Tenleytown–Glover Park Line

The Tenleytown–Glover Park Line, designated Route N8, was a bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Tenleytown–AU station of the Red Line of the Washington Metro and Glover Park. The line operated every 20–40 minutes on weekdays only with trips roughly taking 30 minutes. The route was discontinued on September 23, 2011 due to low ridership.

N8
Tenleytown–Glover Park Line
Route N8 at Tenleytown–AU station in 2006
Overview
SystemMetrobus
OperatorWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
LiveryLocal
StatusDiscontinued
Began serviceSeptember 1999[1]
Ended serviceSeptember 23, 2011
Route
LocaleNorthwest
Communities servedTenleytown, American University Park, Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, Glover Park
Landmarks servedTenleytown–AU station , Tenley Circle, American University, Ward Circle, Berkshire Apartments
StartTenleytown–AU station
ViaYuma Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, New Mexico Avenue NW
EndGlover Park (41st St & Davis Pl NW)

History

Route N8 originally operated between Friendship Heights station and Glen Echo Park which replaced route C1. However, the route was discontinued in the 1990s and replaced by Ride On route 29 which operates on the same routing as route N8 but is extended to Bethesda station.

The line was reincarnated as the Van Ness–Wesley Heights Line in 1999 to operate daily service between Van Ness–UDC station and Wesley Heights conjunction with the District of Columbia Small Bus Program. This was to eliminate the use of larger buses along Yuma Street due to various noise complaints with the larger buses. Route N8 mostly operated along Veazey Sreet, Van Ness Street, Yuma Street, Massachusetts Avenue, New Mexico Avenue, and Nebraska Avenue. The route also replaced routes H2, H3 and H4 routing to Westmoreland Circle along Yuma Street with H2 terminating at Van Ness and H3, H4 at Tenleytown–AU station. The route mostly connects Wesley Heights residents and American University students to various destinations without having to transfer buses or take the train. The N8 mostly utilized the Orion IIs and 30 ft Orion Vs out of Western division due to its low demand route.[1][2]

2004 Service Changes

On December 26, 2004, route N8 was extended to Glover Park via New Mexico Avenue in order to link residents to American University and Spring Valley.[3]

2006 Proposed Changes

In 2006, WMATA proposed to eliminate weekend service on the N8 due to low ridership.[4][5] According to WMATA's performance measures, ridership on the route continued to be low averaging 123 passengers on 19 trips Saturday and 117 on 17 trips on Sunday. Performance measures goes as the following:[1]

Performance MeasuresSaturdaySundayWMATA GuidelinesPass/Fail
Passengers123117<300Fail
Passengers Rev/Mile0.60.7<1Fail
Passengers Rev/Trip67.0<8Fail
Subsidy/Passenger$11.71$10.98>$4.00Fail
Cost Recovery5.6%5.9%<13%Fail

2006 Service Changes

On September 24, 2006, weekend service for route N8 was discontinued. Weekday service and its current routing remained unaffected.[6]

2010 Proposed Changes

In 2010, it was proposed to eliminate the N8 due to low ridership. The Van Ness–UDC station and Tenleytown–AU station section will be replaced by an rerouted route H2. Alternative service will be provided on the D1, D2, and N2, N4, N6. There will be no alternative service along Yuma Street or New Mexico Avenue and Tunlaw Road between Cathedral Avenue and Edmunds Street however.[7]

2010 Service Change

On December 19, 2010 route N8 was shorten to terminate at Tenleytown–AU station with service to Van Ness–UDC station replaced by an extended route H2. The line was also renamed into the Tenleytown–Glover Park Line as a result of the changes. Trips after 7:50 PM were also discontinued due to low ridership.[8]

Proposed Discontinuation

In 2011, WMATA proposed to eliminate the N8 once in for all due to low ridership and not meeting WMATA standards.[9][10][11] Performance measures continue to drop below WMATA standards through the years.[12]

Residents were opposed to the elimination of route N8 as it will cause inconvenience to their travel time.[13][14][15]

Discontinuation of Route

On September 25, 2011, route N8 was officially discontinued due to low ridership.[16] WMATA rerouted route N2 between Friendship Heights station and Ward Circle via Massachusetts Avenue and Western Avenue replacing sections of route N8.[17][18]

References
  1. "Staff Report on the Proposal to Increase Fares and Parking on Four Holidays and the FY07 Service Changes" (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. "September 20, 2004 - Commentary - The last cross-town bus: Part 2". www.thecommondenominator.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. "Metrobus service changes, effective Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004". December 26, 2004. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  4. "Connecticut Avenue Transportation Study" (PDF). District Department of Transportation. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  5. "Metro to adjust select bus routes in DC, Virginia". Congress Heights on the Rise. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. "Metro News Release". www.wmata.com. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  7. "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES FISCAL YEAR 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  8. "Metrobus Route Changes". WMATA. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  9. "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES FISCAL YEAR 2011" (PDF). www.wmata.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. "Notice of Public Hearing" (PDF). www.wmata.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  11. "B11-02: Proposed Adjustments to Metrorail Weekend Frequency, Metrobus Service and Increase to Anacostia Special Bus Fare, May 16-19, 2011 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. Perkins, Michael. "Metrobus performance 2008: Upgrade the X2, cut the 24T". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  13. Scott, Jamie. "Chevy Chase residents oppose proposed Metrobus cuts". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  14. Morrissey, Aaron. "Proposed Metro Service Cuts Would Affect Weekend Trains". DCist. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  15. Layman, Richard. "Bus frequency as a "cycle of service" and rethinking underutilized buses + upcoming hearings". Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  16. Burnett, Patrick. "WMATA discontinues local N8 bus line". The Eagle. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  17. "Metro News Release - WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  18. Thomson, Robert (23 September 2011). "Metrobus changes start Sunday". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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