Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line
The Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line, designated Route D2, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Glover Park and Dupont Circle station of the of the Red Line of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 10-15 minutes during the weekday peak hours, 20-22 minutes at all other times, and 40 minutes during the late nights. Route D2 trips are roughly 20 minutes long.
| D2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line | |||
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| System | Metrobus | ||
| Operator | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | ||
| Garage | Western | ||
| Livery | Local | ||
| Status | In Service | ||
| Route | |||
| Locale | Northwest | ||
| Communities served | Glover Park, Burleith, Georgetown, Downtown | ||
| Landmarks served | Glover Park, Burleith, Georgetown, Dupont Circle station | ||
| Start | Glover Park (41st St & Davis Pl NW) | ||
| Via | Q Street NW | ||
| End | Dupont Circle station (20th & Q Sts NW Entrance) | ||
| Length | 20 minutes | ||
| Other routes | D1 | ||
| Service | |||
| Level | Daily | ||
| Frequency | 10-15 minutes (Weekday Peak Hours) 20-22 minutes (Weekday Midday and Weekends) 40 minutes (Late nights) | ||
| Operates | 5:34 AM - 12:34 AM (Weekdays) 5:34 AM - 1:24 AM (Fridays) 6:33 AM - 1:35 AM (Saturday) 6:47 AM - 12:06 AM (Sunday) | ||
| Transfers | SmarTrip only | ||
| Timetable | Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line | ||
| |||
Background
Route D2 operates daily between Glover Park and Dupont Circle station connecting Glover Park, Burleith, and Georgetown residents to Metrorail as there are no stations in Georgetown. Route D2 currently operates out of Western division. The line primarily uses 30ft Orion VII BRTs since the line primarily uses small buses due to ridership and DC's Small Bus Program, but sometimes utilizes regular 40 ft buses from Western. During its times, the line would use Orion IIs and 30 ft Orion Vs prior to the 30 ft Orion VIIs.[1]
History
The Glover Park Line was originally operated under the Washington Railway & Electric Company prior to it merging with the Capital Traction Company in 1933.[2] Route D1 originally began operating between Glover Park and Downtown under the Capital Street Company. The line at first were operated by streetcars, but then formed into buses on March 1, 1925. The line was later operated until DC Transit in 1956 and then acquired by WMATA on February 4, 1973.[3]
1977 Changes
On July 1, 1977, route D2 was extended to Stadium–Armory station when Blue Line service began operation. Route D2 would primarily operate along Q, E, K, and C Streets between Glover Park and Stadium–Armory. The line would operate as the Glover Park-Trinidad Line.
1995 Changes
In 1995, route D2 was shorten to Dupont Circle station. Service to Stadium–Armory station was replaced by a rerouted route D6 which would operate along the former route D2 to Stadium–Armory. Additionally, a new route D1 was created to supplement route D2 during the weekday peak-hours to Washington Union Station. The line was then renamed to the Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line.[4]
2010 Changes
On December 19, 2010, route D2 was changed from a loop operation to two directional routes with terminals at Dupont Circle station and at Glover Park.[5]
2019 Proposed Changes
In 2019, WMATA proposed to combine routes D2 and G2 into one route. The new route would be named route G2 and would operate on the D2 and G2 routing between Glover Park and Howard University along Q and P streets. Service to Georgetown on route G2 would be discontinued. This was in order to consolidate all services operating between Dupont Circle and Wisconsin Avenue into one alignment on Q Street NW, which would allow customers to wait at Q Street bus stops for multiple services and to eliminate inefficiencies of operating services one block from each other on P and Q Streets NW.[6][7]
The proposal was met with controversy with residents due to service being lacking in Georgetown if the proposal goes through. Resident didn't want the change to happen as they would have to walk to further bus stops or transfer to other buses instead of having a one seat ride to their destinations.[8][9][10] WMATA later backed out of the proposal due to major customer opposition.[11][12][13]
References
- Goodspeed, Rob. "That Squeaky, Squeaky D2". DCist. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- "History". Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Harris, Hamil (February 2, 1995). "Proposed Cuts in Bus Routes". Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- "Metrobus Route Changes". WMATA. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Proposed Metrobus Service Changes" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Muntean, Pete; Fischer, Jordan. "Metro puts 22 bus lines up for 'elimination.' Will your route be cut?". wusa9.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Sands, Peggy (24 February 2020). "Georgetown Bus Service Reductions Planned". The Georgetowner. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "WMATA Considering Significantly Degrading Georgetown Bus Service". The Georgetown Metropolitan. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- Dimtchev, Petar. "Don't cut Glover Park's already meager bus service". TheDCLine.org. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Approval of the FY2021 Budget and FY2021-2026 CIP" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Grudberg, Clara (14 April 2020). "Local Bus Routes Preserved After Community Opposition". Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Sands, Peggy (6 April 2020). "Popular Georgetown Bus Routes Saved". The Georgetowner. Retrieved 27 May 2020.