23-05-2025
D.C. Circulator buses find new homes far from the city
D.C. Circulator buses disappeared from the city's streets after Dec. 31. But in recent weeks, some of the vehicles have been spotted cruising along streets in unfamiliar locales, like pictures of an ex on social media or a homegrown athlete winning a championship in another team's jersey.
A traveler found one operating as a shuttle in Boston. Others spotted the blazing red buses in Indio, California, transporting attendees of the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals.
The District, which maintained and operated the Circulator, has auctioned off 63 vehicles so far, according to records provided to The Washington Post by Sisy Garcia, a spokeswoman for D.C.'s Office of Contracting & Procurement.
Two buses were purchased by a company in Brampton, Ontario. One was bought by someone located in Fraccionamiento Cumbres del Lago in Mexico. And another headed across the pond to a buyer in London.
Some were purchased for as much as $88,000, according to GovDeals, the auction website where the transactions took place, while others sold for closer to $3,000.
The Circulator routes started in 2005, and the buses were quickly embraced because of their speed, reliability and accessibility. But over the years, wait times stretched and frustrated customers and other services, including Metrobus, ate into the Circulator's ridership.
But the Circulator had dedicated fans. Some even participated in something akin to an Irish wake for the service at the end of 2024 with homemade memorabilia, a toast at a local bar and one last ride on the bus.
The District pulled the plug on the service after Dec. 31, citing the city's tight budget and the Circulator's dwindling ridership. But drivers disputed that claim to The Post in September, saying that fare boxes rarely worked to get an accurate count on riders.
Funds from the sale of the buses will be used to compensate the 276 Circulator workers who lost their jobs with the service's termination. The legislation, passed in October, was opposed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser but supported unanimously by the D.C. Council.
But council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who introduced the initial bill, said that as far as he's aware, D.C.'s Department of Transportation has yet to send any funds to the workers.
'When the Circulator was shut down, residents lost a ride and a lot of workers lost their jobs. D.C. law is clear that the proceeds of the sale of the discontinued buses have to go toward supporting those that lost a paycheck and need to land on their feet,' Allen said in a statement to The Post.
'I will keep pushing DDOT and the city to make good on a commitment to the folks that drove students to school, office workers downtown, and seniors to the grocery store through thick and thin.'
The agency did not dispute this claim in a statement provided to The Post.
'The District Department of Transportation is continuing to work with the Office of Contracting and Procurement regarding the liquidation of Circulator assets,' said German Vigil, a spokesperson for DDOT.
Maurice Vanegas couldn't wait to pounce on the Circulator buses. He bought 12 of them. He told The Post that he estimates that he'll spend an average of $40,000 per bus. This includes towing it from the D.C. region to Southern California and bringing it up to road and technical specifications such as fixing the seats and maintaining the electrical components. His cost per vehicle is a mere fraction of the sticker price of the bus, Vanegas said.
Vanegas, 56, is the president of Transit Systems Unlimited, Inc. based in Sun Valley, California. He said that his company, which started in 1991, works with the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County to provide transportation at event centers, public transit and schools. The first Circulator bus that he's gotten finished — and was repainted to all white — is being used at the Hollywood Bowl, an amphitheater and concert venue, to shuttle show attendees.
'Companies like mine have only survived because we're buying machinery that we couldn't afford otherwise,' Vanegas said. 'If it wasn't for government intervention to bring this technology to the forefront, we all wouldn't have it.'
His company already has 60 buses that are mostly coal- and gas-operated. Vanegas has been particularly interested in getting more electric vehicles in his fleet to be an example to others by becoming less reliant on fossil fuels, he said. He wants to use solar energy that he's been harvesting from panels installed at the company's bus depots and is in talks with the Hollywood Bowl to install more chargers at the venue.
Vanegas said he has read about gripes from D.C.-area residents who believe the Circulator was ultimately a waste of taxpayer money. But he wants to reassure those critics that these buses will continue their community service.
'Only you guys would've known in Washington, D.C., what great buses these were,' Vanegas said. 'But now, a lot more people will get to know.'
