News
Regional transportation news stories compiled by CommuterPage.com. Subscribe to a daily email with the most recent news, recent ACCS blog posts, and upcoming events. Every CommuterPage.com News email includes an "unsubscribe" link.
Lane Closures Planned for DC 295 This Week
DDOT is installing concrete barriers as part of the Lane Place Northeast Pedestrian Bridge project. The bridge is being built on DC 295 to replace the aging pedestrian bridge hit by a construction truck and knocked down in 2021.
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Adam Tuss, March 27, 2023, NBC Washington
Metro records busiest Sunday since 2015 as crowds swarmed cherry blossoms
Roads were jammed coming in to the Tidal Basin in D.C while Metro had to restrict entries at one station because of the demand.
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Justin George, March 27, 2023, The Washington Post
Eighth-straight weekly drop brings diesel to $4.128 a gallon
The national average price for diesel is drawing ever-nearer to the $4 a gallon mark after its eighth consecutive weekly drop that saw it shed another 5.7 cents to dip to $4.128 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration reported.
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March 27, 2023, Transport Topics
Manassas residents asked to complete bicycle survey
Manassas is working to become a bicycle-friendly city. In recent years, the city has added several bicycle-only lanes.
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March 28, 2023, Potomac Local News
County unveils student art submitted for future Richmond Highway bus stations
In the year 2030, travelers on The One — the dedicated bus service planned for the Richmond Highway (Route 1) corridor — will be able to wait for their next ride while taking in artwork designed by local students.
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Melanie Pincus, March 27, 2023, FFXNow
Metrorail safety commission investigating improper use of automated operating system
The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission is looking into a March 17 incident in which a train overran a Silver Line station platform while the train was under Automatic Train Operation.
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March 27, 2023, Trains.com
Metro experiences delays amid a surge of cherry blossom bound-riders
Metro's managers switched the Smithsonian station to be exit-only to help manage crowds.
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Ian Duncan, March 26, 2023, The Washington Post
How to save America's public transit systems from a doom spiral
America’s largest public transportation systems are facing their greatest challenge in generations — a crisis with the potential to decimate their service, cripple local economies, and diminish quality of life.
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David Zipper, March 27, 2023, Vox
Traffic not so ''cheery' as cherry blossom visitors get stuck for hours
Drivers trying to make their way around Southwest D.C., the Tidal Basin, the Wharf, Hains Point and the National Mall wrote emails, called the WTOP traffic center and tweeted all about their frustrations on Saturday evening as they faced standstill traffic for hours.
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Dan Friedell, March 25, 2023, WTOP
Metro: 40,000 trips go unpaid every weekday
The new insights into fare evasion come after the transit agency finished a year-long project to upgrade its nearly 1,200 fare gates across 97 stations.
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Joseph Olmo, March 25, 2023, DC News Now
With Loudoun Transit strike over, full bus service resumes
Bus service, particularly commuter bus routes into Washington, DC, had been limited during the strike.
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Renss Greene, March 24, 2023, LoudounNow
Montgomery County councilmembers question Metro fare changes
For example, under the proposed changes a midday Montgomery County commuter could see fares jump from $7.70 to $12 or more round – plus the $5.20 for parking at the station, County Council Chairman Evan Glass says.
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Casey Nolen, March 25, 2023, WUSA9
Metro Transit Police's body camera program to start in April
According to Metro, there will be a total of 315 Metro officers wearing body-word cameras by the end of the summer.
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Valerie Bonk, March 24, 2023, WTOP
Traffic adjustments in downtown DC to aid cherry blossom visitors
Starting at 6 a.m. Saturday, drivers on Ohio Drive through East Potomac Park near Hains Point will travel in reverse flow, the National Park Service said in a tweet.
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Ciara Wells, March 24, 2023, WTOP
Ride On – A look back at 48 years of innovation
The Ride On system, the first county-run bus service in the Washington, DC area, debuted in 1975 with 20 buses and was designed to provide service in Takoma Park and Silver Spring where large buses could not travel.
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MCDOT, March 23, 2023, WTOP
Capital Bikeshare launches next generation electric bicycle
Fairfax County, Arlington County, and Washington, D.C. are the first jurisdictions in the country to acquire this next generation model from Lyft, which manufactures and operates bikeshare equipment.
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Fairfax County Government, March 24, 2023, Fairfax County Times
New Metro fare proposal could change how much you pay to ride
When it comes to fare prices, under the proposal, "Peak" and "Off Peak" times would go away, and the minimum rate would drop from $2.25 to $2.
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David Kaplan, March 23, 2023, Fox 5 DC
Metro's Better Bus initiative looks to accelerate transition to zero-emission bus fleet
Metro today released its Zero-Emission Bus Transition Plan to provide cleaner, Better Bus service for the region with a proposal to transition to a 100 percent zero-emission bus fleet by 2042, accelerating the timeline by three years.
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March 23, 2023, WMATA
USDOT announces $94M in SMART Grants to create safer, more equitable transportation systems
The new Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant will help state, local, and Tribal governments create safer, more equitable, efficient, and innovative transportation systems.
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Liz Carey, March 23, 2023, Transportation Today
Metro's Yellow Line will end at Mt. Vernon Square starting in May; MetroAccess fares capped at $4
Just four years after extending service on the northern end of the Yellow Line to Greenbelt, Metro is set to end the Yellow Line downtown at Mt. Vernon Square starting in May.
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Jordan Pascale, March 23, 2023, NBC Washington
Mayor Bowser proposes bus service cuts
The cuts would get rid of three of the Circulator’s six routes — Rosslyn to Dupont Circle, Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza, and Woodley Park to McPherson Square Metro.
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Paige Hopkins, March 23, 2023, Axios DC
D.C. leaders say free-bus plan will advance despite Bowser's cost concerns
D.C. leaders said the city will move forward with a plan to subsidize free Metrobus service later this year, even as Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Wednesday proposed a budget that doesn’t include the program.
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Justin George, March 23, 2023, Washington Post
DC to get 342 new traffic cameras starting this summer
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser revealed during her annual budget proposal presentation that she plans to have crews install another 342 cameras around the District this summer.
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John Henry, March 22, 2023, WUSA9
Bowser-Mendelson battle over free metrobus program peaks as budget season arrives
The whole free bus idea came about after Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen backed a much more ambitious proposal that would have subsidized Metro rides for D.C. residents.
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Alex Koma, March 22, 2023, Washington City Paper
Metro enhances visibility of '988' lifeline, crisis support resource signs
The public awareness initiative echoes #YourMetro commitment to providing crisis support, safety and wellness resources to its customers and aligns with national efforts to increase awareness of mental health prevention resources.
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March 22, 2023, WMATA
How the DC Mayor's budget would impact transportation
More speed cameras and fewer buses are part of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s budget proposal.
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March 22, 2023, NBC Washington
There is much more work to do to shift cities away from cars
It was an abrupt shift from decades of city planning that has generally served the automobile. And today, as city curbs are crowded with deliveries, pedestrians, scooters and more, this thinking is placed increasingly under a critical microscope.
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Skip Descant, March 21, 2023, Government Technology
DC region scores high on walkability. How could it do better?
The Washington region boasts a host of walkable suburbs and town centers, a walkable core, and the high-quality transit to support it all.
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David Edmondson, March 21, 2023, Greater Greater Washington
Week-long work zone on US-50 in Maryland could hamper commuters
Maryland transportation officials have temporarily closed the right lanes on a stretch of U.S. Route 50, just outside of Annapolis, Maryland, to make bridge repairs — an around-the-clock project that could slow westbound commuters.
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Mary DePompa, March 21, 2023, WTOP
Metro celebrates completion of its Md. headquarters in Prince George's Co.
Among the 1,200 or so employees coming here to work every day will be the management staff of Metro Transit Police, as well as Metro Access, parking and customer service call centers.
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John Domen, March 22, 2023, WTOP
New 'saloon door' fare gates coming to Metro stations to prevent fare evaders
Metro riders will soon walk through newly-designed fare gates — a deterrent to the growing number of people who ride the rail system without swiping their SmartTrip cards.
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Neal Augenstein, March 21, 2023, WTOP
Metro releases statistics on fare evaders, announces new plan on how to stop them
For the first time, Metro released detailed numbers on Monday showing that roughly one out of eight trips on the rail this year has been by a rider who did not swipe a SmarTrip card.
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Tom Roussey, March 20, 2023, ABC7
DDOT to offer grants to improve traffic safety
Today, grant opportunities for projects and programs that improve traffic safety as part of the District’s Vision Zero initiative were announced by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), in conjunction with the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA).
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German Vigil/Mariam Nabizad, March 20, 2023, DDOT
Metro to welcome Maryland leaders to celebrate opening of New Carrollton Office Building, continuing transformation of multi-modal transit hub
The ribbon cutting ceremony will mark the continued transformation of New Carrollton as a transit-accessible hub for office space, housing, and retail.
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March 20, 2023, WMATA
Capital Bikeshare getting 700 new e-bikes; Bowser celebrates completion of 9th Street Bikeway
More than 700 of the new grey electric bikes will be available in the District and 150 in Fairfax and Arlington counties by May.
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Jordan Pascale, March 20, 2023, DCist
With ridership up, Metro adds more rail service at busy stations
These days there are more riders than the transit system has seen since the pandemic started in 2020. In fact, last week saw the two busiest single days on the rails yet.
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John Domen, March 20, 2023, WTOP
McLean residents file lawsuit to stop Capital Beltway toll lane expansion
Although the project to add two-and-a-half miles of express lanes from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Parkway is in its second year of construction, the Northern Virginia Citizens Association wants it stopped and has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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Kyle Cooper, March 21, 2023, WTOP
Metro gets overall high marks in poll
The survey of a random sample of more than 1,600 D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia residents shows that despite Metro’s high-profile struggles…3 in 4 riders rate Metrorail ‘excellent’ or 'good.'
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Justin George/Emily Guskin, March 18, 2023, The Washington Post
Metro's new schedule starts Monday. Here's what it means for your commute.
The next timetable change is set to take effect on Monday, March 20, when Silver, Blue, Orange, and Blue+ lines will start running every 12 minutes on weekdays during the morning and evening rush.
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Joseph Olmo, March 19, 2023, DC News Now
To recover from COVID, transit needs a rider-centered future. Here's how
Which path we follow depends on how we answer the fundamental question at the heart of our industry today: Why do riders choose transit — why, even before the pandemic, was ridership was trending down?
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Colin Drake, March 20, 2023, USA Streetsblog
Mayor Bowser to announce new biking projects
On Monday, March 20 at 11:00 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser, federal and local government leaders, and community members will celebrate the completion of the 9th Street NW two-way protected bike lane. The Mayor will also make an announcement about an expansion to the Capital Bikeshare e-bike fleet.
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March 19, 2023, DDOT
Cherry Blossom Watch: Tidal Basin cherry trees reach stage 5
If you make the blossoms a part of your weekend plans, organizers recommend taking public transportation to get there. Metro is offering free parking on the weekends and $2 fares one-way through the entire festival.
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Solangi Sosa/Allison Hageman, March 18, 2023, NBC Washington
DC's Vision Zero safety program not working, city auditor's report finds
The goal of Vision Zero is to eliminate all traffic-related deaths in D.C. by 2024. A goal that will not be met.
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Sam Ford, March 17, 2023, ABC7
Metrorail gets a service boost systemwide amid ridership surge
Starting Monday, March 20, Metro will begin increasing train service across the rail system just in time for peak cherry blossom season. Weekday service will see an infusion of trains, as well as weekends.
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March 17, 2023, WMATA
Mass transit has long catered to commuters. It's facing a reckoning.
The Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of remote work and the need to revitalize urban spaces will also mean the re-imagining of mass transit, experts say.
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Andy Medici, March 17, 2023, Washington Business Journal
Amtrak announces ultra-cheap fares for late-night rides on popular routes
The company on Thursday announced a slate of $5 to $20 train fares for routes running between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. on select Northeast lines.
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Rebecca Picciotto, March 16, 2023, CNBC
FRA approves DRPT's 2022 Statewide Rail Plan
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) Statewide Rail Plan received approval from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The 2022 Statewide Rail Plan provides long-term guidance for Virginia’s transportation leadership to ensure the Commonwealth’s rail needs for people, communities and commerce are addressed.
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March 16, 2023, Mass Transit Magazine
Rail work to close several crossings in March, April
Repair work by the railroad company CSX will temporarily close several railroad crossings in Frederick County in the coming weeks.
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Ryan Marshall, March 16, 2023, The Frederick News-Post
Is American Legion Bridge doomed to 'perpetual gridlock'?
The project, which officials expect to open in 2025, will reduce travel times, provide new commuter connections at the Dulles Toll Road and George Washington Memorial Parkway, implement new bicycle and pedestrian links, and support new bus service between Virginia and Maryland.
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Metro Creative, March 16, 2023, Gazette Leader
Road projects kick off in Spotsylvania
The projects are linked to the VA clinic, and aim to address the expected traffic increase. The clinic is slated to open in 2024.
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Scott Shenk, March 15, 2023, The Free Lance-Star