The impending snOMG, snowpocolypse, snowgasm—call it what you will—is nearing the District, and it’s guaranteed to seal you within the Georgetown bubble, and probably your house, too. But while you watch TV and drink for warmth, comfort yourself by thinking about all the extra mobility you’re going to have in the future, now that the D.C. City Council has approved the Circulator’s extension from Georgetown to Virginia.

The Circulator is the City’s frequent, clean, most reliable, and inexpensive bus line that connects major parts of D.C. This new route is going to replace the Blue Bus, or Metro Connection, the much smaller buses that currently run every ten minutes from Dupont to Rosslyn via M Street. John Lisle, a spokesperson for the District Department of Transportation, said that this means the new route will not cost the city additional money.

Meanwhile, Councilmember Kwame Brown (D-At Large) is thoroughly displeased at the Council’s alacrity to approve a City-funded route that goes into Virginia before it supports a Circulator routes that crosses the Anacostia River. And we can’t say we blame him—it seems it was his efforts to get the Council to approve such a line that drew attention to the possibility of a Dupont-Rosslyn route in the first place.

Via Georgetown Metropolitan

The D.C. City Council is considering a bill that would allow the Circulator—the frequent, clean, and inexpensive buses that link multiple core areas of the city—to run outside of the District. That measure’s approval, writes the Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock, would mean that a new Circulator route running through Georgetown may take over the route that is now covered by the Georgetown Blue Buses, which ends at Rosslyn Metro Station.

At the same time, D.C. City Councilmember Kwame Brown is pressing his fellow councilmembers to approve a measure to extend the Circulator into Anacostia. He is not having much luck with his amendment but has vowed to keep trying.

Via Georgetown Metropolitan.

Photo from Flickr user afagen used under a Creative Commons license.

Bye bye blue bus?

It’s been a banner month for the Circulator: after the Wisconsin Avenue portion of the Georgetown-Union Station loop was saved from elimination in in the 11th hour by Mayor Adrian Fenty, plans are in the works to create a new line connecting Georgetown with Rosslyn.

According to the Washington Examiner, local officials are pushing for the creation of a new Circulator route that would replace the Georgetown Metro Connection “Blue Bus,” which is currently run by the Georgetown Business Improvement District.

The Blue Bus was conceived of as a way to demonstrate the demand in Georgetown for public bus service to a nearby Metro stop, and currently serves between 35,000 and 40,000 riders per month.  But the Blue Bus was only designed as a temporary solution, and the BID is hoping that the District Department of Transportation will take over the route.

Last week, D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), whose district includes Georgetown, introduced a bill to change the rule preventing the Circulator from running outside D.C. city limits.

Although the BID says D.C. leaders have pledged financial support and Rep. Jim Moran (D—Va.) secured federal money for new buses, DDOT spokesman John Lisle said they “have no plans for a new route at this time.”