Friday, April 25, 2025

WMATA replacing Metrobus signs in Bethesda (Photos)


Washington, D.C. regional transit authority WMATA is now in the process of replacing Metrobus signs throughout Montgomery County, including the ones you see here in Bethesda and Silver Spring. The new signs sport the new route designations for Metrobus lines. Every Metrobus route in Montgomery County will now be an "M" route, instead of T, Q, or J, for example. The M stands for...Montgomery County.


Fairfax County routes will start with an "F." Prince George's County gets "P." Arlington and Alexandria have to share "A." D.C. routes will be "D" for downtown, or "C" for crosstown. Express routes will start with an "X."


It seems the famously-impoverished WMATA that is always extending its hat for Oliver Twist's proverbial "more" is suddenly flush with cash it doesn't know what to do with. That has spurred it to go in search of a solution in search of a problem. Nobody was confused about the existing route numbers; they're going to be really confused by the new route numbers. 


Two sets of new bus stop signs will be manufactured - one temporary, and one permanent after June 29, the day of the official switchover. The cost of replacing all of the signage is massive, and is being drawn from WMATA's Better Bus Network budget. A "better" use of our tax money is to refund the amount being spent on the name changes to the taxpayers of the D.C. region.
Turns out, WMATA is "really, really rich"



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And after spending all this $$$ for unneeded route name changes, they will cut service for the useful lines and expand lines that make no sense and that know one uses. In trying to get coverage by adding impractical routes at inconvenient frequencies, they have to cut important ones that people actually use.