The Committee of 100 was an early and strong supporter of the Metro subway and bus systems to serve the DC metropolitan area. We continue to advocate for significant improvements and sound investments in mass transit to benefit the city and the region.
Metrorail and Metrobus
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) was created by an interstate compact in 1967 to plan, develop, build, finance, and operate a balanced regional transportation system in the national capital area. Construction began on the rail system in 1969, and operations on the first phase of Metrorail’s Red Line began in 1976. With the addition of the Silver Line providing service to Dulles International Airport, Metrorail serves 98 stations and has 128 miles of track.
Four regional bus systems were acquired in 1973, and today Metrobus serves the nation’s capital 24 hours a day, seven days a week with 1,500 buses. Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of more than 4 million within a 1,500-square mile jurisdiction. Metro began its paratransit service, MetroAccess, in 1994; it provides about 2.3 million trips per year.
Circulator Bus
The DC Circulator began operations on two routes in 2005 and now provides convenient public transportation to the District’s main attractions and most neighborhoods for business, culture and entertainment at a fare cost of only $1. Six distinct routes provide service across Washington, DC, into Rosslyn, VA, and along the National Mall. The DC Circulator system has expanded to become the fourth-largest bus system in the region, but the ridership has not returned to pre-COVID levels. The Circulator has been cut from the proposed 2025 budget, but some Council members are opposed and are waiting for a transition plan from WMATA to see if some Circulator routes could be absorbed to minimize impact on riders.
DC Streetcars
The DC Streetcar system currently operates over 2.2 miles of track along H Street NE and Benning Road NE, powered by overhead wire technology. Three streetcars provide service free-of-charge.
The Streetcar system grew out of a DDOT proposal in 2005 for a 37-mile DC streetcar system that never materialized. Its goals were to provide a modern and convenient alternative to connect neighborhoods with quality service, to attract and reach new transit ridership, and reduce the need for short inner-city auto trips, parking demand, traffic congestion and air pollution.
The Committee of 100 has supported a well-planned streetcar system. We have called on DDOT to develop a realistic financial and governance plan for the system, and urged adoption of a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly wireless propulsion technology to preserve visual quality, not only for the monumental core but also for neighborhood boulevards.
While we strongly support the need for expanded public transit, the proposed extension fails to address long-standing systemic problems. Unless and until there is a comprehensive plan of how to govern, operate, finance and maintain a world class streetcar system as C100 has called for repeatedly, no further money should be invested in this poorly conceived system.
The Committee of 100 on the Federal City joins the numerous professional organizations, local citizens, and visitors to our Nation’s capital in objecting to WMATA’s painting the concrete vaults in the Union Station Metro Station.
The Streetcar portion of the draft Environmental Assessment should be withdrawn and redone to reflect a technically competent and accurate evaluation of wireless streetcar propulsion and an objective comparison of wireless versus overhead wire propulsion for this extension of the streetcar system. The redesign of intersections needs to be evaluated to determine whether they adequately improve those intersections.
Focusing on transporting people relatively short distances within DC is not going to address the commuter issue nor is it likely to create a major shift from automotive to non-automotive modes. Further, it risks diverting job growth and commercial activity to other jurisdictions.
All of us are responsible to see that the streetcar system is done well. Residents and their elected Council members must demand better planning; and DDOT must communicate to a skeptical public how the department will get the streetcar system from here to there.
C100 recommendations concerning three items: 1. The need for an appropriation to prepare a comprehensive freight, passenger and commuter Rail Plan for the District of Columbia. 2. The need to restrict DDOT’s expenditure of any further money for engineering and design of streetcar extensions beyond the H Street/Benning Road line until the requirements of DC Code§ 9-1171 and 9-1173 have been satisfied. 3. The need to provide a streetcar propulsion technology assessment as required by DC Code §9-1174.
C100's review of the Draft Environmental Assessment and Section 106 Review the Anacostia Streetcar Extension finds that it neither acknowledges nor complies with DC law.
The errors and omissions pointed out in the Committee of 100’s response to the Draft Anacostia Environmental Assessment, and the resultant inadequate and meaningless analysis, require the preparation of a revised Draft Environmental Assessment.
The DC Circulator began operations on two routes in 2005 and now provides convenient public transportation to the District’s main attractions and most neighborhoods for business, culture and entertainment at a fare cost of only $1. Six distinct routes provide service across Washington, DC, into Rosslyn, VA, and along the National Mall. The DC Circulator system has expanded to become the fourth-largest bus system in the region, but the ridership has not returned to pre-COVID levels. The Circulator has been cut from the proposed 2025 budget, but some Council members are opposed and are waiting for a transition plan from WMATA to see if some Circulator routes could be absorbed to minimize impact on riders.
The DC Streetcar system currently operates over 2.2 miles of track along H Street NE and Benning Road NE, powered by overhead wire technology. Three streetcars provide service free-of-charge.