The Wisconsin Avenue Line, designated as Routes 31 or 33, 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 government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

between the

Friendship Heights Friendship Heights is an urban commercial and residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods a ...

station of the Red Line of the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

and Potomac Park or

Federal Triangle The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which are ...

with late night and early morning 33 trips extending to

L'Enfant Plaza station L'Enfant Plaza is an intermodal transit station complex located at L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It consists of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Ra ...

of the

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

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

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. Both lines operate at 10-12 minute frequencies between 7AM and 9PM, while route 33 operates every 15-30 minutes after 9PM. Route 31 trips are roughly 45 minutes long, while route 33 trips are 55 minutes long.

Background

Routes 31 and 33 operate from station and Potomac Park (31) or

(33) daily with late night and early morning 33 trips extending to

daily. Their main purpose is to provide service to the upper

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—each sep ...

side via Wisconsin Avenue NW. The second half of the 30 routes that run along Pennsylvania Avenue into Southeast is provided by routes 32, 34, and 36. Route 31 operates on weekdays while Route 33 operates daily. Routes 31 and 33 currently operate out of Western division which utilizes New Flyer D40LFRs, DE40LFAs, and XDE40s.

Route 31 stops

Route 33 stops

History

Along with being one of the most popular bus lines in D.C., the 30 series line is also one of the oldest operating routes in the city, having it incorporated from streetcar lines and the

Washington and Georgetown Railroad The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company (or Washington and Georgetown Railway Company) was the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C., United States. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, using horse-drawn car ...

in the 1860s and ran by buses beginning in 1936. As of 2008, the line has more than 20,000 passengers a day. The five routes, 30, 32, 34, 35, and 36, begin their journey at

Friendship Heights station Friendship Heights is a Washington Metro station 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 Metropolitan Area Transit Au ...

and end at

Potomac Avenue station Potomac Avenue is an island-platformed Washington Metro station bordering the Barney Circle, Capitol Hill and Hill East neighborhoods of Southeast Washington, D.C., United States. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the W ...

(30), Southern Avenue station (32), or

Naylor Road station Naylor Road is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on January 13, 2001, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing serv ...

(34, 35, and 36). WMATA launched a study on the Pennsylvania Avenue line in 2008 to improve services and to reduce delays and bus bunchings.

Route 31

Route 31 was introduced on June 29, 2008 dubbed as a "neighborhood connector" as part of an overhaul of the busy Pennsylvania Avenue Line. Route 31 connects

to Potomac Park to provide help to routes 32 and 36 along Wisconsin Avenue and replace routes 30, 34, and 35.

Route 33

As part of proposals from 2013 to simplify the Wisconsin Avenue Line again, route 33 was introduced on August 24, 2014 to replace the 32 and 36 portion along Wisconsin Avenue and to provide extra service to the 31, and the newly introduced Friendship Heights–Southeast Line or routes 30N and 30S. Route 33 provides more service between

and

to help out the 30N, 30S, and 31. Routes 32 and 36 were shorten to Potomac Park being replaced by routes 30N, 30S, 31, and 33.

Changes

During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, routes 31 and 33 operated on their 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 being replaced by Routes 30N and 30S. On August 23, 2020, routes 31 and 33 restored its regular schedule but Route 31 weekend service was suspended being replaced by Route 33. On September 26, 2020, WMATA proposed to eliminate all route 31 weekend service and add route 33 trips due to low federal funding in response to the

. Weekday service will not change. On September 5, 2021, the line was increased to operate every 12 minutes daily. On May 29, 2022, all late night route 33 service was extended to terminate at

via 7th Street.

Incidents

*On June 3, 2022, a man was stabbed onboard a 33 bus along Wisconsin Avenue near Newark Street NW. He was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The suspect fled the scene.

References

{{reflist

External links

Metrobus

The Metrobus 30s Line Study
sponsored by the

in conjunction with the

District of Columbia Department of Transportation The District Department of Transportation (DDOT, stylized as d.) is an agency of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States, which manages and maintains publicly owned transportation infrastructure in the District of Columbi ...

Street railways in Washington, D.C. 31 1862 establishments in Washington, D.C.