The Ivy City–Franklin Square Line, designated Route D4, is a daily bus route operated by the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between
Ivy City and
Franklin Square. The line operates every 17-20 minutes during the weekday peak-hours, and 30-35 minutes at all other times. Route D4 trips are roughly 32 minutes.
Background
Route D4 operates daily between
Ivy City and
Franklin Square via
K Street connecting riders from
Ivy City and
NoMa
Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to:
Places
* NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US
** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro
* Noma, Florida, US
* NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England
* Noma Distric ...
to
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
.
Route D4 currently operates out of Bladensburg division.
History
Route D4 began operation under the Washington Railway & Electric Company operating under
streetcar lines operating between
Ivy City and
Downtown DC. The line was converted to bus in the 1920s and later acquired by the
Capital Traction Company
The Capital Traction Company was the smaller of the two major street railway companies in Washington, D.C., in the early 20th century. It was formed in 1895 through a merger of the Rock Creek Railway and the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Com ...
in 1933. DC Transit would acquire CTC in 1956 and later run by WMATA in 1973.
The D4 would mainly operate along
K Street and
MacArthur Boulevard between
Sibley Memorial Hospital and
Ivy City connecting Downtown. The line was named the Glover Park-Trinidad Line.
In the mid 1990s, route D4 was shortened to
Washington Union Station with service to
Sibley Memorial Hospital replaced by
route D3, and D6. The line was also renamed to the Ivy City-Union Station Line. These changes were in order to simplify the line after a series of proposals.
On December 27, 2009, route D4 was rerouted to serve
Franklin Square/
McPherson Square station instead of
Washington Union Station terminating along 13th and I streets NW. Service to Union Station was replaced by
route D6. Buses will operate along I Street to 14th street, then continue via 14th, K and 10th streets, New York and Massachusetts Avenues, 6th Street and K Street to North Capitol Street where it will resume its regular route.
Originally, WMATA proposed to extend the D4 into
Georgetown to serve
Sibley Memorial Hospital instead of ending at Franklin Square.
In 2012, WMATA proposed to extend route D4 to
Fort Totten station
Fort Totten is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It acts as a transfer point between the Green, Yellow and Red Lines. It is the last station on the Green and Yellow lines in the District of Columbia before heading into M ...
and
Riggs Park via 18th Street NE, South Dakota Avenue NE, Sargent Road, Eastern Avenue, Kennedy Street, Nicholson Street and Riggs Road. This was in order to replace the
E2 which is proposed to be shorten to Fort Totten and fully replace routes
E3 and E4, Provide a direct route from Riggs Park, South Dakota Avenue, and 18th Street to
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
, serve the proposed future
Walmart stores on Riggs Road and at Bladensburg Road & New York Avenue, and ridership on the Fenwick/New York/16th loop is minimal since the
Hecht's Warehouse closed. The
Ivy City loop along Fenwick Street, New York Avenue, and 16th Street NE would be eliminated.
In 2015, WMATA proposed to extend route D4 to
Kennedy Center in order to replace route 80 which was proposed to be shorten to
Franklin Square. This would give D4 service to
Farragut Square,
Foggy Bottom, and the
Watergate complex.
On June 26, 2016, every other route D4 trip was extended to
Dupont Circle station (20th & P Streets NW) serving both
Dupont Circle and
Farragut Square in order to partially replace route D3. The extension would only operate during the weekday peak-hours in the peak direction. This gives passengers weekday peak service to Farragut Square and Dupont Circle without having to transfer buses at
Franklin Square.
In 2019, WMATA proposed to eliminate route D4 service after 10:00 PM daily due to low ridership. There would be no alternative service however.
The proposal was met with controversy with
Ivy City residents due to service being lacking with service if the proposal goes through since the
E2 was also proposed to end at 10:00 PM too. WMATA later backed out of the proposal due to major customer opposition.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic, all route D2 service was reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020. However beginning on March 18, 2020, route D4 was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule on March 18, 2020. All weekend service was also suspended on March 21, 2020. On August 23, 2020, service was restored on the D4 but service to Dupont Circle remained suspended.
In February 2021, WMATA proposed to eliminate all D4 service if they did not get any federal funding. On September 5, 2021, service to Dupont Circle was eliminated.
References
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