By Matt Johnson, a Transit Rider in Greenbelt East.

For years, many of us in the community have been fighting for Metrobus service on Sundays in Greenbelt. Today, we are closer than we have ever been, but we need your help to make this happen.

I cannot overstate the importance of your (yes, you!) role in helping us have 7-day-a-week bus service in Greenbelt. So please read on about how you can help.

Metro is proposing changes to over 100 routes throughout the region, and most of the Greenbelt routes are on the list. (I’ll describe the changes below). Metro is holding a public hearing on Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jackson Graham (Metro HQ) Building at 600 5th Street NW (near Gallery Place and Judiciary Square).

If you support Sunday service in Greenbelt, we need you to testify in person in support of this proposal.

The reason that this is important is because the proposed changes are intended to be either revenue neutral or to reduce the cost of the service. Some cuts are proposed, and these cuts will pay for the extra service in Greenbelt and elsewhere.

If we do not support the addition of Sunday service vocally, it may not get added (and instead, that money will either go back to the jurisdictions or will be invested in other bus service elsewhere in the region).

So I strongly encourage you to attend the public hearing in 2 weeks and testify in support of Sunday bus service on routes G12, G14, and C2 in Greenbelt. Click here for information about the hearing, and more.

Whether or not you can testify in person, I also encourage you to send your thoughts to the Metro Board of Directors by sending an email to: writtentestimony@wmata.com.

Proposed Changes in Greenbelt

Now I’ll describe the specific changes that are proposed. You can see the full docket of Maryland changes here. The changes are almost entirely positive. Sunday service is the biggest win. Addition of G14 service to Mission Drive in the evenings is also good.

The biggest negatives are loss of direct C2 service to Wheaton (but it will continue to connect Greenbelt to UMD) and the elimination of the R3, which has very low ridership. I think these are actually fairly minor reductions, personally, though I realize that not everyone will agree.

G-12:  

• Add Sunday service.

G/13/G/14/G/16:

• Add Sunday service.
• Rename all routes “G14”. These three routes are essentially one route with variants. Under the plan, all 3 would be called the G14. Early morning trips (currently called the G13) would continue to skip Beltway Plaza, but would be called the G14 and the difference would be noted in the timetable.
• Currently, the G13/G14 serves areas east of Good Luck Road (beyond Du Val High School). After the evening rush hour, the G16 replaces these routes, and it does not serve those areas. Under the proposal, the G16 designation would become the G14 and it would run east of Good Luck Road at all times.
• Service to Aerospace Road would be discontinued. The G14 would continue to run to Mission Drive (Social Security Administration), however instead of detouring via Forbes and Aerospace, the line would stay on Greenbelt Road. The stops in this area get very light usage.

C2:

• Add Sunday service.
• Shorten line to terminate at Takoma/Langley Transit Center (University Boulevard at New Hampshire Avenue). The line would continue to operate between Greenbelt Metro – University of Maryland – Langley Park. Service between Langley Park and Wheaton would be provided via a connection to line C4 (Prince George’s Plaza – Langley Park – Wheaton – Twinbrook).

81:

• Merge route 81 with route 83 (service replaced by C2)
• The 81 currently only operates on Sunday. Monday through Saturday, the line is called the 83. The only difference between these routes is that the 81 runs to Greenbelt Station.
• The reason for this is to provide service to Cherrywood Lane and Beltway Plaza on Sundays, since the C2 doesn’t run. Since the C2 is proposed to get Sunday service, this diversion will no longer be necessary, and the 81 (called the 83 under the plan) will continue to serve College Park Metro.

R3:

• Eliminate line.
• The R3 has very low ridership. Service to the Archives II complex will still be available by Route C8 (College Park Metro – University of Maryland – Archives II – FDA White Oak – Glenmont – White Flint).

I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.  Email me at: mcjohnson85@gmail.com.  And please remember to testify on September 17. Thanks!