site.

Now that the Waterfront Station development has opened, with tenants including Safeway, CVS, and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (a bank, a Subway, a Z-Burger, and a sit-down restaurant are on the way), the shuttle service has stopped.

Shuttle Bug proponents give several reasons for maintaining the service: bus riders are protected from street crime, the service is cheaper than MetroAccess or running a Metro bus along the route, and Arena Stage visitors will benefit from transportation from the metro. However, changing the route of existing Circulator buses would do a better job at all of these, and bring additional benefits.

The Southwest to Convention Center Circulator could swing onto M St. SW and up 4th St. for a few blocks before continuing on its regular route. This small change would itself cover a good portion of the Shuttle-Bug’s route, while providing better connections to the Waterfront Metro and Waterfront Station.

But the real power of a Circulator re-route comes if the Union Station/Navy Yard Circulator line were also modified. Running that line into Southwest connects the two Circulators at the aforementioned Metro, shopping, and government services, as well as a public library. This change would cover nearly all of the Shuttle-Bug’s route, with the benefit of the Circulator’s 10-minute headways. While the Shuttle-Bug ran from 7am-10pm and the Circulator only runs from 7am-9pm, the Circulator doesn’t shut down mid-day, weekends, or federal holidays, which Shuttle-Bug did.

Southwest Waterfront is not a particularly dangerous neighborhood: PSA 104 had 120 reported violent crimes in the past year, a 12% reduction from the year before. Four of the seven PSAs in the First District had more violent crime. As a comparison, PSA 208, which includes Dupont Circle, had 269 reported violent crimes this year (admittedly, there are more people out and about in the Dupont area). But people who rode Shuttle-Bug because they feared street crime would be even safer using a re-routed Circulator, because it runs more frequently—which means less waiting at bus stops.

Re-routing the Circulator would also be cheaper than resurrecting Shuttle-Bug. The Circulator is able to offset its cost through fares, while it was determined that Shuttle-Bug would spend more collecting money than it would take in. The Circulator has drivers and buses on the road already.

The Circulator is wheelchair-accessible, as was Shuttle-Bug, and it has the advantage of a single, lower step, which could be easier for mobility-challenged riders and passengers hauling groceries. Like the Shuttle-Bug, a re-routed Circulator could replace some MetroAccess rides. In fact, it would likely save more money than the Shuttle-Bug did, because it would take passengers to more destinations to which they’d otherwise use MetroAccess.

Swapping the Shuttle-Bug for the Circulator comes with costs, both for riders (the Shuttle-Bug was free and the Circulator is a dollar; Shuttle-Bug would stop wherever a rider requested, so long as the driver felt it was safe, while the Circulator has fixed stops) and for DDOT, which administers the Circulator and would have to deal with re-printing maps and re-training drivers. Longer routes could also make it harder for the Circulator to run at 10-minute headways. But there are some quick fixes that would help make up the time:

• Remove superfluous stops. On the SW/Convention Center route, the stops at 7th and Constitution southbound, 7th St. between F and G Street NW northbound, and 7th & N NW northbound could all be eliminated and leave no more than a 3-block gap between stops. The same goes for the 4th & M SE eastbound stop on the Navy Yard/Union Station line.
• Run the Navy Yard/Union Station line up 2nd St. NE to Columbus Circle. The current jog west and then east is longer, full of traffic, and contains no stops.
• Relocate bus stops to the far side of intersections.

Re-routing the Circulator would provide a one-seat ride between Southwest and neighborhoods that were previously only accessible with a transfer from different Metro lines or bus routes, while covering most of the Shuttle-Bug’s route. The Southwest Action Team may want to shift its advocacy from convincing local businesses and the District to keep funding Shuttle-Bug to lobbying DDOT for a new path for Circulator.