U Street–Garfield Line Explained

Box Width:250px
Number:90, 92
Subheader:U Street–Garfield Line
Operatorlogo:WMATA Metrobus logo.svg
Oplogo Width:250px
System:Metrobus
Operator:Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Garage:Shepherd Parkway
Livery:Local
Status:In Service
Locale:Northwest, Northeast, Southeast
Communities:Garfield, Anacostia, Navy Yard, Eastern Market, NoMa, LeDroit Park, Cardozo, Adams Morgan, Lanier Heights
Landmarks:Congress Heights station (92), Entertainment & Sports Arena (92), Anacostia station (90), Navy Yard, Eastern Market station, Gallaudet University, NoMa–Gallaudet U station, 7th and Florida Ave. N.W., U Street station, Reeves Center (14th and U Sts. N.W.), Adams Morgan (90), (92 late night & early morning only), Duke Ellington Bridge (90), (92 late night & early morning only)
Start:90: Anacostia station
92: Congress Heights station
Via:18th Street NW (90), (92 late night & early morning only), U Street NW, Florida Avenue NW/NE, 8th Street NE/SE, 11th Street SE, Marion Barry Avenue SE (92)
End:90: Duke Ellington Bridge
92: Reeves Center / U Street station
(Duke Ellington Bridge) (late night & early morning only)
Length:60-70 minutes
Level:Daily
Frequency:12 minutes (7 AM to 9 PM)
20-30 minutes (9 PM to 7 AM)
Day:90: 4:29 AM - 12:00 AM
92: 24 Hours
Timetable Link:U Street–Garfield Line
Ridership:1,549,441 (90, FY 2023)[1]
1,986,215 (92, FY 2023)
Previous Line:89M
Next Line:96

The U Street–Garfield Line, designated Routes 90 and 92, are daily bus routes operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Anacostia station (90) or Congress Heights station (92) of the Green Line of the Washington Metro and Duke Ellington Bridge (90) in Adams Morgan or Reeves Center / U Street station (92) of the Green Line of the Washington Metro. Late Night & Early Morning 92 trips are extended to Duke Ellington Bridge. The lines operate every 12 - 24 minutes between 7 AM and 9 PM, and 15 - 30 minutes at all other times. Route 90 and 92 trips are roughly 60 to 70 minutes.

Background

Routes 90 and 92 operate daily between Anacostia station (90) or Congress Heights station (92) and Duke Ellington Bridge (90) or Reeves Center / U Street station (92). Late night and early morning 92 trips are extended to Duke Ellington Bridge. Route 90 operates along Howard Road and Martin Luther King Jr Avenue. Route 92 operates along Alabama Avenue, Naylor Road and Marion Barry Avenue before reaching Martin Luther King Jr Avenue. Both lines merge on the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and Good Hope Road and operate along M Street, 8th Street, Florida Avenue, and U Street. The 92 terminates at Reeves Center / U Street station while the 90 and late night and early morning 92 trips continue along U Street, 18th Street, and Calvert Street before terminating at Duke Ellington Bridge.[2] [3] The line is the 4th busiest Metrobus line in the system as of 2016 averaging almost 12,000 riders.[4]

Additional route 90 trips operate on school days from KIPP DC College Prep to Anacostia station leaving at 4:10 pm. Those trips operate along Brentwood Parkway, Mount Olivet Road, Montello Avenue, and K Street before resuming its regular route along 8th Street going to Anacostia.

Additional weekday peak-hour route 92 trips operate between Congress Heights and Eastern Market station only in order to reduce crowding.

Routes 90 and 92 currently operate out of Shepherd Parkway garage.

Route 90 stops

Route 92 stops

History

The U Street–Garfield Line originally operated under the Capital Traction Company which operated under streetcars in the late 1800s. Route 92 operated under the Good Hope Line while 90 operated on a combination of the New Jersey Avenue, U Street, and Florida Avenue/8th Street lines. Both route 90 and 92 operated between Southeast DC and Duke Ellington Bridge via the Calvert Street Loop, Barney Circle, and Washington Union Station mainly along 8th Street, Florida Avenue, and U Street. The line would later be extended to McLean Gardens. The U Street portion would be electrified in 1892 while the Florida Avenue/8th Street portion would be electrified in 1908.[5]

Eventually, the Good Hope Line was converted into buses on January 26, 1925 while route 90 remained operating under streetcars when the Capital Traction Company and Washington Railway & Electric Company merged and formed the Capital Transit Company. Later routes 90 and 92 were acquired by DC Transit in 1956 and converted into buses on January 28, 1962 when streetcars were shut down. Routes 90 and 92 would be acquired by WMATA on January 4, 1973.[6] [5]

In later years, new routes 91 and 93 were introduced as the Garfield-Owl Line to provide late night service to routes 90 and 92 from On December 28, 1991 when Anacostia station opened, route 90 was rerouted to operate to the new station while also replacing the Stanton Road Line (94) portion between Anacostia and McLean Gardens when route 94 was shorten to terminate at Anacostia station.

On December 29, 1996, short route 90 trip operating between Duke Ellington Bridge and McLean Gardens during early morning and late night hours, was replaced during the weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays by an equal number of route 93 trips which will be extended from Duke Ellington Bridge to McLean Gardens over the same routing.[7]

On January 13, 2001, route 92 was extended from its Garfield terminus to the newly opened Congress Heights station replacing all route 91 service. Loop service via 15th and Congress Place, SE, was also discontinued. Route 93 was also shifted to the U Street–Garfield Line and being extended from Shipley Terrace to Congress Heights station alongside the 92. Service was discontinued south of Alabama Avenue (Trenton Place, 19th Street and Savannah Street).[8]

On June 24, 2007. routes 90, 92, and 93 were shorten from McLean Gardens to Duke Ellington Bridge in order to improve on time efficiency from the long routes the buses run along. Select rush hour buses would still end at 14th and U streets, NW however. Route 96 would replace the 90, 92, and 93 portion between McLean Gardens and Duke Ellington Bridge.[9]

Between 2010 and 2011, WMATA and the District Department of Transportation began a study on the U Street–Garfield Line.[10] Public meetings and surveys were contributed to passengers on how to improve the lines. Multiple passengers complained about the route being crowded, loud buses, buses behind schedule, low frequency, safety and security, shelters and stops, communication, and extending the western end of line up to Woodley Park station or McLean Gardens again.[11]

At the time of the study, routes 90, 92, and 93 were operating out of Southern Avenue division which utilizes Flxibles, D40LFRs, DE40LFAs, and Orion Vs.

On June 22, 2014, all route 92 trips were shorten from Duke Ellington Bridge to U and 14th Streets, NW terminus (U Street station) and all Route 92 southbound service begins at U & 13th Streets, NW (U Street station, 13th Street NW entrance).[12] Service between U Street station and Duke Ellington Bridge is still provided by routes 90 and 93.

In 2015, WMATA proposed to eliminate all route 93 service due to low ridership along Stanton, Pomeroy, and Morris Roads and to simplify the line. Alternative service is provided by routes 90, 92, and 94.[13]

On March 27, 2016, all route 93 service was discontinued and replaced by routes 90, 92, and 94 running on the same routing. Additional early morning and late evening 90 and 92 trips were added.[14]

On June 24, 2018, additional route 92 trips were added to operate between Congress Heights station and Eastern Market station.[15]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, routes 90 and 92 were reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020.[16] However beginning on March 18, 2020, the line was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule.[17] On March 21, 2020, all route 92 weekend service was suspended and route 90 was relegated to operate every 30 minutes.[18] Route 92 weekend service and all full service was restored on August 23, 2020.[19]

In 2020, WMATA proposed to eliminate the 92 short trips between Congress Heights and Eastern Market stations as there is alternative service on each stop and at the request of the District Department of Transportation.[20]

Incidents

  • On August 30, 2017, a woman attempted to abduct a seven-year-old boy who was riding to school on board a route 92 bus near 8th and H streets. The suspect would flee the scene after other passengers stopped her.[21] [22] The woman, later identified as Thalia Denise Brown was later arrested on September 14, 2017.[23] [24]
  • On October 5, 2018, a route 92 bus and van collided with each other along 22nd Street and Alabama Avenue sending 9 people to the hospital.[25]

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Metrobus FY2023 Annual Line Performance Report . wmata.com . April 27, 2024. May 31, 2024.
  2. Web site: 90, 92, 93 – U Street-Garfield Line . Metro-Venture . 14 August 2020 . en . 28 February 2010.
  3. Web site: D.C.'s Best Bus Line 2015 . Washington City Paper . 14 August 2020 . en.
  4. Web site: Rowl . DW . This map shows where the most bus riders live and how close they are to Metro . Greater Greater Washington . 14 August 2020 . en.
  5. Web site: WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES . www.chicagorailfan.com . 10 August 2020.
  6. Web site: History . 10 August 2020.
  7. Web site: METROBUS SERVICE CHANGES DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 29, 1996 . December 19, 1996 . August 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/19970214090536/http://www.wmata.com/5_SPECAN/dec96dc.htm . February 14, 1997 . dead .
  8. Web site: Metrobus service changes effective January 13, 2001 District of Columbia . February 10, 2001 . August 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010210013453/http://wmata.com/metrobus/servicechange_011301_dc.htm . February 10, 2001 . dead .
  9. Web site: Metrobus service changes in the District of Columbia begin June 24 . 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20070806004754/http://www.wmata.com/about/met_news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1680. August 6, 2007. dead.
  10. Web site: Kenton . Malcolm . How can DC's third busiest bus line improve? . Greater Greater Washington . 14 August 2020 . en.
  11. Web site: 90-92-93 Metrobus U Street-Garfield Line Study . 14 August 2020.
  12. Web site: Metrobus service changes effective June 22 to improve reliability . www.wmata,com . 26 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025158/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/pressreleasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=5726. March 29, 2019. dead.
  13. Web site: 93 U Street-Garfield Line . www.wmata.com . 10 August 2020.
  14. Web site: Metrobus adds Sunday service to Greenbelt, extends Metroway as part of service changes effective March 27. www.wmata.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20190329013740/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/pressreleasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=6088. March 29, 2019. dead.
  15. Web site: Metrobus Service Changes, June 24 WMATA . www.wmata.com . 10 August 2020.
  16. Web site: Metro announces additional COVID-19 changes, including reduced service beginning Monday WMATA . www.wmata.com . 31 January 2021.
  17. Web site: METRO SERVICE LEVELS & HOURS FURTHER REDUCED TO SUPPORT ESSENTIAL TRIPS ONLY, STARTING WEDNESDAY WMATA . www.wmata.com . 31 January 2021.
  18. Web site: Weekend: Metro service limited to 26 bus routes, reduced rail service; expect wait times of 30 minutes; customers urged to travel only if essential WMATA . www.wmata.com . 27 February 2021.
  19. Web site: Metrobus Service Changes beginning August 23 WMATA . www.wmata.com . 31 January 2021.
  20. Web site: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Proposed Metrobus Service Changes . www.wmata.com . 10 August 2020.
  21. Web site: Barber . Tim . Police search for woman who tried to kidnap 7-year-old boy on Metrobus in DC . WJLA . 27 February 2021 . 30 August 2017.
  22. Web site: "Metro Transit Police are investigating an attempted abduction of a 7-year-old boy aboard a 92 Metrobus" . PoPville . 27 February 2021 . en.
  23. Web site: Woman Tried to Take Boy, 7, Off Metrobus, Police Say . NBC4 Washington . 27 February 2021.
  24. Web site: DC woman arrested after trying to kidnap 7-year-old from bus . WTOP . 27 February 2021 . en . 14 September 2017.
  25. Web site: 9 people transported to hospital after Metro bus, van crash in Southeast . wusa9.com . 27 February 2021.