The Sibley Hospital–Stadium Armory Line, designated Route D6, is 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

Stadium–Armory station Stadium–Armory station is a Washington Metro station in Southeast, Washington, D.C. It is located in the Hill East neighborhood near the border of Barney Circle and Kingman Park. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by ...

of the

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, and

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

Lines 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 Sibley Hospital in the Palisades neighborhood. The line operates every 15 minutes during the weekday peak hours, 20 minutes during the off-peak hours, and 30–40 minutes during the late nights. Route D6 trips are roughly 60–90 minutes long.

Background

Route D6 operates daily between

and Sibley Hospital connecting Palisades, Foxhall,

Burleith Burleith is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., United States. It is bordered by 35th Street NW to the east, Reservoir Road NW and the historic Georgetown district to the south, Whitehaven Park to the north, and Glover Archbold Park to the west ...

, Georgetown, and

Kingman Park Kingman Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., the United States capital city. Kingman Park's boundaries are 15th Street NE to the west; C Street SE to the south; Benning Road to the north; and Anacostia ...

residents to

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English 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 district ( ...

without having to take the train. Route D6 operates out of Andrews Federal Center and Bladensburg with select trips operating out of Western.

History

The Sibley Hospital Line was originally operated under the Washington Railway & Electric Company prior to it merging with 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 when the Rock Creek Railway acquired the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. The ...

in 1933. Route D6 originally began operating between

Glover Park Glover Park is a neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., about a half mile north of Georgetown and just west of the United States Naval Observatory and Number One Observatory Circle (the Vice President's mansion). Every morning and evening, ...

and

under the Capital Street Company. The line at first were operated by

streetcars A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, but then formed into buses on April 12, 1926. The line was later operated until DC Transit in 1956 and then acquired by WMATA on February 4, 1973. Service along Loughboro Road was replaced by route M4 and F Street/D Street was replaced by route 42 through the years. On March 27, 1976, route D6 was extended from Downtown DC to

Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood station Rhode Island Avenue station (also known as Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood) is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line. The station is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Northeast, on an elevated platform crossi ...

via

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...

in order to provide newly opened Metrorail service. On June 15, 1977, route D6 was extended from Rhode Island Avenue to

Washington Hospital Center MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in Washington, D.C. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offer ...

. A new route D8 was also introduced to operate between Washington Hospital Center and Sibley Hospital via the Hospital Complex, Trinity University, Glenwood Cemetery, the Edgewood Terrace Apartments, the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center, the

Judiciary Square Judiciary Square is a neighborhood in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and office buildings. Judiciary Square is located roughly between Pennsylvania A ...

, Metro Center, and

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

stations. In 1995, the line was split into two routes in order to simplify the line. Route D6 was split to operate between Sibley Hospital and

, via

, instead of operating to

and up to

in order to replace the segment of the former routes 40, 42, and 44 between Union Station and

when both 40 and 44 were discontinued and 42 was shortened to operate between Mount Pleasant and

Metro Center station Metro Center station is the central hub station of the Washington Metro, a rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. The station is located in Downtown, centered on the intersection of 12th Street NW and G Street NW. It is one of the ...

. Route D6 also replaced the portion of route D2 between

Dupont Circle station Dupont Circle station is an underground rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in Washington, D.C. Located below the traffic circle, it is one of the busiest stations in the Metro system, with an average of 16,948 entr ...

and Stadium–Armory station and route D4 portion between Washington Union Station and Stadium–Armory station. New routes D1 and D3 were introduced to operate alongside the D6. D1 would operate between

and

while route D3 operated between Sibley Hospital and Union Station. Route D8 was also split to only operate between Washington Hospital Center and Washington Union Station. The segment of D8's routing west of Union Station was replaced by routes D1, D3, and D6. At the same time, the D8 replaced the segment of D6's former routing between Union Station and Washington Hospital Center, via

. As a result, as route D6 became a part of the Sibley Hospital–Stadium Armory Line, which operated alongside routes D1 and D3 while route D8 became a part of the

Hospital Center Line The Hospital Center Line, designated Route D8, was a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Washington Union Station and MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The line operated every 20–30 minutes a ...

. On December 27, 2009, short trips were added to route D6 during the weekday peak hours. This means that there will continue to be buses operating the full route every 22 to 25 minutes with two shorter routes added during peak hours. One will go from

Farragut Square Farragut Square is a city square in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 2 of the District of Columbia, Ward 2. It is bordered by K Street (Washington, D.C.), K Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW to the north, I Street NW to the south, on the east and wes ...

and the other will go from Farragut Square to Sibley Hospital. On June 17, 2012, route D6 short trips to

were scheduled to end at 20th Street & New Hampshire Avenue, NW instead of at P & 22nd streets, NW. Short trips starting at

would leave from 17th & I streets, NW on the east side of the park rather than from the west side of the park. 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 was restored on August 23, 2020. In February 2021, WMATA proposed eliminating the D6 if they did not get any federal funding. A portion would be replaced by a modified Route 80, B2, and N6. There would be no alternative service between Dupont Circle and Farragut Square, MacArthur Boulevard, or to Stadium Armory station. On December 11, 2022, Westbound D6 trips to Sibley Hospital was rerouted to I Street between 13th & 20th Streets NW due to safety response to K Street road diversions. As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign beginning on June 29, 2025, the line was split into two routes. The D6 portion between

and

McPherson Square station McPherson Square station is a Washington Metro station in Downtown, Washington, D.C., United States. The side-platformed station is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Or ...

was renamed into the D24, with service also being extended to

Deanwood station Deanwood station is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in the Deanwood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C., United States. The station was opened on November 20, 1978, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Trans ...

via East Capitol Street NE, Division Avenue NE, and Eastern Avenue NE. The D6 portion between Sibley Hospital and McPherson Square station was renamed into the D94 and was extended to

Gallery Place station Gallery Place station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., United States, on the Green, Yellow and Red Lines. It is one of the 4 major transfer points, a transfer station between the Red Line on the upper level and the Green/Ye ...

with service operating along H Street instead of K Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibley Hospital-Stadium Armory Line D6