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Welcome to Barcroft Neighborhood
Barcroft's Bus ServiceColumbia Pike Bus Service UpdateWe have lost our neighborhood busOur 1929 Bus Line Disappeared September 26, 2004 Ouch. On September 26, 2004 we lost the Barcroft bus route that began in our neighborhood in 1929, and continued under the AB&W (Arlington, Barcroft and Washington), then Metrobus, then ART. That marks the beginning of the neighborhood's worst bus service in 75 years. Here is the whole story.
The rest of this page is about changes made in bus service in 2003, and some of it is now obsolete.
Changes began September 7th, 2003Barcroft Note: The 16X line through Barcroft has been discontinued, replaced by the ART 41 Line to and from Ballston and Court House Metro running every 30 minutes during AM and PM rush hours on the same loop through the neighborhood that the X bus took. The bus starts at Court House Metro the afternoon. In the morning it starts at Dinwiddie and Columbia Pike and goes to Courthouse, but the best place to get off for Metro is probably Clarendon. The times at 4th and Taylor are: AM - 6:34, 7:04, 7:34, 8:04, 8:34, 9:04 and 9:34. The bus arrives in Ballston 13 minutes later. It continues to the Court House, taking another 13 minutes. The PM return leaves Courthouse Metro at 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:05, 5:35, 6:10 and 6:40. The trip takes 20 minutes.
 Here is the whole route. Some detailsWeekday ServiceWeekday service on the Pike will start at the same time in the morning, 4:41 a.m., but Metrobus will add additional trips to Annandale (ending at midnight) and keep later service to Culmore until 1:28 a.m. (4 a.m. on Fridays).The rush hour 16F will be revised to provide limited-stop service at eight major stops in Arlington. Barcroft stops will be George Mason Drive and Four Mile Run only. Bus routes that formerly were rush-hour-only (16S,U,W,X) have been revised to offer all-day service along Columbia Pike. This service will operate at all bus stops between Columbia Heights West and a new terminal at Pentagon City. The schedule will be coordinated for transfers with the Metrorail Blue Line and provide a bus (16G) every 12 minutes, all day, in each direction. During rush periods, additional buses (16H and 16W) are added east of Four Mile Run to increase frequency to once every six minutes, again, at the same frequency as the Blue Line. The 16Y begins at Four Mile Run Drive and the Pike and runs all the way in to Farragut West and McPherson Square metro stations in the District. It stops only at George Mason Drive, Walter Reed and Court House Road before expressing into the District. It runs Monday through Friday, and leaves FMR in the morning at 6:30, 6:50, 7:10, 7:30, 7:50, 8:10, 8:35 and 9:00 AM. Check the schedule on the County Web site, since this bus is popular and there may be more service added soon. The evening return bus leaves McPherson Square from 4:05 to 7:00 PM. Trip time is from a half hour to 45 minutes depending on the departure time. Together with the 16A,B,D,F and J, there will be 22 buses in the peak hour (less than three minutes between buses) to reduce waiting and crowding. During the midday and evening, the combined services will provide a bus every seven minutes in each direction.
Route 16W on South George Mason Drive will be retained with six morning and eight afternoon/evening trips and a coordinated transfer to Metrorail at Pentagon City. New Route 16H stops will provide service to Barcroft Apartments.
WeekendsMetrobus service on Saturday is being increased by 64 percent, with longer hours to provide more reliable and convenient service throughout the day. Service on the 16B will start at 5:35 a.m. and run until 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. Combined with the 16J, four buses per hour in each direction will be operated to and from the Pentagon for much of the day. Route 16G will be operated every 30 minutes to and from Pentagon City, making for a total of six buses per hour (one every 10 minutes) along Columbia Pike in Arlington. Like Saturday, the schedules of 16B,J and G will be coordinated to provide a bus every 15 minutes along Columbia Pike. This is a 96-percent increase in service.The OverviewJim Hamre of the Arlington County staff provided this update.Beginning on Sunday, September 7, Metrobus and Arlington County will be introducing a number of improvements in bus service on Columbia Pike. These improvements are in response to your comments and concerns gathered over the past five years through numerous studies, meetings, surveys, and public hearings. This new "family of services" is called Pike Ride and it will provide new destinations, more service, and more choices. We are streamlining today's #16 Columbia Pike Metrobus service that connects to the Pentagon and adding more Metrobus and neighborhood Arlington Transit service that will connect to Metrorail at Pentagon City. Transfers are free between ART and Metrobus and it is expected that riders will transfer regularly between the services to meet their travel needs. As Columbia Pike evolves to fulfill the new community vision, a high priority of the County is to see that transit service can also evolve to both provide more capacity and facilitate travel within the corridor. I strongly believe that the new service plan will not only accomplish these community goals, but will also improve your personal travel experience. This newsletter is just the first step of a major effort to ensure that all riders will have the information necessary to fully use the new Pike Ride services. Between now and the start of service, you will see advertisements, brochures, schedules, maps, banners, and people to assist with the transition and making public transit on Columbia Pike a unique experience. For many of you, buses will come so frequently that the only decision you have to make is where to go. For others, new destinations and improved connections will reduce travel times and increase convenience. Lastly, new schedules will make service more reliable and predictable. September 7 may be the start of new services, but it is just the beginning of our work to monitor and adjust service to keep it performing optimally. A complex service involving 28 buses across four jurisdictions will inevitably require schedule adjustments. Your input will be invaluable in assisting us to fine-tune this network of bus services. We will respond to the observed needs and new ideas and implement any necessary route changes in December. Please feel free to send an email or leave a message to let me know what you see and to share your suggestions. Please visit our special Pike Ride web page . During the coming days and weeks we will be adding important schedule, map and rider information as it becomes available. It is an honor for those of us responsible for Metrobus and Arlington Transit to serve you and we look forward to riding together with you to develop a true 21st Century bus service. Thank you for your patronage. Sincerely,
James Hamre
Highlights of the new Pike Ride service plan include:Metrobus Routes A,B,D, F, J, L Annandale/Culmore to Pentagon and 16Y to DCThe basic service will remain similar to what you know now. Weekday service will operate at all bus stops every half hour all day to Annandale and separately to Culmore. This means there will be a bus on Columbia Pike every 15 minutes in each direction between the Pentagon and the western Arlington County line. Schedules have been adjusted to give the bus more running time to improve reliability. Weekday service will start at the same time in the morning, 4:41 a.m., but Metrobus will add additional trips to Annandale (ending at 12:00 midnight) and keep later service to Culmore until 1:28 a.m. (4:00 a.m. on Fridays). The 16Y route will have two additional morning trips to address crowding and improved afternoon on-time performance. The popular 16L route will remain unchanged.During rush periods, additional buses will be added on 16B and 16F routes from Culmore to provide service every five minutes toward the Pentagon in the morning and toward Culmore in the evening. The 16F will be revised to provide limited-stop service at eight major stops in Arlington. All routes will benefit from shorter access to the Pentagon Transit Center by rerouting the inbound buses to continue along Columbia Pike directly to the Pentagon. (Outbound buses will still have to use Army Navy due to the absence of westbound roads in Pentagon South parking.) 16 G,H,K,W Columbia Heights West-Pentagon CityThose bus routes that were formerly rush-only – 16 S,U,W,X – have been revised to provide all-day service to the Arlington portion of Columbia Pike. This service will operate at all bus stops between Columbia Heights West and a new terminal at Pentagon City. The schedule will be coordinated for transfers with the Metrorail Blue Line and provide a bus (16G) every 12 minutes, all day, in each direction. During rush periods additional buses (16H,W) are added east of Four Mile Run to increase frequency to once every six minutes, again, at the same frequency as the Blue Line.Together with the 16A,B,D,F,J there will be 22 buses in the peak hour (less than three minutes between buses) to reduce waiting and crowding. During the mid-day and evening, the combined services will provide a bus every seven minutes in each direction giving riders the opportunity to have lunch, run an errand, and enjoy the convenience of frequent mid-day service. This is a 45% increase in weekday Metrobus service. Route 16W on S. George Mason Drive will be retained with six AM and eight PM trips and a coordinated transfer to Metrorail at Pentagon City. New 16H stops will extend service to Barcroft Apartments. Arlington Transit (ART 41, 73, 74, 75)Three new ART routes and a revised existing route will begin service to neighborhoods in the Columbia Pike Corridor on September 8. Each of these new routes will run every 30 minutes during extended rush hour periods.
Saturday ServiceMetrobus service on Saturday is being increased by 64% with longer hours to provide more reliable and convenient service throughout the day. Service on 16B will start at 5:35 a.m. and run until 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Combined with 16J, four buses per hour in each direction will be operated to and from the Pentagon for much of the day. Route 16G will be operated every 30 minutes to and from Pentagon City, making for a total of six buses per hour (one every ten minutes) along Columbia Pike in Arlington.Sunday ServiceLike Saturday, the schedules of 16 B, J, G will be coordinated to provide a bus every 15 minutes along Columbia Pike. This is a 96% increase in service.For more informationTo assist you with using all the choices that Pike Ride will offer, a comprehensive plan for customer information is being implemented, including kiosks at all bus stops in Arlington with easy-to-understand maps, schedules, and instructions. If you need additional information or have a question about Pike Ride, stop by the Columbia Pike Commuter Store located at 2928 Columbia Pike, just off South Walter Reed Drive, call either 202-637-7000 or 703-228-RIDE, or log on to CommuterPage.com.
Pike Ride Links
Added December, 2003Beginning on December 28, 2003:
This page was revised on: September 28, 2004. |
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