New Hampshire Avenue–Maryland Line
The New Hampshire Avenue–Maryland Line, designated Route K6, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Fort Totten station of the Red, Green, and Yellow lines of the Washington Metro and White Oak Shopping Center. The line operates every 12-30 minutes at all times. Route K6 trips are roughly 40 minutes.
| K6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire Avenue–Maryland Line | |||
 | |||
 Route K6 along North Capital Street | |||
| Overview | |||
| System | Metrobus | ||
| Operator | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | ||
| Garage | Bladensburg | ||
| Livery | Local | ||
| Status | In Service | ||
| Began service | 1964 | ||
| Route | |||
| Locale | Northeast, Prince George's County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland | ||
| Communities served | Fort Totten, Chillum, Langley Park, Adelphi, Takoma Park, Hillandale, White Oak | ||
| Landmarks served | White Oak, Federal Research Center/Food and Drug Administration, Northwest Park, Langley Park, Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center, Chillum, Fort Totten station | ||
| Start | Fort Totten station | ||
| Via | New Hampshire Avenue | ||
| End | White Oak Shopping Center | ||
| Length | 40 minutes | ||
| Service | |||
| Frequency | 12 minutes (Weekday Peak-Hours) 20 minutes (Weekday Midday) 20-24 minutes (Weekends) 30 minutes (Evening and late night service) | ||
| Operates | 4:55 AM - 12:41 AM (Weekdays) 4:55 AM - 1:20 AM (Fridays) 5:30 AM - 1:11 AM (Saturday) 5:34 AM - 12:23 AM (Sunday) | ||
| Transfers | SmarTrip only | ||
| Timetable | New Hampshire Avenue–Maryland Line | ||
| |||
Background
Route K6 operates daily between Fort Totten station and White Oak Shopping Center via New Hampshire Avenue providing service to residents between the two points. Route K6 currently operates out of Bladensburg division. The line originally operated out of Montgomery division until 2019.
History
K6 originally began operating as part of the Capital Transit Company "New Hampshire Avenue" Bus Line in 1964, between White Oak Shopping Center in White Oak, MD & Metro Center in Downtown Washington D.C. mostly operating along Columbia Pike, New Hampshire Avenue, the White Oak FDA/FRC Building, and North Capitol Street NW.[1] K6 eventually became a WMATA Metrobus route on February 4, 1973 when WMATA bought all four failing private bus companies that operated throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area and merged them all together to form its own, Metrobus System.[2]
1978 Changes
On February 19, 1978 after Fort Totten station opened, K6 was truncated to only operate between the White Oak Shopping Center & Fort Totten station. The remaining segment of K6's original routing between Fort Totten and Metro Center was replaced by WMATA's brand new route K4, which was designed to operate between Fort Totten and Metro Center.[3]
2013 Changes
On December 29, 2013, route K6 discontinued all service to the Food and Drug Administration and instead remained straight along New Hampshire Avenue. Service would be replaced by route K9 which was extended from Northwest Park.[4]
2016 Changes
On December 22, 2016 when the Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center opened at the intersection of University Boulevard East and New Hampshire Avenue, route K6 diverted off of New Hampshire Avenue onto the intersections of both University Boulevard East & Lebanon Street, to serve the newly opened Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center. The former stops along New Hampshire Avenue were removed as of a result.[5][6]
Incidents
- On December 30, 2013, around 3:30 PM, a K6 driver was killed when her bus began rolling without anybody on board and pinned the driver to a wall at White Oak Shopping Center. Preliminary investigation indicates that the driver attempted to engage the brake by reaching through the driver's window before becoming pinned to the bus. The driver suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead several hours later.[7][8]
- On April 14, 2020, a car crashed into the back of a K6 bus around 10 p.m. Monday night leaving the three people inside the car pinned and severely injured.[9]
References
- "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- "History". Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Feaver, Douglas (February 19, 1978). "Major Bus Route Changes Set Tuesday". Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- "December 29, 2013 Service Changes". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- Rowlands, DW (December 22, 2016). "Langley Park's new transit center opened on Thursday!". ggwash.org. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- "Metrobus service changes effective December 18 include more late-night service | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- Mimica, Mila. "D.C. Metrobus Driver Pinned by Bus, Killed During Break". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- "Thomasine Maria Smith, Metrobus driver, pinned by bus, killed". ABC7 WJLA. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- Macia, Alexandra (14 April 2020). "Car Crashes Into Metro Bus Injuring Three People". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved 13 May 2020.