The Columbia Pike–Federal Triangle Line, designated Route 16F, or Route 16X, was a rush hour-only
MetroExtra bus route that was 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
Federal Triangle station 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 the neighborhood of
Culmore
Culmore () is a village and townland in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is at the mouth of the River Foyle. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,465 people. It is situated within Derry and Strabane district.
History N ...
. This line was part of the
Pike Ride service, which served through
Columbia Pike. This line provides service from
Federal Triangle
Federal Triangle is a Triangle, triangular area in Washington, D.C., formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large c ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, to the neighborhood of Culmore in
Fairfax County. The line was merged with the
16C on June 24, 2018.
History
Route 16F
Route 16F was initially part of the Columbia Pike line, providing faster service from Route 16B. 16F operated during peak hours only, serving to Pentagon Station in the morning, and the neighborhood of Culmore in the afternoon. Route 16F was created on June 26, 1983, operating between Culmore and
Pentagon station
Pentagon station is a split platform station on the Washington Metro located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Prov ...
providing express service for route 16B. The 16F served limited stops in Arlington County, and local stops in Bailey's Crossroads and Culmore. 16F was later extended to Federal Triangle in Washington D.C., and the line was renamed to "Columbia Pike–Federal Triangle Line" on December 19, 2010.
The 16F served all stops in Washington D.C. following the changes. In 2012, the 16F became a MetroExtra route in 2012, along with route 16Y of the
Columbia Pike–Farragut Square Line. The 16F continued to operate until December 30, 2012, when the route was renumbered to 16X.
Route 16X
Route 16X was formerly part of the Shirlington–Pentagon Line along with the 16S, and 16U before 2003, operating between
Pentagon station
Pentagon station is a split platform station on the Washington Metro located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Prov ...
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 ...
, and
Yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
lines, and
Shirlington
Shirlington is an unincorporated urban area, officially called an "urban village", in the southern part of Arlington County, Virginia, United States, adjacent to the Fairlington area. The word "Shirlington" is a combination of "Shirley" (fr ...
, via the neighborhood of Barcroft. Route 16X also operated alongside Routes 22A, 22B, 22C, and 22F of the
Walker Chapel–Pentagon Line. The old 16X was discontinued on September 7, 2003, and the line was replaced by the
Columbia Heights West–Pentagon City Line, which consists routes 16G. 16H, 16K, and 16W. The 16X returned in service on December 30, 2012, replacing the 16F. The new 16X runs the same route as the 16F ran. Like the 16F, the 16X brings in faster service alongside the 16Y in Columbia Pike. The 16X was reintroduced, as part of the WMATA's "better bus" MetroExtra project and Pike Ride, to bring reliable service in Columbia Pike. Route 16X continued in service, until June 24, 2018, when Route 16C was reintroduced. Route 16X was discontinued, as the 16C replaced the route, returning to the Columbia Pike Line.
Following discontinuation, the 16Y is the only MetroExtra route to operate in Virginia.
In 2010, WMATA proposed three options to the 16F. All three options will replace the 13A and the 13B.
*The first option was to operate from Pentagon station to Washington D.C. via
Arlington Memorial Bridge
The Arlington Memorial Bridge, often shortened to Memorial Bridge, is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United Sta ...
and will operate along 23rd Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, 12th Street NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 10th Street NW to the current Route 13 terminal at
Federal Triangle station.
*The second option was similar like the first option, however, the 16F would operate via 23rd Street, Constitution Avenue, 7th Street, Independence Avenue, 12th Street, C Street to
Smithsonian station.
The trip would be longer due to routing on Constitution Avenue and Memorial Bridge on Southwest D.C.
*The third option was to operate from Pentagon station to Washington D.C. via
14th Street Bridge and will operate along 14th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, 10th Street to current Route 13 terminal
Federal Triangle station.
From the three options, the 16F will operate on limited stops on Columbia Pike, like its original route, but will serve in all stops in Washington D.C.
Beginning on December 19, 2010, additional 16F trips will operate between Pentagon station and Federal Triangle station replacing routes 13A and 13B from the
National Airport–Pentagon–Washington Line. These trips will operate on early morning and peak periods.
The short trips will operate on peak directional; full eastbound trip to Federal Triangle and short westbound trip to Pentagon station during morning peak hours, while afternoon peak hours will operate full westbound trip to Culmore. Afternoon eastbound trips runs between Pentagon station and Federal Triangle. Although, select rush hour trips will run on short intervals on both directions. These changes remained the same after the line was renamed from 16F to 16X.
On March 27, 2016, the 16X converted one morning eastbound trip and three afternoon westbound trips to operate on full route, to improve peak riderships.
In 2016 during WMATA's FY2018 budget, it was proposed to eliminate route 16X between
Pentagon station
Pentagon station is a split platform station on the Washington Metro located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Prov ...
and
Federal Triangle station to reduce costs. According to performance measure it goes as the following for WMATA:
On June 24, 2018, major bus changes occurred in Columbia Pike. The 16X was eliminated and merged with the 16C due to multiple routes running through Columbia Pike in Arlington.
The elimination of the 16X was to improve frequencies, and to reduce bus bunching on Columbia Pike, as there was routes 16A, 16B, 16G, 16H, 16J, 16K, 16P, and 16Y, operating on Columbia Pike. The 16X, alongside routes 16B, 16J, and 16P, was replaced by route 16C. This means that the entire route returns to the Columbia Pike Line, although the 16C only operates to Federal Triangle during peak hours, and operates on full routes instead of shortened routes. The short trips was permanently discontinued due to low riderships, as the Washington Metro Blue Line serves as an alternative of the short 16X trips. The 16C trips to Federal Triangle remained in service until March 13, 2020 when it was suspended due to 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 ...
, later fully discontinued by September 5, 2021, which technically eliminated the 16X entirely.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia Pike-Federal Triangle Line
16F
Transportation in Virginia