Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Metro is aiming to give two hours advance warning should bus service be suspended.
Metro is operating on a normal weekday schedule Wednesday as the Washington region braces for a potentially major snowstorm. MetroAccess service and certain Metro commuter bus routes have been canceled, however, and Ride On buses are experiencing delays. Metrorail customers are advised to plan extra time for their commute. “You may encounter minor delays due to snow and ice clearing efforts, as equipment that removes snow and ice from the third rail operates between regularly scheduled trains,” the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said in a statement. Some Metrobus routes may be detoured and bus service may be reduced or suspended as conditions deteriorate, Metro said. Metro is aiming to notify Metrobus riders two hours in …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Up to 70 electronic screens could be installed at Metrobus shelters across the region, The Washington Examiner reports.
Update, 4:30 p.m.: Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring says Ride On is planning a similar electronic notification system at major transit centers. "Timing for implementation has not been set," Bowring wrote in an e-mail to Patch. Original post, 3 p.m.: Waiting in the cold and wondering when that next bus will arrive? Some Metrobus bus shelters will soon be equipped with flat screens that will display real-time bus arrival times, The Washington Examiner reports. Up to 70 screens, funded by a federal grant, could be installed at Metrobus stops on Metro property across the region, according to the report. Local jurisdictions will need to decide whether the screens will be installed at Merobus stops on streets they own, Metro …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Plan your commute carefully on Jan. 21.
While fewer people are expected to attend President Obama's second inauguration on Jan. 21, projections still show between 600,000 and 800,000 people will be there. That alone would cause an increase in traffic on Washington, DC's roads, buses, trains and sidewalks. For safety and security reasons, a number of roads surrounding the National Mall will be closed on Jan. 21. Some Metrorail stations and Metrobus routes will be affected as well. The District of Columbia's Presidential Inauguration 2013 website details the status of road access into Washington, DC, on Inauguration Day: The following roads will be closed from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21: The website also lists all of the "emergency no parking zones" in effect between 7 a.…
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
County officials hope the K9 Metrobus line will relieve traffic on busy New Hampshire Avenue.
Some commuters traveling along the New Hampshire Avenue corridor have a faster transit option during rush hours, Montgomery County officials touted Monday. The K9 Metrobus will travel from the Fort Totten Metrorail Station in Washington, DC, to the Northwest Park neighborhood of Silver Spring, making fewer stops than the existing K6 line and adding extra transit service that county and Metro officials said they hope will relieve traffic along the busy thoroughfare. “Metro’s new K9 bus route will make a tremendous difference on busy New Hampshire Avenue, which has the third highest bus ridership in Maryland,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “The K9 is the first step in a Rapid Transit System for the New Hampshire Avenue …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The popular bus arrival time app has gone dark.
NextBusDC, a smartphone app that had been tracking the arrival times of Metro buses for users since 2009, has quit working, according to a Washington Post story. The app, which is the end product of a partnership between NextBus—a company that tracks transit system data, and AppTight, which makes the data user-friendly in an app format, stopped working on Dec. 20, according to the In The Capital website. In The Capital reported that a contractual relationship between the two companies “ceased,” with NextBus receiving only three days’ notice and AppTight no notice at all. AppTight’s Kelly Beener remarked that only the data feed to the DC app has stopped, and the San Francisco version continues to function. NextBus’ Ken Schmier told The …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
No trains or buses will run on Monday on account of storm, say transportation officials
Hurricane Sandy has forced officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to cancel all service on Monday, Oct. 29. That means that after tonight's closing time, there will be no Metrorail, Metrobus or MetroAccess service until further notice, according to a press release from WMATA. "Metro service will only be restored when it is safe to do so. Following the storm, Metro personnel will need to perform a comprehensive damage assessment, including inspections of track, bridges, aerial structures, stations and facilities," reads the press release. "Service restoration also will be contingent on adequate commercial power to support operations and repair of any storm-related damage." As well, a series of public hearings on …
Celia Arnaud
7:00 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I take the K6. The K9 doesn't stop at my stop (and the closest K9 stop is >15 minutes from my house), but I have noticed that it is definitely taking some pressure off the K6. It used to be that I was lucky to get a seat. Now the bus is appropriately full without being a sardine can. more ›