As a part of the slash-and-burn that WMATA is undertaking to reduce costs, the agency has proposed an entire restructuring of Metrobus service in Greenbelt. This represents one of the most significant alterations of service which is currently proposed in the region.

Not all of the changes are entirely bad ideas. The new routes will be more direct and easier to understand. Headways could improve in some areas. However, the community does have concerns about the proposed changes, and many are upset that WMATA is proposing such radical changes without ample time for public input.

Top: Current Greenbelt bus service. Bottom: Proposed service. Click to enlarge.

The dotted purple line represents a routing alternative currently being considered by Metro.

It has been brought to my attention that the labels on the proposed map are reversed for the

T12/T14. The T14 should be green, the T12 pink.

WMATA estimates that their proposed changes will save about $563,000 per year.

One major concern for Greenbelters is a reduction in the span of service. Some parts of the city could see an earlier last bus by up to 90 minutes, with an 8:30 departure from Greenbelt Metro. And while Metro has not released final schedules yet, it also appears that the first bus of the day could be later. This reduction in the span of service will hamper the ability of Greenbelt residents and others in northern Prince George’s to get to work, school, and other essential destinations.

Changes to bus service. Red areas lose all service; orange areas lose service to New Carrollton; purple areas lose service to UMD; blue areas have bus service end earlier at night.

Additionally, Metro is proposing to stop running all but one bus route through Beltway Plaza. This shopping mall is a major destination and employment center for the area, and sees about 1000 daily bus boardings. Metro wants to keep buses on Greenbelt Road. A major issue with this plan is the fact that Greenbelt Road lacks adequate crosswalks and bus waiting areas. Additionally, Beltway Plaza is not connected to Greenbelt Road by any pedestrian connection whatsoever. Of course, dropping the loop could save 5 minutes or so on runtime, which is a significant savings for Metro.

Pedestrian conditions around Beltway Plaza. Click to enlarge. Image from Google Street View.

Under Metro’s proposal, Greenbelt would lose its direct service on the C2 to the University of Maryland, Langley Park, and Wheaton. Many UM students, faculty and staff live in and around Greenbelt, and loss of this service would make commutes longer and more difficult for many.

Adding to the hardship, many residents would lose direct service to New Carrollton, with its intermodal connections to Amtrak, MARC, and Greyhound. This is due to the splitting of the R12 into two routes, a Deanwood-Greenbelt Metro route (R12) and a Greenbelt Metro-New Carrollton route (T12). The new T12 won’t serve the northern section of old Greenbelt, forcing those riders to transfer buses at Greenbelt Center.

Many Springhill Lake residents will have to walk further to get to transit. Like others in Greenbelt, they will lose direct New Carrollton service and will also lose their service to College Park and Deanwood.

Much of the area will see fewer buses per hour than under the current scheme, but as I pointed out in an earlier post, the current scheduling removes much of the advantage of the common route segments anyway. Metro planners indicate that the restructuring of service will improve their ability to schedule buses on different lines to have even headways on common segments.

Not all of these cuts are necessarily bad. More direct routings and improved travel times will be a major benefit of the restructuring. The balancing of headways on common segments will also be a boon to those sections of the city that keep multiple lines. And the splitting of the R12 will likely improve on-time performance.

But the changes are not the issue. The speed at which the plan has been sprung is. Greenbelters, including the members of Transit Riders United, want more time to look over these plans and make suggestions to Metro. Residents want assurance that Metro is listening and is still willing to make changes, but at this point it appears that resident suggested-changes must be revenue neutral.

Metro is not going to increase its dedicated ridership until they can provide decent spans of service, shorter wait times, and better service on weekends. Many in Greenbelt and around Prince George’s live without cars, whether by choice or otherwise. These cuts might encourage many to rethink that decision. And once people buy a car, the marginal cost of driving decreases dramatically in relation to the marginal cost of taking transit.

What’s most important is that Maryland work to improve access to transit for her citizens. While the likelihood of expanding service this year is nil, it is important to set the stage for expansion in the future and maintain the level of service we have today. And in order to achieve both of those objectives, elected officials have to listen to what residents and transit workers have to say. And what most of them are saying is, “save our bus.”

On Tuesday, the Washington Post ran a story on the upcoming Governor’s race. The focus is shifting, says the paper, to the Washington suburbs. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties make up 32% of the Maryland electorate. And while these two jurisdictions lean Democratic (to the tune of about 67%), they are both facing major bus and rail cuts and service reductions because Mr. O’Malley can’t find $29 million in the state’s budget with a $13.2 billion general fund.

Governor O’Malley has long said that transit was a priority of his administration. It’s time for him to prove it.

Matt is a member of Transit Riders United of Greenbelt, but this piece reflects only his own opinions, not those of TRU-G.