Military Road–Crosstown Line
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The Military Road–Crosstown Line, designated Route E4, was a daily bus route operated by the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional public transit agency that operates transit services in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA provides rapid transit servic ...
between the
Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington ...
of the Red Line of the
Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...
and
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
of the Red and Green Lines of the Washington Metro or
Riggs Park Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. It is part of the greater Lamond-Riggs community (comprising the Lamond neighborood to the north, and Riggs Park to the south). Riggs Park is bounded by South Dakota ...
(Eastern Ave & Jamaica St NE). The line ran every 20 minutes between 7AM and 9PM and 30 minutes after 9PM with every other trip alternating between Friendship Heights and Fort Totten/Riggs Park. Trips took roughly 40 minutes. Additional daily trips were shortened to
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
which took roughly 30 minutes.


Background

Route E4 operated daily between
Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington ...
and
Riggs Park Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. It is part of the greater Lamond-Riggs community (comprising the Lamond neighborood to the north, and Riggs Park to the south). Riggs Park is bounded by South Dakota ...
with additional trips terminating at
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
daily. This line mainly connected
Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
and
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
by bus without having to ride the train and provided service along McKinley Street NW, Military Road NW, and Kennedy Street NW. Route E4 operated out of Western division. At one point, route E4 would operate some trips out of Bladensburg division.


Stops


History

Route E2, E3, E4, E5, and E8 all operated as part of the Military Road–Crosstown Line through the years starting from
Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington ...
. Route E4 originally operated up to University City Apartments in
Lewisdale, Maryland Lewisdale is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. For statistical purposes, it is considered part of the Chillum census-designated place (CDP). Lewisdale is a neighborhood contained between the Northwes ...
but was shorten to
Riggs Park Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. It is part of the greater Lamond-Riggs community (comprising the Lamond neighborood to the north, and Riggs Park to the south). Riggs Park is bounded by South Dakota ...
in the 1970s. Routes E2, E3, and E4 terminated at Friendship Heights while E5 and E8 were shorten to Friendship Heights in 1984. During the years, the E5 and E8 were discontinued and route E6 operated as part of the Chevy Chase Line. Prior to 2015, route E2 would operate between Friendship Heights station and
Ivy City Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility f ...
(Okie & 16th Streets NE), route E4 would operate between Friendship Heights and Riggs Park (Eastern Ave & Jamaica St NE) during the weekday peak hours only, and route E3 would operate on midday and weekends only between Friendship Heights and Ivy City via Riggs Park as a combination to route E2 and E4. During most hours of the day, route E2 would operate between Friendship Heights and
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
only and only serves Ivy City during the weekday peak hours, and early morning and late night periods through the week. Beginning on September 24, 2006, route E3 midday service was eliminated and replaced by full route E2 and route E4. Route E4 and the full route E2 now operated during all days during the weekdays while the E3 only operated during the weekends. Route E2 kept its short trips between Friendship Heights and Fort Totten which only operated during times when the E3 did operate. In 2012, WMATA proposed to eliminate routes E3 and E4 and shorten route E2 between
Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington ...
and
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
. Service between Fort Totten and
Riggs Park Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. It is part of the greater Lamond-Riggs community (comprising the Lamond neighborood to the north, and Riggs Park to the south). Riggs Park is bounded by South Dakota ...
/
Ivy City Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility f ...
would be replaced by an extended route D4 and F6 reroute. According to WMATA, this was to reduce running time and improve on-time performance, provide a level of service along the different portions of the line east and west of Fort Totten commensurate with the significantly different passenger demand on the two portions, and allow for a more even frequency of service on the western portion of the line where the greatest demand occurs. In 2014, WMATA proposed to split the E2 and E4 into two separate routes. Route E4 will keep its current routing to
Riggs Park Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. It is part of the greater Lamond-Riggs community (comprising the Lamond neighborood to the north, and Riggs Park to the south). Riggs Park is bounded by South Dakota ...
with short trips operate between
Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington ...
and
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
while route E2 will operate its current routing between Fort Totten and
Ivy City Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility f ...
. This will improve reliability of service by operating shorter routes and create a better balance of capacity and demand throughout the line. It will be every 16–20 minutes for all three routes during a.m. and p.m. peak periods, and every 36–40 minutes for all three routes off-peak and weekends and will have timed transfers at Fort Totten to minimize wait time. On June 21, 2015, route E2 and E4 were split into two different bus lines. Route E4 kept the Military Road–Crosstown Line name while route E2 was renamed into the Ivy City–Fort Totten Line also being shorten between
Fort Totten station Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on th ...
and
Ivy City Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility f ...
on its current routing. Route E4 was also given weekend service fully replacing route E3 as well. A small section of route E3's routing along Sargent Road and Eastern Avenue wasn't replaced as stops along the route are in walking distance to routes E2 and E4 bus stops. Route E4 will have frequencies between Friendship Heights and Fort Totten every 8–10 minutes during AM and PM peak periods and every 18–20 minutes off-peak and weekends. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the route was reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule during the weekdays beginning on March 16, 2020. On March 18, 2020, the line was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule. Weekend service was later suspended on March 21, 2020. Additional service and weekend service was restored on August 23, 2020. On September 5, 2021, service was increased to operate every 20 minutes daily between Friendship Heights and Fort Totten station. As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign beginning on June 29, 2025, Route E4 was modified to no longer serve Friendship Heights, and instead operate along the former M4 routing along Nebraska Avenue NW to serve Sibley Hospital (skipping
Tenleytown–AU station Tenleytown–AU station is a subway station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in Washington, D.C. Located in the Upper Northwest neighborhood, it is the last station on the Red Line heading outbound wholly within the District of Columbia ...
) and was renamed into the C81. Service to Riggs Park was replaced by Route E2 (renamed into the C71). Service between Friendship Heights and Military Road via McKinley Street was renamed into the C83 and was instead rerouted to serve the former M4 routing to Knollwood as a loop along Utah Avenue NW, Western Avenue, Oregon Avenue NW, and Nebraska Avenue NW, essentially partially reincarnating the former Route E6 service.


Incidents

* On January 30, 2015, a 14-year-old boy attacked an E4 bus driver with a stun gun striking the driver's right arm. The teen was arrested on April 21, 2015 and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.


References


External links


E4 Military Road–Crosstown Line
wmata.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Military Road-Crosstown Line E4