Better than a cup of coffee, the Morning Digest will provide you with what you need to be prepared for the day: a daily round-up of links, local news, and important events on campus and around D.C.

     Today will have scattered clouds with a chance of rain, with a high of 75.

To masticate today:

• OCAF, Student Housing do the bureaucracy shuffle: Yesterday, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson and Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey announced that OCAF and Student Housing would be moving to the Division of Student Affairs effective July 1, 2013, among other office changes. 
• Question Time: Jim Coury (SFS ’15) has advanced to the semifinals in the College Championship of the show Jeopardy. Tune in on May 15 to watch the semifinal round.
• May Madness: Point guard Tre Campbell confirmed that he has committed to play basketball for Georgetown, last night via Twitter . He joins power forward Isaac Copeland as part of the incoming class.

What to look out for:

• Going to get law schooled: Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed two separate cases against Metro Transit officers. The teenagers represented in the cases allege that Metro Transit officers assaulted them, then invented charges in order to justify the arrests.
• Bus-spotting: Several changes to the D.C. Circulator have been proposed this week. Under the new plan, put forth by  Councilwoman Mary C. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Circulator fares could double, from the current fare of $1. The revenue from the increased fare would go towards expanding Circulator routes, including the Georgetown-Rosslyn and Georgetown-Union Station loops. Of course, if public transport is just too plebeian for you, D.C.’s cabs will be taking credit cards by the end of August, so buckle up.

On March 31, the D.C. Department of Transportation laid out its 10-year plan for the Circulator bus system, in which it proposed the addition or expansion of 11 routes, among other changes.

Though developments would depend on public support and on the availability of funding, the first of the plan’s recommendations would be enacted between 2012 and 2015.

The beginning changes would be the addition of a route between Georgetown and Union Station by way of the National Mall, another route into Anacostia, and the extension of the Dupont Circle-Georgetown-Rosslyn route along U Street to Howard University.

The proposal suggests offsetting the projected $53 million in annual costs of operation and around $20 million in new bus purchases with an increase in fares.  It currently costs only $1 using cash or a SmarTrip card to ride the Circulator, but under the new plan the amount would increase to $1.50 with SmarTrip and $2 cash, which is estimated to generate around $1.1 million annually.

The plan would also decrease late-hour service on the Woodley Park-Adams Morgan-McPherson Square route, eliminate the Smithsonian-National Gallery of Art and the Convention Center-Southwest Waterfront lines altogether, and reduce the number of stops on all lines to three or four per mile to maximize efficiency.

h/t: The Georgetown Dish

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

It’s finally happening, folks. On September 1, D.C. Circulator will replace the Dupont-Rosslyn Metro Connection “blue buses.”

But don’t despair, ye olde nostalgics, because the buses are practically the only thing changing, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Circulator buses will follow the same Georgetown-to-Dupont route, while running every ten minutes. Fare will be $1, although, riders transferring onto the connector buses will only pay 50 cents.

After the D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) takes over the program from Georgetown BID, electronic fare boxes will be incorporated into the system as well.

Let’s chalk one up for streamlined efficiency, Georgetowners!

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?

Is there any reason not to love the Circulator? Their buses are clean, frequent, and cheaper than most other forms of D.C. transportation, and they follow pretty convenient routes.

They’re so reliable, in fact, that they’re probably the last form of District transportation that needs to provide a way for riders to check when the next bus is coming.

But you can do that, too, even in an age where a recalcitrant WMATA still has not worked out a deal with Google to provide real-time updates for its trains and buses, because the Circulator is so awesome.

Using Google Maps, you can see approximate arrival times for the next two Circulator buses for any given stop in the route—just click a blue bus icon when you’re zoomed enough to see them.

For regular WMATA buses, you’re still stuck with NextBus, which is seldom helpful.

Via Georgetown Metropolitan

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.”