The X2

This Sunday, June 24th will bring significant service changes for Metrobus and Circulator. Close to home here in Carver, the X2 and X9 buses are making midday adjustments, and for the better. From WMATA: X2 Benning Road-H Street : All weekday midday trips will operate between Minnesota Avenue Metrorail Station and Lafayette Square. To improve reliability, the time between weekday midday buses will increase from 10 minutes to 12 minutes. X9 Benning Road-H Street Limited : New weekday midday limited-stop Route X9 MetroExtra service will operate every 15 minutes between the Metro Center and Minnesota Avenue Metrorail stations. What it means: Since the X9 previously ran as a rush hour only bus, we're getting more trips downtown during the midday and lunchtime hours. This is awesome. The X9 does make several clustered stops from 19th St NE to 14th St NE, but as a limited stop bus, I generally find it much, much faster than the X2 for trips between Carver Langsto...

Happy post 4th! Hopefully your neighbors have exhausted their supply of after-midnight fireworks and you've swept the last bits of burnt fire paper from the sidewalk. 363 days until we do it again! Looking for something new to do now that the fireworks are done? Two reminders: The After Hours photography exhibition  at Femme Fatale is back on for another week. The extended run for this show from Marie Emerson means you get another four days to check it out. Head to the Femme Fatale pop-up at 1371 H St NE today, Friday, and Saturday until 10 PM, or Sunday until 6 PM. Free. Capital Fringe starts today! Here's a short write up of the basics , but all you really need to know is that it runs for two weeks at venues across the District and it represents the best in timely experimental theater, poetry, and performance art. July 6-23. Multiple venues & pricing options. And one last bit of news about our beloved X2 bus: It now runs 24/7 ! This helps a tiny tiny bit to...

Metro/WMATA enters a new phase next week, starting Sunday June 25. Long debated structural changes are coming and we'll have to adjust to the new normal of less service and higher fares. Whether the performance rates improve will be one of the big questions, but Friday morning's Red Line meltdown was *not* a good omen. Here are some of the biggest changes.  Biggest news for Carver/Benning Rd/H Street NE : Bus fares for regular routes, including the X2 and X8, will now be $2.00 (up from $1.75).  The X2 bus will run additional late night service until 4 AM, daily. Late night service will include ~30 minute headways. Metrorail will close at 11:30 PM on weeknights (M-T). Sunday rail service will end at 11:00 PM.  Friday and Saturday night rail service will close at 1:00 AM. Minimum and maximum rail fares during peak hours will be $2.25 and $6.00, respectively.  Minimum and maximum rail fares during non-peak hours will be $2.00 and $3.85 respectively....

A few months ago, I was surprised to learn that Metro was adding a second bus route that would serve National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. National Harbor is a mixed-use real estate development geared towards hotels and entertainment. It comprises about 2 square miles and is adjacent to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Maryland side of the Potomac. The existing route ( NH1 ) connects National Harbor to the Southern Ave Metro station on the DC border. The new NH2 route appears to offer a slightly faster route from here in Carver Langston. Last week I decided to try it out. The NH2 bus arrives at National Harbor by way of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and makes stops in Virginia including King Street Metro station, which was my connection. Here's the whole journey in Storify form, but the bottom line is the trip from Carver Langston to National Harbor took 1 hour and 18 minutes from boarding the X2 bus to hopping off the NH2 at the casino, which is the first stop at National H...