Latest news with #BetterBusNetwork
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Amtrak trains canceled after fire raged through warehouse in Baltimore
BALTIMORE, Md. () — Multiple Amtrak trains from Washington, D.C. to New York City have been canceled or delayed after a large fire raged through a warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland. According to the Baltimore City Fire Department, the blaze broke out at the multi-story mattress warehouse in the 2200 block of West Lanvale Street just before 7:30 p.m. on May 12. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames showing from the building. As the fire continued to grow, the department evacuated about 30 people from homes nearby. No injuries were reported. However, the fire ignited near the rail corridor in west Baltimore, causing several Amtrak trains to be delayed or canceled for Monday night and Tuesday morning. WMATA prepares to launch Better Bus Network, eliminate 500 underutilized bus routes Around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Amtrak announced on social media that all trains were stopped between Wilmington (WIL) and Washington (WAS) after officials placed a hold on all tracks in the west Baltimore area. 'No time has been given as to when the tracks will re-open or when services will resume. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience,' wrote Amtrak on social media. From Monday night to Tuesday morning, the following trains scheduled from D.C. to New York were canceled: Train 186 Train 151Amtrak said Train 192 will make all local stops between Baltimore and New York to accommodate customers. However, the train system noted that it will not stop at the Philadelphia North (PHN) station. Crews are working to restore regular services. All passengers who have been impacted by the cancellations are encouraged to rebook the next available train, text 268725 or call 800-USA-RAIL for more information. To check the status of a train scheduled to New York, click . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WMATA prepares to launch Better Bus Network, eliminate 500 underutilized bus routes
WASHINGTON () — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is preparing to roll out its Better Bus Network next month. The Better Bus Network is a total overhaul of the area's bus system, and it has been years in the making. According to WMATA, the goal is to modernize the system and increase efficiency. Routes, schedules and route names will all be updated starting on June 29. 'We need the funding to be able to do the work': DC early childcare providers, advocates push for fully funded pay equity for teachers To prepare customers, WMATA has been educating riders and updating its online trip planner. That includes informing customers about the more than 500 underutilized bus stops that will be eliminated and helping them find new options. One of those eliminated bus stops is the D-8 stop in Edgewood. 'It's going to impact the children, the parents, old senior citizens, everyone in this area is used to this bus line,' Denitta Morris said. 'It's sad, and it's really necessary for us to do something.' Morris said she relies on the stop daily and is concerned about how she'll get around. 'What can we do, how can we find out to get some information?' she said. The D-8 line runs from Union Station to Washington Hospital Center, with stops right outside a housing complex for senior citizens. 'A lot of people have hospital appointments because it's a lot of elderly and it's a lot of disabled people who live here,' said Cordelia Boggins. 'For them not to be able to get this bus – it means they'll have to catch a cab or Uber, and no one has that kind of money.' Trump signs executive order aimed at slashing prescription drug costs Boggins has a car of her own, but is concerned about what her neighbors will do. 'The impact is going to be immediate. And then when the weather changes, people are not going to be able to get to where they're going,' she said. Officials with WMATA said there are other bus options within blocks of the stops that will be eliminated, including the D34 line. They're encouraging people to use the online trip planner to prepare. Riders should use a date on or after June 29 for accurate information. Officials also said they'll monitor the impacts and issues this summer and fall and determine if changes to the new routes are needed. For more information, click . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
In the D.C. region, the future of the Metro is the bus
The D.C. public transportation system is set to expand dramatically over the next 20 years. But aside from the long-delayed Purple Line, new train tracks aren't part of the plan. Leaders in and around the Metro system are putting their energy behind the less-loved side of transit: the bus. In June, Metro rolls out its new 'Better Bus Network,' remaking the existing system with fewer stops and promises of faster service. Northern Virginia leaders just proposed 28 new bus routes, five of which are already in the works. The District has 7 bus-only lanes and wants a dozen more; Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland are planning 17. Today, the region has about 30 miles of lanes reserved for buses. Plans call for 20 times more over the next two decades. There are a couple reasons for the shift. One is money. New rail is remarkably expensive and difficult to build — the Purple Line is five years and $5 billion dollars over its original budget — and the Trump administration is expected to cut funds for transit projects. The other is the lasting impact of the pandemic. Metro ridership is rebounding as more people reported to offices, but it's still about a third lower than in 2019. Bus ridership, on the other hand, is actually higher — even though Metro data shows buses are slower, less frequent and less reliable than rail. So Metro is focusing on making the existing rail and bus infrastructure more efficient to both accommodate the region's expected population growth and address its already arduous levels of traffic congestion. 🌸 Follow D.C. region Follow 'We need to move much, much faster on a regional, coordinated bus priority plan,' Metro planning chief Tom Webster said at a public meeting late last month. 'It is this region's future.' Already, nearly as many people ride Metro buses every day as Metro trains. But these plans aim to double that ridership, bringing in people who have the option to drive. The goal is to 'compete with a single-occupancy vehicle, regarding the reliability and the frequency of service,' said Monica Blackmon, CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Saying no to 'the bloop' In proposing the pivot to buses, Metro leaders put to bed a rail expansion known colloquially as 'the bloop.' The idea, which came out of a years-long study of how to speed up trains between Rosslyn and downtown D.C., would have redirected the Blue Line through Southeast Washington to link up with the Yellow Line in Alexandria. It would've added a stop by the hotels and casino at National Harbor and provided Metro access to St. Elizabeth's, Buzzard Point and Bolling Air Force Base. But it came with an estimated $30 billion to $35 billion price tag and a 20-year timeline to complete. The entire bus network redesign was done in three years with no extra funding. Even the most ambitious local bus plans, which involve widening roads for bus lanes, cap out at around $1 billion. 'It makes sense for Metro to focus on the rail system it has, and give people something that will make their lives better right now — and that is what investing in the bus system does,' said Dan Reed, a former urban planner who works for the local pro-growth group Greater Greater Washington. Still, there's a limit to what buses alone can solve as the region grows, some transportation experts and local officials say. A Beltway South bus line is envisioned, but replicating the 'bloop' would require several transfers. 'I don't understand why one of the richest metropolitan areas in one of the richest countries in the world can't have nice things like everybody else,' said Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), an advocate for the Blue Line loop. 'Bus is an important piece, but we cannot sacrifice rail investments just because it's hard.' Transportation planners agree that at a certain distance or population density, buses are no longer effective. 'When the Purple Line opens and people can go from Bethesda to Silver Spring in nine minutes, you wont hear anyone say it should have been a bus,' Reed said. Making buses work Bus lanes have the potential to sidestep literal and figurative gridlock, skirting the kinds of costly battles that can derail bigger projects more reliant on federal dollars. Advertisement When Montgomery proposed making temporary lanes on Georgia Avenue permanent late last year, public survey results showed two-thirds of 2,800 locals were opposed. Three-quarters of those people said they usually drove down the corridor, which has five bus lines and four Metro stops. The bus lanes serve roughly 10,000 riders a day, but only 658 of the survey respondents took the bus more than twice a month. Advertisement If this were a plan that required federal funding, those opponents could have held it up for years with litigation or the threat of it. But the whole project cost was covered by the state for roughly $300,000, or $40,000 a mile. (For comparison, construction of the Purple Line has cost more than $300 million a mile.) The bus lanes stayed. Marc Dunkelman, author of the book 'Why Nothing Works,' said the dynamics of projects like this reflect a broader problem in American governance. Advertisement 'We're spending hand over fist more than other countries in similar economic circumstances, and that's not purely about the cost of labor or the cost of materials. It's that … we've created an industry of vetoes that are available to anyone who objects,' Dunkelman said. 'Should we lower our aspirations knowing our process is screwed up or should we change the process so we can get more optimal solutions?' Advertisement Interventions such as the Georgia Avenue lanes have improved bus speeds by as much as 60 percent, officials say, while reducing crashes by as much as 30 percent. And despite opposition from drivers, data indicates car traffic along bus priority routes has slowed by only a minute or two. Skip to end of carousel Make the most of the DMV with our newsletter (The Washington Post) Make living in D.C. a little easier and more fun. Sign up for the Post Local newsletter to get local news, weather and expert advice — where to eat, where to drink and how to get around — every weekday. End of carousel 'The folks driving vehicles didn't really experience a change,' D.C. City Administrator Kevin Donahue said at a regional transit meeting in March. 'They may not perceive that, because they're still in traffic before and after, but when we really study it the experience doesn't change at all.' Advertisement Maryland and D.C. can now ticket cars in bus-only lanes. Also appearing on the streets are signals that let buses move ahead of other traffic, and curb bumps with fare boxes that make it easier and faster to get on and off. The most ambitious projects, called 'Bus Rapid Transit,' or BRT give buses their own separated corridors similar to light rail. Advertisement 'The operating costs aren't as high, the engineering isn't quite as intense, you can get through the process a little faster,' said transportation planner Julie Timm. She was a BRT skeptic herself until she was in charge of Richmond, Va.'s bus system, which now carries over a million riders a month. Now, she says, 'I'm a convert.' 'A bus is a bus' The advantages buses hold over rail can also become drawbacks. Improvements are incremental and flexible, and therefor easier to scrap; new lines are easier to launch, and have resulted in a dozen local systems with separate names, fares and maps. Advertisement There's agreement that jurisdictions should work together on signage and some bulk purchases. But fares, schedules and stops have proven more controversial. Already, discussions of the bus plans have created disputes about how much control Metro should have as opposed to the jurisdictions that oversee (and pay for) the roads buses travel. Advertisement 'There's a reason that we all have our local systems,' Alexandria City Council member Canek Aguirre said at a recent transit meeting in Northern Virginia. Alexandria's DASH service is free and electric, something Metrobus can't afford. 'You have a better understanding of not just your populace but the topography and your specific region,' he said in an interview afterward. Loudoun Supervisor Matt Letourneau countered that localities should look to centralize as much as possible, given the political and financial climate for transit. Advertisement 'We have to drive value to the maximum extent possible,' he said. 'For [the public], they don't distinguish as much between the operators — a bus is a bus.' That fight isn't over; it will likely continue over the summer as local leaders discuss Metro's financial future. How those play out will help determine whether a built-out bus network will be a success or a compromise that satisfies no one.
