Monday, November 12, 2007

Get to Mt Vernon Square Even Faster!

Oh, we kid, we kid. We love Mt. Vernon Square, we really do. And now, if you live in Adams Morgan, there's yet another way to get there without driving.

The popular DC Circulator buses will be coming to Adams Morgan. The big, red, cheap bus that's easy on the tourists will be making its first trips uptown by the end of 2008. There are two new routes being added: one will travel from Adams Morgan to the Washington Washington Convention Center (yes, its now called the Walter E. Washington Washington Convention Center) and the second route will run from Union Station to Near Southeast and the Nationals Ballpark.

The Circulator was the brainchild of the DC Department of Transportation and Metro and started service in 2005. First it served as an easy to navigate bus system for tourists, taking them around the Mall and to popular sites in the city, like Union station and Georgetown. Then, us residents caught on that we could go across town for $1 and travel in relative comfort; the buses are award winning, always clean, have three doors for boarding, and have really cool fold-down seats. The August ridership (a slooooowwwwwww month in DC for travel) more than doubled from 2005 to 2007.

The Adams Morgan route will replace the woefully underused 98 bus that "linked" U Street and Woodley Park. I guess no one really knew about it, or maybe there really is a stigma around riding Metrobus. The 98 bus only cost 25¢. One quarter, people! Well, now it'll cost $1. Meh. I'll pay the extra 75¢ if I can get one of the foldyseats.