Metroway

Metroway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as part of their Metrobus system. It consists of a single line operating in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It opened on August 24, 2014. It was the first bus rapid transit line to open in Virginia and in the Washington metropolitan area.^[3]

Metroway
A Metroway New Flyer XN40 bus at 27th & Crystal station.
Overview
System	Metrobus
Operator	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Garage	Four Mile Run
Vehicle	New Flyer Xcelsior XN40
Livery	Metroway
Status	In service
Began service	August 24, 2014 (2014-08-24)
Predecessors	Metrobus 9S[1]
Routes
Routes	1
Locale	City of Alexandria and Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Start	Pentagon City
End	Braddock Road
Length	6.8 mi (11 km)
Stations	17
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	12-20 minutes
Weekend frequency	20 minutes
Journey time	24 minutes
Operates	5:30 am – 10 pm (weekdays) 6:30 am - 10:30 pm (Saturdays) 7:30 am - 10:00 pm (Sundays)
Daily ridership	1,340 (April 2024)
Ridership	445,804 (FY 2023)[2]
Timetable	Metroway timetable
Map	Metroway map
Route map Metroway highlighted in blue Show interactive map Legend toward Pentagon Pentagon City Transitway extension 12th & Hayes Street 12th & Elm Street 12th & Clark Street Crystal City via National Airport 18th & Crystal Crystal City 23rd & Clark | 23rd & Crystal 26th & Clark 27th & Crystal 33rd & Crystal South Glebe Four Mile Run Arlington Alexandria Reed – Potomac Yard East Glebe and Potomac East Glebe Swann Custis Potomac via National Airport Fayette Braddock Road toward King Street Key Street section Transitway This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

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 Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) 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.^[4]

Stations

There are 17 stations on the route. Twelve of the stations offer two-way service; three of the stations, 18th & Crystal, 23rd & Crystal, and Fayette, are northbound-only; and two other stations, 26th & Clark, 23rd & Clark, are southbound-only.^[4]

The Metroway stations vary depending on location and jurisdiction, though all stations consist of side platforms and sidewalk-level bus stops.

Station Name	Direction	Station type	Connections
Arlington County, Virginia
Pentagon City Station Bus Bay C	Southbound station, Northbound terminal	Curbside bus stop	Arlington Transit: 42, 74, 84, 87 Fairfax Connector: 599 Metrobus: 7A, 10A, 10N, 16E, 16M, 22A Washington Metro:
Crystal City Station Bus Bay C (North) Bus Bay D (South)	Bidirectional		Virginia Railway Express (at Crystal City VRE) Arlington Transit: 43 Fairfax Connector: 599 Metrobus: 10N, 16M, 23A, 23B PRTC OmniRide Washington Metro:
18th & Crystal	Northbound		Virginia Railway Express Metrobus: 10N, 23A, 23B PRTC OmniRide Arlington Transit: 43
23rd & Crystal			Metrobus: 10N, 23A, 23B PRTC OmniRide Fairfax Connector: 599
23rd & Clark	Southbound		Metrobus: 23A, 23B PRTC OmniRide
26th & Clark
27th & Crystal	Bidirectional	Transitway station
33rd & Crystal
South Glebe
Four Mile Run
Alexandria, Virginia
Reed Potomac Yard	Bidirectional	Curbside bus stop	DASH: 33, 34, 36 Washington Metro: (at Potomac Yard station)
East Glebe & Potomac			DASH: 33, 34, 36
East Glebe		Transitway station	DASH: 34
Swann
Custis
Potomac
Fayette		Curbside bus stop
Braddock Road Station Bus Bay B	Northbound station, Southbound terminal	Metro station busway	DASH: 30, 31, 103, 104 Metrobus: 10A, 10B, 10E Washington Metro:

Service

Bus 8009, one of the 13 2014 NABI 42 BRT diesel-electric hybrid buses that were originally in the Metroway scheme until December 18, 2016.

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.^{[citation needed]}

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, Potomac Yard, Crystal City, and Pentagon City stations offer service for the Metrorail Yellow and Blue lines.^[4] As it parallels the Yellow and Blue lines between Pentagon City and Braddock Road, it can be used as an alternative to Metrorail during service outages on Metrorail.^[5]

The Crystal City VRE station is a short distance (0.1 mile; 160 meters) 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.^[4]

Expansions

Metroway has been expanded since its opening in 2014, both in number of stations and length of route. Two new stations opened in Arlington, both in April 2016. Fayette station in Alexandria opened in 2017.^[6]

On April 17, 2016, the 33rd & Crystal and Pentagon City stations opened, bringing the total number of operating stations to 15. At the same time, a dedicated transit lane and a peak period transit lane opened in Arlington.^[6][7] 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 offers two-way service, while Pentagon City, the new northern terminus, 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.^[8]

Beginning May 25, 2019, as a result of the Blue and Yellow Lines being shut down south of National Airport for the summer, new stops were added on Potomac Avenue at East Glebe Road near the Kaiser Permanente and the National Institute for the Blind (NIB) Headquarters.^[9]

As part of the Amazon HQ2 project, plans were made in 2019 to extend the dedicated transitway to the section between Crystal City and Pentagon City, and add new stops at 12th & Clark Street, 12th & Elm Street, 12th & Hayes Street, and Army-Navy Drive.^[10] Construction began in April 2022, with completion expected in April 2023.^[11]

See also

• GRTC Pulse, a bus rapid transit system in Richmond, Virginia
• VB Wave, a bus rapid transit system in Virginia Beach, Virginia
• National Landing—a new cross-jurisdictional neighborhood that will house the Amazon HQ2 and Virginia Tech Innovation Center.

References

1. "Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway Project". City of Alexandria. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
2. "Metrobus FY2023 Annual Line Performance Report" (PDF). wmata.com. April 27, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
3. Lazo, Luz (August 23, 2014). "Metroway, the region's first bus rapid transit, to debut in Northern Virginia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
4. "Route | Metroway". Metroway. MetrowayVA.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
5. Siddiqui, Faiz (March 4, 2017). "For Metro riders in Virginia, one last dance with SafeTrack — if all goes to plan". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
6. Smith, Max (April 17, 2016). "New bus-only lanes open along Jefferson Davis Highway". WTOP.com. WTOP. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
7. "Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway - Projects & Planning". Arlington County Government. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
8. "Trains, buses, new lanes for cars and bikes—highlights from the 2016 CLRP Amendment". National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
9. "Metrobus Service Changes Beginning Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, June 23, 2019". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
10. Chaffin, Gordon (December 12, 2018). "Bus Rapid Transit Expanding in NOVA Thanks to Amazon". DC Commute Times. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
11. Blitz, Matt (April 6, 2022). "Construction starting on the Transitway extension to Pentagon City". ARLNow. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.

External links

• Media related to Metroway at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website