Those damn Circulator buses...

I have about given up on the point of bus route and frequency planning and having a set of standards and a framework outlying what is a reasonable way to go. Well, I do have a planning framework for transit service (see the appendix to this entry, from various past blog entries) but the political demand for "Circulator" service in DC, without adequately defining what a service of this frequency is supposed to do, outspans both "rational" planning and "Action planning."

Basically, the bus routes that are supposed to get lots of service are the ones with the most riders.


DC's "family" of transportation services as defined by the DC Department of Transportation is inadequately conceived and structured from the standpoint of robust transit planning.

But according to the statistics of the DC Circulator service, overall, the routes aren't very well used, if it is true that the buses serve 4 million riders/year. That seems like a lot, but when you break it down by the number of routes, six, that's relatively minimal for the frequency of service provided.

11,000 riders per day on six routes is not much (in fact, in the context of DC proper it is pathetic). 11,000 riders on one route is a lot.

Justifiably, people want bus service that is more reliable and more legible (easier to understand). The way that the DC Circulator provides service appears to be more reliable and more legible than the WMATA Metrobus service, hence the frequent clamor for expansion of the DC Circulator service to all parts of the city.

Hence the planning process that is underway to do just that.

-- DC Circulator - Study Overview

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A framework for an all encompassing DC-MD-VA transit network

Meta (or Multi-state) Regional Transit Network: MARC and VRE service ideally combined into one multi-state compact and system, with service as far south as Norfolk and as far north as Wilmington, DE and Harrisburg, PA, and west to Charlottesville, VA (or beyond), with intermodal stations connecting to heavy and light rail transit systems; supplemented by Amtrak. This could include railroad and water-based transportation.

(The model is the LIRR and Metro-North railroad system in the New York City region, which is managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and runs 24/7/365.)

Washington Regional Transit Network: Regional WMATA subway system; ferry system if added; cross-jurisdictional bus rapid transit; commuter services oriented to moving people between the jurisdiction and major job centers within the region, across jurisdictional boundaries (i.e., OmniRide from Prince William County, which provides commuter-oriented service to Metro stations and job centers, with an end point in DC [and back] or the MTA Commuter buses).

Suburban Primary Transit Network: transit systems operated by Counties and Cities in the Washington region providing transit service within the suburbs, with a focus on providing connections to stations within the regional transit network, and cross-jurisdictional Metrobus service. Transit service in this category is classified by speed and destination.

Montgomery County's RideOn bus system is one of the more successful suburban transit systems in the United States. I don't think it provides cross-jurisdictional service, other than service along Western Avenue (which technically is 100% in DC), maybe Eastern Avenue, and to the Takoma Metro station and in the Langley Park area of Prince George's County. Photo from BeyondDC.

Rendering, streetcar service on Columbia Pike, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, Virginia.

Suburban Secondary Transit Network: service within cities (i.e., Falls Church, Alexandria) and counties (PG, Montgomery, Arlington, Fairfax) that is intra-jurisdictional.

DC Primary Transit Network: Core of the WMATA system in DC (29 stations); streetcar system; Downtown Circulator bus service; Georgetown Connector shuttle service; cross-border WMATA bus service; bus rapid/rapider transit.

DC Secondary Transit Network: the other 11 subway stations in the city; other WMATA bus service within the city; water taxi service if added, depending on the routes.

DC Tertiary Transit Network: intra-neighborhood bus services. Maybe private shuttle services (i.e., Washington Hospital Center to/from Brookland Metro, university shuttle services, etc.).

The subway stations at the core of the city of Washington comprise the foundation of the DC Primary Transit Network.

Note that if the two new subway lines were added in the city, as proposed on the map below, then this would change the definition of the core of the DC Primary Transit Network considerably.

Conceptual map for transit expansion in the DC. Map courtesy of David Alpert, Greater Greater Washington