Jurisdictions around the region are implementing bus network redesigns

Bus service in the greater Washington region is fragmented by a myriad of operators, hindered by traffic disruption, and plagued by inefficient and duplicative routings. But some of this may change, as plans to transform service take shape in jurisdictions across the DC region in a semi-intentional revolution.

Better bus service is not just for bus enthusiasts, nor just for current riders who rely on the bus in order to go about their lives. It’s necessary in order to reduce congestion, meet climate goals, improve local air quality, connect people with jobs, and meet regional equity goals.

“Our region is going to continue to grow, and the Council of Governments, our local governments, our state governments across the” Washington, DC region “have pretty ambitious environmental goals, economic goals, access to opportunity and equity goals,” said Tom Webster, Chief Planning and Performance Officer at WMATA.“None of that is achievable without more investment in frequent transit service.”

Putting the pieces together

While WMATA is undertaking the region’s largest bus redesign project by WMATA’s Better Bus initiative, the surrounding jurisdictions are engaging or finishing up similar projects. Since WMATA’s budget hasn’t increased to make possible the “visionary” network the planners initially designed, the agency is trying to improve the network by re-orienting services to benefit more riders. Overall, WMATA’s redesign will give people access to 17 thousand additional jobs within 60 minutes of where they live, according to Better Bus Network Redesign project documents.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth has identified the following as key jurisdictional efforts in revising and/or expanding bus service:

• WMATA Bus Bus Initiative (WMATA network and Prince George’s The Bus are the primary networks of focus, in consultation with the other jurisdictions)
• DC 51 bus priority project plan
• Prince George’s Transit Vision
• RideOn Reimagined (Montgomery County)
• Montgomery County BRT network, including Route 29 dedicated lanes, Veirs Mill Road, and Route 355
• Alexandria Transit Vision Plan (includes Metroway, Duke Street Transitway, and West End Transitway)
• Alexandria DASH Bus network redesign (completed), and Duke Street Transitway (approved in 2023)
• Fairfax Route 1 Bus Rapid Transit (The One)
• Route 7 BRT from Tysons to Alexandria
• NVTC Regional Bus Coordination Study (northern Virginia)
• NVTA Preliminary Deployment Plan for a Regional BRT system (northern Virginia)

Bus wonks’ hearts may swell at this list, but questions remain about how these efforts will be coordinated. WMATA and Prince George’s TheBus say they’re working closely together in updating their bus systems, while Montgomery County’s RideOn Reimagined is coordinating with WMATA.

“Our teams of operators and planners across the different agencies work together all the time every day,” said Webster. He cited collaborating “hand-in-hand with Prince George’s” on the redesign, as well as close coordination with Montgomery County.

Some of northern Virginia’s redesign efforts, such as Dash and Connector, are already complete. However, “Where we don’t have as close an integration of studies is in the other parts of northern Virginia, especially Fairfax,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

A smaller project, WMATA’s All Day Frequent Service Network (FSN) implemented in 2021, shows the impact that changes can have. Moving to 12 and 20-minute service on some routes spurred a 94% increase in ridership on the T18 route from Rhode Island Avenue to New Carrollton, a 70% increase on the 28a along Leesburg Pike in Virginia, and a 71% increase on the F4 from Silver Spring to New Carrollton in Maryland, according to WMATA.

Other projects around the region and the country, notably in Richmond, Virginia , which saw a 29% ridership increase from 2018 to 2020, and Houston, Texas, which saw an 11% ridership increase from 2014 to 2015, have proven the impact of a well-conceived redesign. “Dash bus and the experience in Richmond and Houston” show “the opportunity and success you can achieve through good bus network redesign,” said Schwartz. “If we can repeat that throughout the entire region it would be phenomenal.”

To increase future coordination, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is launching DMVMoves, a regional transit planning initiative. While this effort is just in its infancy, it provides “the best opportunity for more integrated efforts,” said Schwartz. (Schwartz is part of the Community Partners Advisory Group (CPAG) for DMVMoves).

Getting to a better bus

Customer surveys consistently show that frequency and reliability are at the heart of improving bus service. Post-pandemic, the need is less employment-oriented than in previous years, which in practice means less need for rush-hour service and more demand for weekend and all-night service, as customers use the bus for a variety of needs.

The Better Bus Network Redesign document calls for at least 30-minute frequency, a region-wide 24-hour bus network, and consistent service all-day and all-week. In addition, it recommends improved bus connections to the region’s airports. Research has shown that the most impactful ways to boost bus frequency and reliability include:

• Dedicated bus lanes
• Express routes with fewer stops
• Removing duplicative routes
• Routing that connects work and job centers
• Easy to navigate route numbers
• Running and operating more buses

While several of these improvements come with tradeoffs such as longer walks to and from stops, or routes that don’t go as far as a rider’s preferred destination, they often increase bus speeds dramatically while requiring little additional funding.

Webster emphasized that while riders may lose a nearby bus stop as part of WMATA’s bus redesign, overall they often support the benefits of reinvestments, when they realize the advantages of “total travel time and connections to other places.”

The policy that has the greatest impact on bus speeds and efficiency—dedicated bus lanes–is also often the hardest to implement. However, this key improvement is happening in a number of projects around the region. Notable experiments in such lanes are taking place on H Street NW and Pennsylvania Ave SE in DC, along University Boulevard in Montgomery County, and elsewhere. Beyond immediate gains, once a network of excellent, connected bus service to important destinations is built, the routes can support each other, leading to even more passenger growth.

“One of the principles behind this is really good, frequent, reliable service on major corridors where a lot of people have access, have those combined major growth impacts or those synergies,” said Webster.

In a region with a confusing jumble of routes and agencies, the Better Bus initiative is also standardizing the naming of routes, giving each a letter and two numbers. The letter stands for the regional area, D for DC’s downtown routes, C for crosstown routes, M for Montgomery County, P for Prince George’s, F for Fairfax, and A for Arlington and Alexandria, according to a recent WMATA media briefing. In addition, the second character means corridor/neighborhood and the third further distinguishes it or is an X for limited stop.

For example, the routes from Silver Spring to Wheaton to Rockville, currently the Q series, will be renamed the M10, M12, M20, and M22. The system is meant to be easy for other jurisdictions and agencies to adapt. If enough do so, bus travel across the entire region may no longer be a confusing jigsaw puzzle, but standardized and easier to follow. The system can grow as different jurisdictions revise and improve their own bus routes.

Another important aspect of the redesign is providing safer access to bus stops, with sidewalks and crosswalks allowing access, along with better shelters and real-time data.

Toward a more equitable, cleaner future

The plan pays special attention to underserved neighborhoods where people ride the bus most but don’t always get the best bus service. It will provide “access to opportunity with more persons of color and low-income residents having easier access and more convenient service to hospitals, schools, grocery stores, and other places,” according to the redesign documents. Recent studies have found a strong relationship between long commute times and poverty, furthering the argument for better transit options.

The Better Bus Initiative plans to implement changes in summer of 2025; meanwhile, a final round of outreach is ongoing till July 15, 2024. Besides online surveys, WMATA is planning three Discovery Days, additional virtual public hearings, and an array of pop-ups and onboard surveys of bus riders.

While the visionary plan isn’t funded at the current time, the Better Bus Initiative is meant to provide building blocks for future improvements. Improved bus service is also correlated with higher ridership, which in turn may increase the demand for bus service. The hope is that this increased demand leads to political will for more funding.

In the meantime, the Better Bus Redesign document calls for “a long-term sustainable, predictable funding model for bus service,” which is likely a basic requirement for stable financing and therefore running services. Financial sustainability and improved frequency and reliability could together establish a permanent transformation of how people get around.

Here is the link to share your input by July 15, and here is the list of WMATA events. For a June 11 webinar hosted by the Committee for Smarter Growth, click here.