New Bus Service to Relieve Crowding in D.C.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that her forthcoming budget proposal includes funding for a new bus line that transportation advocates have been pushing for since November.

The 59 bus "would operate like an express route along 14^th Street NW," Greater Greater Washington explains. Originally proposed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority several years ago, the proposal was revived in response to overcrowding and infrequent service on other 14th Street routes.

Moreover, that advocacy inspired a wider review of bus service in the city.

Because of the efforts around the 59 bus, [Mayor Bowser] asked her planners to identify other routes suffering from overcrowding. They identified the W4 route, which runs from Deanwood to Anacostia, as a good candidate. The budget will also include money to improve it.

For advocates, these plans represent "a strategic investment in bus service" in "a city rapidly attracting affluent new residents and with a growing tax base."