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New Hampshire Avenue Line
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The New Hampshire Avenue Line, designated Route M60, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Fort Totten station on the Red and Green Lines of the Washington Metro and White Oak Medical Center. The line operates every 12 minutes during most times. Route M60 trips took 28 minutes according to the schedule.[2]
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Background
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Route M60 operates daily between Fort Totten station and White Oak Medical Center via New Hampshire Avenue providing service to residents between the two points. Route M60 operates out of Bladensburg division. The line originally operated out of Montgomery division until 2019.
M60 stops
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History
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Prior to WMATA's Better Bus Redesign network, Route M60 was originally known as Route K6. K6 originally began operating as part of the Capital Transit Company "New Hampshire Avenue" Bus Line in 1964, between White Oak Shopping Center in White Oak, Maryland, and Metro Center in Downtown Washington D.C. mostly operating along Columbia Pike, New Hampshire Avenue, the White Oak FDA/FRC Building, and North Capitol Street NW.[3] K6 eventually became a WMATA Metrobus route on February 4, 1973, when WMATA bought all four failing private bus companies that operated throughout the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area and merged them all together to form its own Metrobus System.[4]
On February 19, 1978, after Fort Totten station opened, K6 was truncated to only operate between the White Oak Shopping Center and Fort Totten station. The remaining segment of K6's original routing between Fort Totten and Metro Center was replaced by WMATA's brand new route K4, which was designed to operate between Fort Totten and Metro Center.[5]
On December 29, 2013, route K6 discontinued all service to the Food and Drug Administration and instead remained straight along New Hampshire Avenue. Service would be replaced by route K9 which was extended from Northwest Park.[6]
When the Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center opened on December 22, 2016, the K6 was rerouted, along with several other Metrobus, Ride On buses, Shuttle UM and TheBus routes, to serve the newly opened Transit Center. Route K6 would serve Bus Bay A (Northbound) and Bus Bay G (Southbound) alongside route K9.[7][8][9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the K6 operated on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020.[10] It however began operating on its Sunday service on March 18, 2020.[11] Weekend service was also reduced to operate every 30 munutes.[12] Its regular service was restored on August 23, 2020.[13]
On September 5, 2021, service was also increased to operate every 12 minutes daily between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.[14]
On June 25, 2023, northbound K6 trips was rerouted to Stuart Lane and Lockwood Drive to terminate in White Oak, service along Old Columbia Pike and inside of White Oak Shopping Center was discontinued.[15]
Better Bus Redesign
In 2022, WMATA launched its Better Bus Redesign project, which aimed to redesign the entire Metrobus Network and is the first full redesign of the agency's bus network in its history.
In April 2023, WMATA launched its Draft Visionary Network. As part of the drafts, WMATA proposed to extend the K6 to White Oak Medical Center via Columbia Pike, Tech Road, Broadbirch Drive, Cherry Hill Road, and Plum Orchard Drive. The line would be named Route MD243 in the proposals. Additionally, WMATA also proposed a Route MD144 (Route K9) between Fort Totten station and Colesville via New Hampshire Avenue and would operate alongside the proposed Route MD243. The proposed Route MD144 would combine the existing Route K6 and the current Route C8 and Z2 routing between the intersection of Columbia Pike & New Hampshire Avenue, and the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue & Randolph Road. The difference between the MD144 and the MD243 was that the MD144 would not serve Northwest Park.[16]
During WMATA's Revised Draft Visionary Network, WMATA renamed the MD144 to Route M6X and converted it to a limited-stop express. The MD243 was renamed to Route M62. Both routes kept their same proposed routing.[17] All changes were then proposed during WMATA's 2025 Proposed Network.[18]
During the proposal, the M6X was cut back from Colesville to the Food and Drug Administration headquarters and ultimately became the current routing of Route K9. Route M62 was also renamed to Route M60 and kept its proposed routing.[19][20]
On November 21, 2024, WMATA approved its Better Bus Redesign Network.[21]
Beginning on June 29, 2025, Route K6 was extended to White Oak Medical Center via Columbia Pike, Tech Road, Broadirch Drive, Cherry Hill Road, and Plum Orchard Drive, and was renamed to the M60. The routing was the same between Fort Totten station and the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue & Lockwood Drive in White Oak.[22]
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Incidents
- On December 30, 2013, around 3:30 p.m., a K6 driver was killed when her bus began rolling without anybody on board and pinned the driver to a wall at White Oak Shopping Center. Preliminary investigation indicated that the driver attempted to engage the brake by reaching through the driver's window before becoming pinned to the bus. The driver suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead several hours later.[23][24]
- On April 14, 2020, a car crashed into the back of a K6 bus around 10 p.m. leaving the three people inside the car pinned and severely injured.[25]
References
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