Starting Sunday, the Key Bridge and M Street will soon be finally banish the Blue Bus.

In a rare occurrence of government efficiency, the transition from Blue Bus to Circulator has been moved up from its scheduled September 1^st switch.

Riders shouldn’t notice any real difference between the two because the Circulator route is identical to the current Blue Bus path.

Smartrip users get the added benefit of actually being able to use their Smartrip to pay their fare, which remains at $1 unless transferring from a connector. The transfer fare is only 50 cents.

We know the switch is happening only a few days earlier than originally planned, but Vox still commends the D.C. government for actually being able to finish a project ahead of schedule.

h/t The Georgetown Metropolitan

In a city where a lot of transportation options are subpar (or are being rerouted by neighbors who complain that GUTS buses shake the foundations of their houses but apparently WMATA buses don’t—what?) you can never have too much Circulator.

Clean, reliable, cheap, it’s good to know that the Circulator will soon by doubling down on Georgetown. The District Department of Transportation has already agreed to the Circulator’s takeover of the Blue Bus route that connects Rosslyn to Dupont Metro Stations via Georgetown. Question was, when?

This fall, Georgetown Metropolitan found out with a little digging.

Although John Lisle, a spokesperson for DDOT, said that the new route will not cost the city additional money because it is nixing the smaller Blue Buses, the takeover does mean that the Georgetown Business Improvement District will lose control of the route. Hopefully this doesn’t mean we risk future threats of route cutting to the Georgetown area.

GM also wondered whether the Circulator will follow the same route as the Blue Bus, which stops at N and 19th, several blocks away from the Dupont Metro Station on an out-of-the-way corner. That raises another question—have those Blue Buses ever been full enough to warrant a whole new Circulator route?

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.”