Transit
Circulator routes need user-friendly names
As DDOT looks to add new routes to the Circulator bus network, the agency should devise a simple and catchy naming system to designate each route.
Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.
Metrorail uses colors. Metrobus and suburban bus systems use simple numbers or letter-number combinations (42, E6, 38B, etc.). Existing Circulator routes, on the other hand, are only known by their endpoints, like Georgetown-Union Station or Dupont-Georgetown-Rosslyn.
If any of these routes are extended to other destinations, or new routes share termini with existing ones, knowing which bus is the right one will quickly become confusing for riders. It's already cumbersome to talk about each route, and along M Street in Georgetown, riders often board the wrong bus.
Current maps, and the NextBus system, use a different color for each Circulator. But if people start referring to the Union Station-Georgetown Circulator as the Yellow Route, it may become confused with Metro's Yellow Line, which follows a different path.
Boulder, Colorado solves this problem with cute names like the "Dash" and the "Jump." DDOT should also devise a unique naming scheme. Here are some possibilities:
Single letters: No other transit system in the region uses single letters to designate routes; all the local bus systems other than Metrobus seem to use just numbers. Circulators could simply be lettered in order starting with A, omitting I and O to avoid confusion with the numbers.
Routes could be known as "Circ-A," "Circ-B," etc. Drawback: These don't give any line much distinctiveness, or create a strong mental association between a line and a letter. And would there be confusion between the a "D" route and the D series of Metrobuses (D2, D6, etc.)?
Famous people associated with DC: How about taking the Duke Ellington and transferring to the Alex Ovekchin? Drawback: Streets, bridges, neighborhoods, parks, and other elements of the city's infrastructure already bear these names. But if, for example, the Duke Ellington route crosses the Duke Ellington Bridge, then the name would make sense.
Trees or flowers: DC already has streets with plant names (the fourth alphabet in the District's northern tip), but there are many that aren't used in the city. Short names would be ideal for simplicity. Would you like to ride the Oak, Elm, Ash, or Birch Circulator?
Federal agencies: Name each route after a federal agency, preferably one on the given line. The Union Station-Navy Yard bus could become the DOT Line; the Georgetown-Union Station bus (since it passes through Foggy Bottom) could be the State (Department) Line. Drawback: agency names, for the most part, lack a certain pizazz.
Short verbs, a la Boulder: How about the Georgetown Jumper, or the 14th Street Flyer? Drawback: too silly for DC?
What naming schemes do you like? What would you add?
 | Malcolm Kenton lives in the DC neighborhood of Bloomingdale. Hailing from Greensboro, NC and a graduate of Guilford College, he is Director of Outreach and Engagement for the National Association of Railroad Passengers, where he blogs about national transportation issues. The views on GGW are his own and not necessarily those of NARP.    |
Comments
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by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2011 10:50 am • link • report
by charlie on Apr 5, 2011 10:54 am • link • report
by Jazzy on Apr 5, 2011 10:56 am • link • report
PS Also see Jarrett Walker on names.
by reader on Apr 5, 2011 11:09 am • link • report
Almost every tourist confused the Rosslyn/Dupont with the Union Station bus. Bus driver has to spend 5 minutes explaining. I see it happen 2-3 times a day.
Problem is compounded by toursits using old information from last year about "Georgetown Blue Bus".
by charlie on Apr 5, 2011 11:21 am • link • report
by Mark on Apr 5, 2011 11:22 am • link • report
by Lou on Apr 5, 2011 11:26 am • link • report
Better differentiation on routes would be very helpful.
by TimK on Apr 5, 2011 11:34 am • link • report
For those of you who think this isn't something that needs to be thought about, from now on, don't use numbers, letters, or colors to describe any of our transit infrastructure.
Try to describe to someone how to get down 14th Street from Columbia Heights to the Bureau of Engraving.
"Yeah, so what you want to do is take the Takoma (but sometimes only Colorado Avenue) - Columbia Heights - Metro Center - Engraving bus or the Takoma (but sometimes only Colorado Avenue) - Columbia Heights - White House - Engraving bus. Or you could go down to the Metro and take the Greenbelt - Mount Vernon Square - Branch Avenue train or the Fort Totten - Mount Vernon Square - Huntington train."
That's soooo much simpler than saying, "take a southbound 52 or 54 or take the Green or Yellow lines southbound and exit at L'Enfant Plaza." #NOT
What happens when you have multiple overlapping routes that have different service patterns? Let's look at Georgia Avenue. We have at least 3 different overlapping bus routes:
It's a lot easier to refer to those as the 70, 71, and 79 (Georgia Avenue/7th Street Line).
by Matt Johnson on Apr 5, 2011 11:37 am • link • report
Better differentiation on routes would be very helpful.
Sure, it would be helpful - but that doesn't mean it's going to prevent a tourist who doesn't really know where they are going from getting on the wrong bus.
by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2011 11:41 am • link • report
by David Alpert on Apr 5, 2011 11:43 am • link • report
@TimK, how would changing the name to 34B make it easier for people to find the Holocaust Museum?
Why do people want to make Circulator into a WMATA bus service?
10 years from now, a new bus service will be introduced that offers simple point-to-point neighborhood connections in the city at an affordable rate. People will cheer at how amazing and new the model is.
by beatbox on Apr 5, 2011 11:43 am • link • report
by Stanton Park on Apr 5, 2011 11:49 am • link • report
Having the georgetown-union station info on the side of every bus isn't helping either.
How much would it cost to wrap a bus in plastic to color-code it?
by charlie on Apr 5, 2011 11:51 am • link • report
by Omar on Apr 5, 2011 11:51 am • link • report
Alex: It won't prevent a tourist from getting confused, but it will help a lot. The Circulator is a brand. A lot of people hear "take the Circulator" and think it's one bus. To some extent, that's been a value; instead of dealing with differentiating the F92, 61Y, and 81 buses, just take "the Circulator." But there are 5 Circulators. Being able to say "Take the Circulator" and have that identity clearly displayed on maps and vehicles really would help.
I don't disagree - I'm just saying Tim's example isn't a very good one to prove that case. You could say to that couple "take the Metro," too - that won't prevent them from getting lost. No matter what, they still need to get on the right bus/train.
The Metro is very simple to navigate and I see first time riders (not just tourists) get confused all the time. You can't completely idiot-proof the system, that's my point.
The current Circulator system isn't the greatest, there certainly is some confusion with the overlapping routes in Georgetown - but the naming of routes based on the key destinations they serve is central to the entire mission of the Circulator - to serve these busy activity centers with a high level of service.
by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2011 11:51 am • link • report
by Tina on Apr 5, 2011 12:01 pm • link • report
They run in a mostly straight line along a mostly-obvious route to their destination.
The only thing I'd change would be the Woodley Park-McPherson route. I'd add either 'via 14th St' or 'via Columbia Heights' to the destination. After all, many people refer to it as the 14th St Circulator.
by andrew on Apr 5, 2011 12:04 pm • link • report
Honest Abe, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt or FDR (but not both), Thomas Jefferson, and Ronald Reagan. That'll make it easy for the tourists and the slow-witted. And with a couple of Republican names in there, maybe the Republicans on Capitol Hill will be a little more willing to help kick in some funding. (We can dream, can't we?)
by Mike S. on Apr 5, 2011 12:14 pm • link • report
In my case, the tourist couple got on at Eastern Market and asked the driver when the bus stopped at the Holocaust Museum. Obviously, the best way for them to have done that would have been to hop on the Metro and take it to Smithsonian stop. At this point is was too late, as the bus was already moving. I told them to get off near Capitol South and use the Metro.
As we drove over there, I asked why they were on the Circulator, and they said that they heard the Ciruclator went around the Mall and was easy to use (compared to WMATA bus presumably).
And here is the problem. We need a name besides the Ciruclator to tell people. Telling folks "take the Circulator" leads to just the sort of confusion I described, see weekly, and others have dismissed here. We branded the Circulator as an easy to use bus, and then split it into five parts.
I don't want to get cutesy either, but Mall Loop, Capitol Hill Route, K Street Corridor, etc. might be easy ways to differentiate what Circulator people should take.
by TimK on Apr 5, 2011 12:17 pm • link • report
If those tourists had gone on nothing but 'take the Metro' instead, they still would have needed more information to complete their trip. Which line? What stop? Which direction do I go? That's my point about being unable to idiot-proof the system.
Yes, there could be more clarity in the Circulator nomenclature, but let's not overstate the problem here.
by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2011 12:24 pm • link • report
by Jasper on Apr 5, 2011 12:34 pm • link • report
This seems to work in Reston where they have the RIBS (Reston Internal Bus System) circulator system with routes RIBS 1, RIBS 2, RIBS 3, RIBS 4, and RIBS 5 seperate from Fairfax Connector regular routes. (FFX runs RIBS.)
by Transport. on Apr 5, 2011 12:42 pm • link • report
The Circulator was never just "one bus". From the start it had at least two lines: the GT-US line and the Conv-SW line.
by TM on Apr 5, 2011 12:57 pm • link • report
I think our points are closer than they appear in the mirror.
The problem is real and repetitive. The example I saw (last Thurs, btw) was one of three on that very route I took. Nor was that day an isolated experience. You're telling me why it shouldn't be a problem. I'm telling you that it is, and continues to be an issue.
Not a global warming/homeless/whatever issue, but an easy to solve problem. Just break the Circulator up into "lines" so it's easy to differentiate.
by TimK on Apr 5, 2011 12:58 pm • link • report
The names need to be repeated over and over visually, on signs, on the sides of buses, on pamphlets, on the Circulator's website.
Whether it's A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3, or something like "Union Georgetown," and "Woodley McPherson," is less significant than making the names distinct, clear, rational -- and repeated to make them memorable.
by Dennis Jaffe on Apr 5, 2011 1:05 pm • link • report
DC-2
etc.
If you want to introduce some order, have odd numbers be cross town and even numbers be north-south (generally).
Or if you insist on colors:
DC-Yellow (Y)
DC-Blue (B)
DC-Red (R)
DC-Green (G)
DC-Orange (O)
DC-Purple (P)
by ah on Apr 5, 2011 1:07 pm • link • report
The point of the current naming system, however, is that the very name of the route (e.g Dupont-Georgetown-Rosslyn) tells you more information than just the abstraction of, say, DC-4.
You don't need to know what color or number the line is to know where it goes - the Dupont route goes to Dupont.
No, it's not the best nomenclature in a wider system, but it does have value - particularly given the route structure the Circulator uses.
by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2011 1:31 pm • link • report
Whatever they do they need to remove the current external bus design and replace it - I have seen dozens of people get on a Woodley Park circulator thinking it would take them to union station because "the bus said union station on the side"...
by Matthew on Apr 5, 2011 1:37 pm • link • report
by JF on Apr 5, 2011 1:40 pm • link • report
by tom veil on Apr 5, 2011 2:07 pm • link • report
The line is already called the Woodley Park - Adams Morgan - McPherson Square Metro line. Adams Morgan is the via point.
I don't see what's so wrong about the names as they are now.
by Scoot on Apr 5, 2011 2:13 pm • link • report
by Phil on Apr 5, 2011 2:51 pm • link • report
1) I really like the presidents naming scheme. It's noble and memorable. Just last names, though. "Jefferson Line", "Adams Line", "Lincoln Line".
2) @Alex B re. just take metro/circulator. The difference is that the Metrorail system is a SYSTEM. You are somewhere and want to go somewhere else, you go to the nearest station where you find maps, brochures, fare tables and friendly (usually?) station managers who can get you from the best station for your departure (where you are) to the best station for your destination. And all the routes are connected into a SYSTEM with only one transfer between any two lines.
For Circulator, it's not quite a SYSTEM. You can easily just jump on the wrong bus headed in the wrong direction because routes overlap with little information other than a destination sign to help you navigate. You also can't jump on one bus and assume that you can easily connect to another bus to take you to your destination. Adams Morgan to the ballpark? Take the 14th Street circulator to the Union Station/K street circulator to the Navy Yard circulator... It doesn't work, partially because of too many transfers but also because we don't have the nomenclature to refer to transferring between routes.
3) I've been stopped on K street by a tourist wondering if that big red bus would take them to the mall.
4) It was VERY short-sighted of DDOT to keep the same "jesus fish" scheme for the expanded system. For one or two routes, it made sense. For 5 it means nothing. For one or two routes, it was almost a system map. For 5, it still looks like a system map but it lies, hinting that Georgetown and Adams Morgan are easily accessible to one another, only one stop away.
5) Perhaps #4 is a hint to how short-sighted the entire system is turning out to be. No way to differentiate between different lines, nearly reactive rolling out of new services with little outreach. Lack of a "system" or "network" approach to the lines, requiring multiple transfers to get between major activity centers.
The circulator is great, but they need to get their act together. They aren't a simple one/two line system any longer, and they need to start acting like a real transit agency, not like the rebellious start-up they once were.
by MDE on Apr 5, 2011 3:07 pm • link • report
"DC-X" has the advantage of (a) containing "DC" (b) reflective of the DC Circulator and (c) does not duplicate existing WMATA bus designations.
I agree, that in the broader scheme of things it would be great if WMATA could entirely rework their numbering scheme in some coherent fashion to use, say, only numbers. Then local buses (Ride-On, Fairfax, etc.) could use separate designators (e.g., MC-1, FX-1, DC-1 and so forth.
by ah on Apr 5, 2011 3:09 pm • link • report
"A" - Rossylyn, Georgetown, Union Station
"B" - Convention Center, Southwest
"C" - ...
by nwdcguy on Apr 5, 2011 3:52 pm • link • report
WMATA actually does have a coherent bus numbering system:
Letter-Number: Maryland -> DC bus.
Number-Number: DC bus.
Number-Letter: Virginia -> DC bus.
As routes have changed over the years, some of these designations no longer actually make sense.
Similarly, a handful of letter/number combinations do make sense, while others appear to be completely random. Honestly, it probably is time for a complete rationalization/rethinking of the metrobus network, given just how convoluted it's become.
(Anybody ever ride the X3? If not, I can't blame you, because it only makes 7 trips a day westbound, and 5 trips eastbound. The X1's a bit better, but equally nonsensical because it practically traces the route of the Blue/Orange line.)
There are also places where it makes lots of sense to abandon the normal numbering system entirely, and give the damn bus a descriptive name. (Yes. I'm looking at you, B30 bus to BWI airport!)
While we're at it, let's brand the X2 as a Circulator. It meets DC's criteria for a Circulator line better than some of the actual existing Circulator lines, and could benefit from the operating procedures that apparently allow the Circulator to operate with vastly improved reliability over Metrobus.
With this hypothetical line, I'd also include the 'via' indicator to the destination sign, as 'Benning Road via H St NE' is a lot more descriptive and reflective of the line's actual ridership.
by andrew on Apr 5, 2011 3:55 pm • link • report
The problem with using endpoints for the line names is that, according to the circulator plan (as linked in this GGW post), DDOT will soon add another line from Union Station to Georgetown (via North Mall), and extend the Rosslyn-Dupont line to Howard. We could always call one the Union Station-Downtown-Georgetown, and the other Union Station-North Mall-Georgetown; and rename the Rosslyn-Dupont the Rosslyn-Dupont-Howard. But DC already has a problem with hyphen abuse (see U Street-Cordoza-Civil War-etc station), and those names are completely unTwitterable.
I'd prefer DC people names (Duke, Dolly, George and Abe), coupled with a ubiquitous (semi-iconic-ish) and diagramatic network or spider map.
by Steven H on Apr 5, 2011 4:30 pm • link • report
by Craig on Apr 5, 2011 7:00 pm • link • report
Philadelphia removed it's route names from it's regional rail lines. SEPTA's regional lines were formerly the R1-R3 and R5-R7. The R5 Paoli / Thorndale line is now exclusively referred to as the Paoli / Throndale line.
In my opinion this made the system more complex, while once asking friends to take the R5 to center city then the R1 to the airport, we have to say to take the Paoli Thorndale line (which are the terminals) to Center City (which is the other way from Paoli & Thorndale) and then take the Airport line (which doesn't only serve the Airport) They cannot use their other terminal in their names, such as Paoli-Thorndale / Center City, as every train uses Center City as the other end of their line, you then transfer to the appropriate train (although this is a unique situation to SEPTA and doesn't apply to us.) The trains can change routes as needed from Center City, becoming the Chestnut Hill West line, or the Fox Chase line, or the Bala-Cynwid line, as they all aggregate onto the same set of tracks (also unique to SEPTA, not in DC.) It thus also makes the train routing unpredictable.
Formerly the R5 towards center city was entitled R5 Chestnut Hill via City Center. Now it is the Paoli / Thordale line via City Center. Paoli & Thornale are the other way from Center City.
I strongly suggest a true route name or title beyond the destinations and waypoints. When departing Union Station, the Gold Bus to Georgetown via Downtown is fine to me. The signs are already colored separately, and that would be an relatively easy transition.
by Xavier on Apr 5, 2011 7:02 pm • link • report
That being said, I'm also in favor of route indicators that indicate the final stop instead of the start and end.
by Craig on Apr 5, 2011 7:05 pm • link • report
The R5 the other was was formerly the "R5 Lansdale Doylestown line"
SEPTA's regional information:
http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/index.html
Also note their variety of transit modes, the MF Line (sometimes referred to as the EL or Blue line), the Broad St Line, the Trolly Lines (also called the Surface Lines or Subway Surface Lines) and the Norristown High Speed Line (of which there are 3 lines) The system was not designed cohesively. They also have buses and paratransit was we do.
by Xavier on Apr 5, 2011 7:08 pm • link • report
Cardinal directions seemed to work when it was just East-West and North-South, but when they introduced the Woodley Park-McPherson Square route, it wouldn't have been wise to make that North-South.
Route names work only to an extent that the route doesn't change around alot. Union Station - Georgetown has changed quite alot and Woodley Park - McPherson Square could probably be called Woodley Park - Franklin Square since the last stop is right at Franklin Square and not McPherson.
It's become apparent that Circulator has lost its original identity as a tourist trap and became another commuter bus system in the city.
Side note: DC-XX wouldn't work since Martz Virginia uses those designations for their commuter bus routes.
by K Conaway on Apr 5, 2011 8:00 pm • link • report
by Chuck Coleman on Apr 5, 2011 8:22 pm • link • report
Since none of the buses except two have the same destination there is little room for confusion.
If there is such a need to name the routes just name them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or C1, C2, C3, C4, C5
People don't seem to get confused by Ride On, FF Connector, Metrobus, The Bus and the other systems that both have routes with the same name.
by kk on Apr 5, 2011 9:24 pm • link • report
Blue Bus, at some point, was almost half foreign tourists. I'd say those numbers dropped a bit in Circulator-era. However, for the K street and 14th street lines, they are crowded enough that putting (stupid) tourists on the bus is just jamming up the system.
by charlie on Apr 6, 2011 9:01 am • link • report
You'd be surprised. I've been stopped many times in the Metro to be asked which platform a certain color train is on, and there are signs everywhere. It never ceases to amaze me how much directions tourists need despite the fact that Metro routing is one of the simplest in existence and was designed with simplicity in mind. I don't think any naming convention can solve the problem this article lays out.
But maybe "read" was the wrong word. "Navigate" is more like it. The number, color, or letter you're seeing is less important than being able to apply that knowledge into something directionally useful. In that regard I'm having trouble coming up with something better than the existing destination-based names for the routes.
Numbering doesn't seem like a bad idea for shorthand. And if you had colors to match the numbers, you'd have two ways to distinguish between routes. But New York already does that for its subways, and I doubt that stops people from boarding the wrong train or asking bystanders for directions. Maybe even numbers could be east-west routes, and odd numbers could be north-south, like the Interstate system. But people have to be clued in somehow that these numbers have meaning.
by Omar on Apr 6, 2011 1:33 pm • link • report
So are the Dupont Circle - Rosslyn & Woodley Park - McPherson Sq lines north/south , east/west or both ?
by kk on Apr 6, 2011 5:16 pm • link • report
by Omar on Apr 6, 2011 5:22 pm • link • report
by Ben on Apr 8, 2011 11:52 am • link • report
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