Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt, whose opposition to the Columbia Pike streetcar proved decisive in Arlington’s decision to cancel that project, now proposes “Circulator-type buses” instead. Only one problem: Bus service on Columbia Pike is already better than DC Circulator.

There are already multiple special bus brands on Columbia Pike.

Vihstadt’s suggestion to emulate the Circulator came last week during community discussions to develop a post-streetcar plan for Columbia Pike. Residents said progress since Arlington cancelled the line has been too slow, and in response Vihstadt suggested a Circulator-type bus as an interim measure until something more can get up and running.

Though many associate the word with bus services in DC and Baltimore, a “circulator” is just a type of transit service (not necessarily a bus) that provides frequent service for short trips, mainly within downtown or the urban core. If Vihstadt is specifically referring to the DC Circulator, what would that actually accomplish?

Vihstadt’s proposal is for something Columbia Pike already has

There are two main differences between Circulator buses and regular Metrobuses: DC Circulator comes every 10 minutes, and it has its own brand aimed at making the system easy to use. Neither of those would be a big step in fixing Columbia Pike’s transit conundrum.

Buses on Columbia Pike are already scheduled to arrive every two minutes, and the PikeRide brand has been around for years, telling riders bus service on Columbia Pike is unique. WMATA does something similar with the REX bus along Route 1 in Fairfax and Alexandria.

Arlington could request that Metro paint PikeRide buses in a brighter color, like in the past, or add a uniquely-branded ART bus route in addition to the many that already run up and down the Pike. But that would do nothing to solve the chronic overcrowding and bus bunching that PikeRide buses already face.

Copying DC’s Circulator buses might offer one slight improvement to Columbia Pike beyond what’s already there: The inside of Circulator buses have fewer seats, to make it easier for passengers who aren’t going very far to hop on and off more quickly. That would add a tiny amount of new capacity to the corridor.

But we don’t even know if that is what Mr. Vihstadt meant by “Circulator-like,” and changes to Columbia Pike’s bus system would likely be minimal.

A Circulator on Columbia Pike wouldn’t address Columbia Pike’s actual problems. It’s not a replacement for streetcar, and it’s not the kind of streetcar-comparable BRT that Vihstadt promised in his campaign. It’s even a step down from articulated buses.

Vihstadt and the rest of the Arlington County Board have promised communities along Columbia Pike a real solution. Flippant comments proposing something that already exists is less than the bare minimum to meet that promise.

Canaan Merchant was born and raised in Powhatan, Virginia and attended George Mason University where he studied English. He became interested in urban design and transportation issues when listening to a presentation by Jeff Speck while attending GMU. He lives in Reston.