The DC Circulator is a bus system in Washington, D.C. 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 Colum ...

operates the service in a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...

with

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respons ...

. The DC Circulator buses are similar to shuttle buses since they operate on a predictable fixed route and schedule, and run between the city's main attractions and some of the more popular neighborhoods for visitors. The service began in 2005, and passengers increased as the routes grew from two to five. Ridership peaked in 2011, and has decreased since then. In , the system had a ridership of . The fare per ride is $1.00. The subsidy per rider is unusually high; in 2016, it averaged $3.32.

History

The concept of a separate downtown bus was included in a 1997 report by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). The report called for "a simple, inexpensive, and easily navigable surface transit system that complements Metrobus and Metrorail." The next year, representatives of the Commission, the

, 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 C ...

, and the Downtown D.C. business improvement district met to plan what would become the Circulator. After selecting

First Transit First Transit is an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Panam ...

as the system operator, the DC Circulator started service in July 2005 with two routes: one along K Street from Union Station to Georgetown, and a second from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront. Additional routes were later added to serve the

National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...

(2006), the 14th Street Corridor (2009), the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrat ...

(2009), Rosslyn to

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...

(2010), and the Skyland Town Center development in Southeast Washington (2011). The two lines that served the National Mall and the Southwest Waterfront were discontinued in 2011 due to low ridership and redundant service. The National Mall route was reinstated on June 15, 2015. The route is operated in collaboration with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

. A report released in March 2011 calls for developing better routes to replace those that had served the National Mall and Southwest Waterfront, and adding new service to the

U Street Corridor The U Street Corridor, sometimes called Cardozo/Shaw or Cardozo, is a commercial and residential district in Northwest Washington, D.C., most of which also constitutes the Greater U Street Historic District. It is centered along a nine-block s ...

, portions of Upper Northwest, and neighborhoods east of the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Poin ...

. In 2018,

replaced First Transit as the operator of the Circulator. From February 2019 until October 2019, DC Circulator rides were free under Mayor Bowser Fair Shot initiative. However the $1 fare was reinstated due to increased ridership. However some city officials are looking into reinstating the free rides. Rides were free again due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic until the $1 fare was reinstated again on October 1, 2021.

Accidents

On April 18, 2007, a driver of a bus was off-duty and had left the bus to attend to other business. While he was out of the bus, the bus rolled back and crashed into a

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

building. One woman was injured.

Routes

The DC Circulator has six lines operating at 10-minute intervals.

Georgetown – Union Station

This east-west line connects Georgetown with Union Station and operates primarily along Wisconsin Avenue, K Street, and Massachusetts Avenue. Eastbound, the bus starts on Wisconsin Avenue at Whitehaven Street in Georgetown. Westbound, the route starts in the bus level of the Union Station parking garage.

Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro

This line operates between Woodley Park,

Adams Morgan Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include th ...

, and McPherson Square via the 14th Street Corridor. Part of this route replaced the discontinued Metrobus 98 route.

Rosslyn – Georgetown – Dupont

This line operates from

primarily via M Street through Georgetown and travels over the Key Bridge to Rosslyn. This route replaced the former Georgetown Metro Connection "blue bus."

Eastern Market – L’Enfant Plaza

This line connects Eastern Market and

L'Enfant Plaza L'Enfant Plaza is a complex of four commercial buildings grouped around a large plaza in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C., United States. Immediately below the plaza and the buildings is the "La Promenade" shopping mall."The L'Enfant ...

through Navy Yard & the DC Wharf District.

Congress Heights – Union Station via Barracks Row

This line operates from the

Congress Heights Congress Heights is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The irregularly shaped neighborhood is bounded by the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus, Lebaum Street SE, 4th Street SE, and Newcomb Street SE on ...

and Union Station east of the

via Barracks Row on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. This route replaced the discontinued Metrobus 94 line.

National Mall Route

This 15-stop loop line operates from Union Station to most of the major attractions on or near the Mall, including ones that are at some distance from Metro stations, such as the Lincoln, Jefferson,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, and Martin Luther King. Jr. memorials.

Seasonal Routes

Zoo Express Line

This line operates from

Woodley Park station Woodley Park station (also known as Woodley Park–Zoo / Adams Morgan) is an underground station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Located at 24th Street and Connecticut Avenue Northwest, it serves the neighborhoods of Woodley P ...

to Smithsonian National Zoo during the summer season. The service first run operated between May 4, 2019 and September 30, 2019. DC Circulator plans on operating the line again during summer seasons.

Former routes

Smithsonian – National Gallery of Art

Until 2011 this line ran only on summer weekends, serving the

in a loop along

Constitution Avenue Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened bet ...

, 1st Street NE/SE, Independence Avenue, and 17th Street NW/SW. The line was replaced by the more extensive National Mall route in June 2015.

Convention Center – SW Waterfront

A north-south line connected the

Washington Convention Center The Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. was a convention center located one block southwest at 909 H Street NW, occupying the city block bounded by New York Avenue, 9th Street, H Street, and 11th Street.Southwest Waterfront and operated primarily along 7th and 9th streets, which have

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadwa ...

s. The service was eliminated on September 25, 2011 due to low ridership. A new Metrobus route, 74, was opened on September 23, 2011 along the 7th Street corridor between the Washington Convention Center and the Waterfront neighborhood, replacing the Circulator line and the eliminated portion of Metrobus Routes 70 and 71 from Pennsylvania Avenue to the South. The 74 bus costs more to ride and offers less frequent service, but the District officials said the ridership on the Circulator was too low to continue it.

Potomac Ave Metro – Skyland via Barracks Row

This line operated from the Potomac Avenue Metro station and Skyland Town Center east of the

via Barracks Row on

. It was replaced by the Congress Heights – Union Station route on June 24, 2018 replacing Metrobus Route 94.

Union Station – Navy Yard Metro

This line connected Union Station and Navy Yard through

, with extended service on

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

game days. This route was replaced by the Eastern Market – L’Enfant Plaza route on June 24, 2018. Also this route replaced the discontinued Metrobus N22 line.

Fleet

Retired Fleet

References

External links

*
Circulator Map
{{RATP Group Bus transportation in Washington, D.C. Public–private partnership Public–private partnership projects in the United States RATP Group