System WMATA Status In service | Livery Metroway Predecessors Metrobus 9S | |
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Vehicle New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 Began service August 24, 2014 (2014-08-24) | ||
The Metroway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It consists of a single line operating in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It opened on August 24, 2014. It is the first bus rapid transit line to open in Virginia and in the Washington metropolitan area.
Contents
Route
The service runs from its northern end at the Pentagon City south through Crystal City and Potomac Yard before ending at the Braddock Road Metrorail station. The service runs along a bus-only roadway along Jefferson Davis Highway in Alexandria between Potomac and East Glebe stations, as well as a busway in Arlington. The remainder of the service runs on mixed-traffic roadways.
Stations
There are fifteen stations on the route. Ten of the stations offer two-way service, two of the stations, 18th & Crystal and 23rd & Crystal, are northbound-only, and three other stations, 26th & Clark, 23rd & Clark, and Pentagon City, are southbound-only.
The Metroway stations vary depending on location and jurisdiction. The stations consist of side platforms and sidewalk-level bus stops.
Service
Metroway operates seven days a week with longer hours and more frequent service during weekdays. All runs take place on board the New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 CNG buses with Metroway livery, which replaced the original NABI 42 BRT Hybrid buses on December 18, 2016.
Connections
As a WMATA Metrobus service, Metroway is integrated within the regional transit network, and is subject to the same fares and transfer rules as any other local Metrobus service. The Braddock Road, Crystal City, and Pentagon City stations offer service for the Metrorail Yellow Line and Blue Line.
The Crystal City VRE station is a short distance (0.1 mile) away from the 18th & Crystal station.
Metroway provides connections to the Mount Vernon Trail at the 18th & Crystal station, and the Four Mile Run Trail at the South Glebe station. Capital Bikeshare stations exist at or near several Metroway stations.
Expansions
Metroway has been expanded since its opening in 2014, both in number of stations and in the right-of-way used. Two new stations opened in Arlington, both in April 2016. Another station in Alexandria is still under construction.
On April 17, 2016, the 33rd & Crystal and Pentagon City stations opened, bringing the total number of operating stations to fifteen. At the same time, a dedicated transit lane, and a peak period transit lane opened in Arlington. A third station, the Fayette station, still has an unspecified opening date. While the Fayette and 33rd & Crystal stations are infill stations along the existing route, the addition of the Pentagon City station extended the route north, which changed the northern terminus from Crystal City to Pentagon City. The 33rd & Crystal stop, and future Fayette stop, will both offer two-way service, while Pentagon City, the new terminous, is southbound-only.
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board wants to extend the dedicated transitway in Crystal City North to the Pentagon City Metro station.