WMATA Washington

[Border City Transit]

52 minutes ago, DCTransitFilms said:

Its looking like WMATA is not caring about its customers anymore in order to say money.

I don't think the full range of deep cuts will go through. They need to express it this way so people pay attention.

There -will- be reductions, but I'd imagine something between the current service level and the "doomsday" scenario.

Next 12-24 months will be tough -- but I'm already looking ahead to transit's great resurgence in 2022-2023. Through this crazy time, the larger public has seen just how critical transit is. Once we clear Covid, I fully expect transit to emerge stronger, better and more highly valued.

 

54 minutes ago, DCTransitFilms said:

That is why WMATA will be rehabbing Blade and rebuild Northern in order to hold more artic fleet since WMATA's artic fleet has been lacking for years.

Yep. WMATA has some of the most cramped bus garages of any large system.

I always liked Northern and I'm glad they're rebuilding it. I was not fond of the "Walter Reed" plan, whereby Western and Northern would have been combined into one enormous garage.

I could even see the new Northern becoming an artic-only facility, with full attention going to 14th St, 16th St and Georgia Ave services -- maybe even throw the K6 in there.

 

 

 

[DCTransitFilms]

2 hours ago, Border City Transit said:

I don't think the full range of deep cuts will go through. They need to express it this way so people pay attention.

There -will- be reductions, but I'd imagine something between the current service level and the "doomsday" scenario.

Next 12-24 months will be tough -- but I'm already looking ahead to transit's great resurgence in 2022-2023. Through this crazy time, the larger public has seen just how critical transit is. Once we clear Covid, I fully expect transit to emerge stronger, better and more highly valued.

They can just do Metro's COVID reduced schedule before with trains every 15 to 20 mins instead all day everyday (including weekends) instead. People would rather have reduced than no service at all. Plus once everything goes back to normal, everyone will be relying on public transport again.

[DCTransitFilms]

This is gonna be some of the worst cuts lately. MAJOR routes are being cut and MAJOR eliminations plus reroutes. This is horrifying. There’s a lot of routes I need and my parents need.

https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/board-pdfs/upload/3A-GM-FY2022-Proposed-Budget.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1Q54Aw2p7aKvzkPIfGII3-F2atp8rWvBsbgJhRgbW2EcMGhR_EavJNd30

[DCTransitFilms]

The proposed cuts and operating costs in a nutshell

[Chris.A]

On 12/3/2020 at 2:28 PM, DCTransitFilms said:

This is gonna be some of the worst cuts lately. MAJOR routes are being cut and MAJOR eliminations plus reroutes. This is horrifying. There’s a lot of routes I need and my parents need.

https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/board-pdfs/upload/3A-GM-FY2022-Proposed-Budget.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1Q54Aw2p7aKvzkPIfGII3-F2atp8rWvBsbgJhRgbW2EcMGhR_EavJNd30

Wow, I don't even know where to begin.....

[Chris.A]

On 12/3/2020 at 2:28 PM, DCTransitFilms said:

This is gonna be some of the worst cuts lately. MAJOR routes are being cut and MAJOR eliminations plus reroutes. This is horrifying. There’s a lot of routes I need and my parents need.

https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/board-fpdfs/upload/3A-GM-FY2022-Proposed-Budget.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1Q54Aw2p7aKvzkPIfGII3-F2atp8rWvBsbgJhRgbW2EcMGhR_EavJNd30

I'll stick to the VA side of things as to that's pretty much my main service area. If these cuts get passed, this will pretty much destroy WMATA's VA bus division. Perhaps eventually, Metrobus will no longer run in VA as that's how things are looking like with the proposed service reductions and eliminations in NOVA alone. I mean, if they want to axe the 8 lines fine (people can hop on the 7 lines that run nearby anyway), if Metro wants to kill the 4B (and 4A), ok because the they can still get to Seven corners via a transfer from either the Orange/Sliver line in Ballston or the 38B and take the 1A there. But they want to kill both the Metroway and The REX?!?! The communities they served poured millions into those services and then you have the Amazon development going on in the Crystal City area and the new Potomac Yard fill-in station for the Blue/Yellow lines and they are going to kill bus service in that area. The only buses that would be left in that case would be DASH's AT9 and AT10. How are they going to get this city (D.C. area) back up and running with such madness? That's also ON TOP of the fact that Metrorail service would no longer run on weekends. For the Metrorail side of things, just have the Blue, Red, Green, and Silver Lines operate on weekends and have the Yellow and Orange weekdays only. That way, most of the region still have coverage. Make trains run every 30 minutes on all remaining lines at all times on weekends. Have the Silverline terminate in Rosslyn and continue Westward to Reston (and eventually, Ashburn). The Blue line would continue service east into the city. Stations that are served by closed subway lines will themselves be closed.

On 12/2/2020 at 12:19 PM, Border City Transit said:

I don't think the full range of deep cuts will go through. They need to express it this way so people pay attention.

There -will- be reductions, but I'd imagine something between the current service level and the "doomsday" scenario.

Next 12-24 months will be tough -- but I'm already looking ahead to transit's great resurgence in 2022-2023. Through this crazy time, the larger public has seen just how critical transit is. Once we clear Covid, I fully expect transit to emerge stronger, better and more highly valued.

 

Yep. WMATA has some of the most cramped bus garages of any large system.

I always liked Northern and I'm glad they're rebuilding it. I was not fond of the "Walter Reed" plan, whereby Western and Northern would have been combined into one enormous garage.

I could even see the new Northern becoming an artic-only facility, with full attention going to 14th St, 16th St and Georgia Ave services -- maybe even throw the K6 in there.

 

 

 

On the bus side of things, if VA is only left with five routes, how are the depots going to work with that? Will WMATA have to shutdown there West Ox operations and lease both their portion of West Ox and Cinder Bed to Fairfax Connector? Will they even have to sell a few hundred buses to FFC, Ride-on, and others so they can possibly have the equipment available for their smaller systems to expand? DC Circulator might take over some Metrobus routes too I heard a while back. DE42LFAs in the FFC scheme??

[Border City Transit]

40 minutes ago, Chris.A said:

On the bus side of things, if VA is only left with five routes, how are the depots going to work with that

If a deep cut goes through, they may idle facilities and vehicles for a bit.

With a handful of exceptions (i.e. routes that probably need to 'change' anyway), I don't think anyone is planning for a permanent gutting of service. WMATA is not going to abandon major capital assets that will be useful again in 18-24 months.

 

40 minutes ago, Chris.A said:

Will WMATA have to shutdown there West Ox operations and lease both their portion of West Ox and Cinder Bed to Fairfax Connector?

The other providers have a different cost structure and different requirements. Their budgets aren't subject to direct federal oversight.

Local providers may see -some- minor bumps from reductions at WMATA, but the economic fallout of Covid will catch up with them, too.

And -- ridership!

Let's pick on the Metrobus 8-series routes. I don't see DASH rushing to pick that up when ridership potential is nearly zero -- especially when local systems need to focus on their own service areas. Or, sure -- you could knock the 17 over to Fairfax Connector. But what's the point when ridership isn't there?

Long-term, I can see Metro shedding a few shorter low-ridership routes to better-equipped local providers. Time will tell, though, that WMATA is pretty ideally suited to run the longer, more frequent "core" routes. If anything, Covid is merely speeding up a trend that's been active since the early 80s.

 

40 minutes ago, Chris.A said:

DC Circulator might take over some Metrobus routes too I heard a while back.

I think Circulator's honeymoon is over. DC leadership has (mostly) realized that "private operators" aren't magically immune to costs and challenges. They face the same complexities and constraints that WMATA does. Circulator is fine as a "boutique" system. If it gets any bigger, it offers no meaningful advantage over Metro.

 

 

 

[DCTransitFilms]

14 hours ago, Chris.A said:

I'll stick to the VA side of things as to that's pretty much my main service area. If these cuts get passed, this will pretty much destroy WMATA's VA bus division. Perhaps eventually, Metrobus will no longer run in VA as that's how things are looking like with the proposed service reductions and eliminations in NOVA alone. I mean, if they want to axe the 8 lines fine (people can hop on the 7 lines that run nearby anyway), if Metro wants to kill the 4B (and 4A), ok because the they can still get to Seven corners via a transfer from either the Orange/Sliver line in Ballston or the 38B and take the 1A there. But they want to kill both the Metroway and The REX?!?! The communities they served poured millions into those services and then you have the Amazon development going on in the Crystal City area and the new Potomac Yard fill-in station for the Blue/Yellow lines and they are going to kill bus service in that area. The only buses that would be left in that case would be DASH's AT9 and AT10. How are they going to get this city (D.C. area) back up and running with such madness? That's also ON TOP of the fact that Metrorail service would no longer run on weekends. For the Metrorail side of things, just have the Blue, Red, Green, and Silver Lines operate on weekends and have the Yellow and Orange weekdays only. That way, most of the region still have coverage. Make trains run every 30 minutes on all remaining lines at all times on weekends. Have the Silverline terminate in Rosslyn and continue Westward to Reston (and eventually, Ashburn). The Blue line would continue service east into the city. Stations that are served by closed subway lines will themselves be closed.

On the bus side of things, if VA is only left with five routes, how are the depots going to work with that? Will WMATA have to shutdown there West Ox operations and lease both their portion of West Ox and Cinder Bed to Fairfax Connector? Will they even have to sell a few hundred buses to FFC, Ride-on, and others so they can possibly have the equipment available for their smaller systems to expand? DC Circulator might take over some Metrobus routes too I heard a while back. DE42LFAs in the FFC scheme??

Trains every 30 mins would be a disaster because despite low ridership, I heard trains are still packed and buses are also packed. Tbh I would run the yellow line on weekdays only rn since the Blue Line is currently covering Huntington during the weekends. Silver Line can also turn back at Ballston (cant at Rossyln) and Yellow Line doesn't have to run on weekends.

 

For bus lines, a lot of routes are not covered by alternative service if I believe like Bowie (B lines), Largo and Kettering service (C21/C22/C26/C29). RTA can take over the 87 and 89/89M and Ride On can take the L8 and T2 fully, and some TheBus routes can take over various routes. But some routes have heavy ridership. The E4 is basically the alternate to the Red Line but that line gains a lot of ridership. Last time I rode that route it was packed and was standing room only. Q lines is another Red Line alternate with riders not having to enter through DC to connect to various stations. Plus once Montgomery College opens for in person classes, I don't think Ride On can handle all the traffic if the Q lines are no longer around. C2 is also needed for UMD residents in Greenbelt if the Shuttle UM 143 isnt available while G12 gets packed as well once it gets to Roosevelt HS. And WMATA just implemented service enhancements + new routing and good changes on  various routes like the 16A/16C/16E/16G/16H, NH2, 74, G9, 59, etc. 

yeah the pandemic messed everyone up and we aren't getting funding because of how a joke our government is, but WMATA should focus on the people who uses these routes and trains. Cutting service would only drive more people away and encourage more fare hopping. If they do approve this WMATA would most likely cease to exist in a few years because they drove their customers to other methods of getting to places which means they would lose even more money. We already have a problem of fare hopping and now with less service, WMATA will be losing more money. 

[Chris.A]

On 12/9/2020 at 9:17 AM, DCTransitFilms said:

Trains every 30 mins would be a disaster because despite low ridership, I heard trains are still packed and buses are also packed. Tbh I would run the yellow line on weekdays only rn since the Blue Line is currently covering Huntington during the weekends. Silver Line can also turn back at Ballston (cant at Rossyln) and Yellow Line doesn't have to run on weekends.

 

For bus lines, a lot of routes are not covered by alternative service if I believe like Bowie (B lines), Largo and Kettering service (C21/C22/C26/C29). RTA can take over the 87 and 89/89M and Ride On can take the L8 and T2 fully, and some TheBus routes can take over various routes. But some routes have heavy ridership. The E4 is basically the alternate to the Red Line but that line gains a lot of ridership. Last time I rode that route it was packed and was standing room only. Q lines is another Red Line alternate with riders not having to enter through DC to connect to various stations. Plus once Montgomery College opens for in person classes, I don't think Ride On can handle all the traffic if the Q lines are no longer around. C2 is also needed for UMD residents in Greenbelt if the Shuttle UM 143 isnt available while G12 gets packed as well once it gets to Roosevelt HS. And WMATA just implemented service enhancements + new routing and good changes on  various routes like the 16A/16C/16E/16G/16H, NH2, 74, G9, 59, etc. 

yeah the pandemic messed everyone up and we aren't getting funding because of how a joke our government is, but WMATA should focus on the people who uses these routes and trains. Cutting service would only drive more people away and encourage more fare hopping. If they do approve this WMATA would most likely cease to exist in a few years because they drove their customers to other methods of getting to places which means they would lose even more money. We already have a problem of fare hopping and now with less service, WMATA will be losing more money. 

Eventually at this rate, WMATA might end up collapsing and a new transit agency may rise it it's ashes. This kind of stuff has happened before elsewhere. 

BTW, what aging WMATA bus fleets do you guys think will go bye bye if these cuts actually happen and can they be sold/transferred to other area bus systems?

[DCTransitFilms]

20 minutes ago, Chris.A said:

Eventually at this rate, WMATA might end up collapsing and a new transit agency may rise it it's ashes. This kind of stuff has happened before elsewhere. 

BTW, what aging WMATA bus fleets do you guys think will go bye bye if these cuts actually happen and can they be sold/transferred to other area bus systems?

All 2005-07 buses plus NABI 60 CNGs would go bye bye if cuts happen since those buses will be retiring anyways in a few years. Maybe older DE40LFAs and 2014 NABIs will go too but honestly idk. I got a feeling WMATA won't do this since a vaccine is expected towards the public by summer. WMATA is also ordering new buses and those might go to waste if WMATA collapse.

 

Also all 2020 XN40s are in service. XD60s are still not yet in service.

[Chris.A]

59 minutes ago, DCTransitFilms said:

All 2005-07 buses plus NABI 60 CNGs would go bye bye if cuts happen since those buses will be retiring anyways in a few years. Maybe older DE40LFAs and 2014 NABIs will go too but honestly idk. I got a feeling WMATA won't do this since a vaccine is expected towards the public by summer. WMATA is also ordering new buses and those might go to waste if WMATA collapse.

 

Also all 2020 XN40s are in service. XD60s are still not yet in service.

TBH, I would expect most pre-2010 buses and especially all pre-2009 buses to be retired by those insane service cuts. I don't see those 2014/15 NABI BRT 42 hybrids going anywhere. However, I could see those 2012 Orion VII 3G BRT hybrids and Clean Diesels being sold to FFC (Diesels, maybe PRTC Omnilink too) and DASH (hybrids).  

[RailBus63]

WMATA isn't going anywhere and those draconian cuts will not go through as threatened.  All of this is a necessary act to wake up Congress, elected officials, community leaders and citizens to fight for public transit, same as is being done in other cities. I suspect that there will be cuts and that they will be the worst ones we've seen in a while, but nothing like 30-minute Metrorail headways and other scary headlines. 

[DCTransitFilms]

3 hours ago, RailBus63 said:

WMATA isn't going anywhere and those draconian cuts will not go through as threatened.  All of this is a necessary act to wake up Congress, elected officials, community leaders and citizens to fight for public transit, same as is being done in other cities. I suspect that there will be cuts and that they will be the worst ones we've seen in a while, but nothing like 30-minute Metrorail headways and other scary headlines. 

That is true. WMATA is mainly doing this to threaten congress to help them via funding. They gotta get their act together though because they haven’t done much.

Also All legacies fleet has an all blue seating now inside of its cars. Wasn’t fully aware about it tho but I believe it was instead installed during the summer while all legacies were sidelined. 

And lastly, it looks like one 2016 XDE40 has damage towards the front. There’s one currently sitting at CET rn with the front covered up and slightly tilted. Not sure what number it is or how it happened.

[DCTransitFilms]

All Blue Line service will be suspended beginning on February 13, 2021 until May 23, 2021 in order to rebuild Arlington Cemetery and Addison Road. Silver Line trains will run every 12 mins during the weekdays and 15 mins during the weekends. Additional Yellow Line trains will operate between Franconia Springfield and Mount Vernon Square to replace the Blue Line. Shuttle buses will operate as the following:

• Between Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery (during operating hours), and Pentagon every 12-15 minutes
• Between Addison Road and Capitol Heights every 6-8 minutes

 

https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Spring-2021-Platform-Project-Travel-Alternatives.cfm

[DCTransitFilms]

It looks like 7096-7098 and possibly 7099 went back to Andrews division. 7076-7095 remains at Bladensburg but I got a feeling they’ll be moved too

[DCTransitFilms]

DC, MD, and VA Governors are asking the Biden-Harris administration to be a 4th partner to help fund WMATA due to its large budget gap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3YkfR7gumU

[DCTransitFilms]

WMATA's TAGS (S80 and S91) will be eliminated beginning on January 3, 2021 and replaced by Fairfax Connector routes 350 and 351, which operates under the TAGS old routing but much more improved. Not sure what other changes will happen but we can also confirm that route B30 will officially end. Rumors has that the bus stop sign at Arundel Mills has been removed. I will check it out later if I go to Arundel later today.

[Rob S]

BusETA is now showing how full the buses are finally.  MBTA and NYCT have been doing this for a few months now.  New York’s shows the actual number of riders on MTA Bustime.  

[DCTransitFilms]

Two XD60s are currently sitting at Montgomery division with a training sign on them. Not sure if any are supposed to go there as of right now. 

[DCTransitFilms]

5504 is currently at Montgomery division with a training tag on it. Unsure if Montgomery are supposed to get any XD60s yet but I’m guessing this is being used for training. Photo Taken by Brayden Bachlott via Facebook.

[Chris.A]

On 12/23/2020 at 10:02 PM, DCTransitFilms said:

5504 is currently at Montgomery division with a training tag on it. Unsure if Montgomery are supposed to get any XD60s yet but I’m guessing this is being used for training. Photo Taken by Brayden Bachlott via Facebook.

So I guess all 11 of the first XD60s are bound for Montgomery depot. 

 

Anyway, I rode on 2 of DASH's new XE40s and I must say.........they are true pieces of junk. Severe teething issues. Bus #802 was eventually taken out of service on the AT5 in old town after the B/O got pissed off and called in the electrical issues to dispatch..

[DCTransitFilms]

5 minutes ago, Chris.A said:

So I guess all 11 of the first XD60s are bound for Montgomery depot. 

Don’t think so. 5500 and 5503 are at Blade 

[Chris.A]

36 minutes ago, DCTransitFilms said:

Don’t think so. 5500 and 5503 are at Blade 

I was just at Bladensburg a couple of nights ago and didn't see them. What I did see was a bunch of retired Orion VII OG CNGs including a 2005 bus! #2603 is still apparently on WMATA property. I thought they were all gone tbh. 

 

Also gone were Bladensburg's 2000 Orion V buses. Guess they are either at CET or got scrapped recently.

[DCTransitFilms]

1 hour ago, Chris.A said:

I was just at Bladensburg a couple of nights ago and didn't see them. What I did see was a bunch of retired Orion VII OG CNGs including a 2005 bus! #2603 is still apparently on WMATA property. I thought they were all gone tbh. 

 

Also gone were Bladensburg's 2000 Orion V buses. Guess they are either at CET or got scrapped recently.

All must be at CET rn. Saw them back two weeks ago. 

[Chris.A]

3 hours ago, DCTransitFilms said:

All must be at CET rn. Saw them back two weeks ago. 

Any idea as to who will get those 14 electric buses ( well really I guess 12 40ft electric buses)? I know that the artics are for SP, but could the 40fters all be assigned to Western too along with #1001?