Metro is moving forward with plans to run some buses 24 hours a day. This new service could launch as soon as December for 13 bus lines in the District.
Right now, Metro has a gap of time, approximately between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. when there aren’t a lot of buses running. This plan would supplement service during that time, with buses running about every 20 minutes.
Metrobus rider Shardrich Cody says he knows a lot of people who would use the extra service to get to and from their jobs.
"Everybody works on a different shift in a different location," Cody said. "Some are working maybe from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., some from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight, so I hope it’s very, very important, very essential, for everybody."
Thirteen bus lines that crisscross the District would see service levels go to 24 hours a day under the plan. However, it still needs Metro's board to give the final OK. If approval is granted, expanded service could begin in mid-December.
"I think that’s a great idea," rider Marissa Gonzalez said. "I think there’s a lot of — especially in this area, a lot of college kids that just start roaming because they don’t want to pay the Uber fees."
The extra bus service would be funded by the District, and Metro has already secured funding from the D.C. Council. It was the council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment that originally had pushed for this change, in cooperation with Metro.
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"For us, it's about running a good system, and we’ve got to run really good, frequent, reliable systems for everyone every day, and the more we do that, every time we have increased service, more and more people come back," Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said.
Some questions remain about the security and safety of this kind of plan. Metro says it would also beef up transit police levels to match the expanded schedules.
