7th Street–Georgia Avenue Line
| Company type | Public transit authority |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. , United States |
Area served | Washington metropolitan area |
| Products | Bus service, Metro rail service |
| Website | wmata |
The 7th Street–Georgia Avenue Line, identified as Route D40, is a daily bus service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. It links Silver Spring station on the Red Line with Archives station on the Green and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. During late night and early morning hours, the service extends to L'Enfant Plaza station, providing connections to multiple metro lines including Blue, Orange, Silver, Green, and Yellow. On weekdays, buses run every 12 minutes, shifting to a 15-minute frequency on weekends and every 20 minutes during late night hours. The average journey duration is approximately 60 minutes.
Current route
Route D40 operates between Silver Spring station and Archives station, with some trips during late night and early morning continuing to L'Enfant Plaza station. It serves the corridor along Georgia Avenue and 7th Street. As of 2023, it held the position of second highest in ridership within the system. Alongside its limited-stop counterpart, the D4X, it constitutes the system’s most heavily trafficked transit corridor. The route benefits from dedicated bus lanes that improve travel efficiency and stands out as one of Metrobus’s most prominent and heavily utilized lines.
Operating around the clock from the Montgomery division, Route D40 employs articulated buses to handle substantial passenger demand.
History
Prior to WMATA’s Better Bus Redesign initiative, Route D40 was known as Route 70 and covered both Georgia Avenue and 7th Street Lines. The Georgia Avenue portion originated in 1862 under streetcar service operated by the Washington Railway & Electric Company, alongside routes 72 and 74. Route 70 connected Archives with Silver Spring; route 72 linked Takoma with Downtown DC via Georgia Avenue; route 74 ran between Soldiers Home and Fort McNair.
On October 18, 1888, Congress granted permission to the Brightwood Railway to electrify the Metropolitan streetcar line along Seventh Street Extended NW (now Georgia Avenue NW) and extend it northward to Silver Spring. By 1890, Brightwood had acquired the Boundary and Silver Spring line but initially continued horse-drawn operations until a 1892 mandate required conversion to overhead electric power and completion of the line. By 1893, tracks extended into Takoma Park through a spur along Butternut Street NW. In 1898, Brightwood was compelled to implement underground electric power under threat of losing its charter.
Electrification of Route 70 occurred in 1890, followed by routes 72 and 74 in subsequent years.
The segment along 7th Street began with the Capital Traction Company in 1873, originally running between Archives and Half and O Streets in Southwest DC. This line was electrified in 1898.
Later years
After the merger in 1933 of Capital Traction Company and Washington Railway & Electric Company into Capital Transit Company, routes serving Georgia Avenue and 7th Street were consolidated into route 70, which operated between Silver Spring and Half and O Streets. Routes 72 and 74 remained intact at that time.
In 1956, DC Transit took over Capital Transit along with routes 70, 72, and 74. Streetcar service ended by 1958, with these routes transitioning to bus operation on January 3, 1960—coinciding with the shutdown of Southern Division Car Barn.
WMATA acquired these routes in 1973 following its purchase of DC Transit and began operating them as part of Metrobus. Subsequently, route 72 was eliminated and replaced by routes 50, 52, and 54; route 74 was supplanted by route 60. Additional routes—71 and 73—were introduced to support route 70 during peak periods, with route 73 carrying the designation Brightwood-Petworth Line.
Service Modifications
In 1978, route 70 was redirected to provide service to the newly inaugurated Silver Spring station, establishing a connection with the Red Line.
Route 73 was discontinued on June 25, 2000, due to its redundancy with routes 70 and 71.
In 2010, WMATA suggested truncating routes 70 and 71 at Archives station to enhance punctuality by removing service beyond Archives toward Half and O Streets and Buzzard Point. The segments no longer served were intended to be covered by route P6.
The following year, WMATA proposed completely eliminating route 71 and terminating route 70 at Archives station, citing extended route length and congestion-related delays. The area beyond Archives would be served during weekday peak periods by a new route 74 operating between Chinatown and Buzzard Point, with off-peak trips continuing to Fort McNair. Evening and weekend service would be supplemented by extending route V8 to Gallery Place through Fort McNair.
At that period, route 70 ran daily between Silver Spring and Half and O Streets (with late trips ending at Archives), while route 71 operated during weekday peak hours serving Buzzard Point.
On September 25, 2011, route 71 was eliminated; all trips on route 70 were shortened to terminate at Archives station along Constitution Avenue. The newly introduced route 74 replaced service beyond Constitution Avenue to Half and O Streets/Buzzard Point during weekday peak times and also took over the DC Circulator Convention Center-Southwest Waterfront line.
Following the launch of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center at Silver Spring station, route 70 was rerouted from its previous terminus at Wayne Avenue to Bus Bay 220 on level 2 of the transit center.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, starting March 16, 2020, weekday service was reduced to Saturday supplemental schedules, then further scaled back to Sunday schedules on March 18. Weekend service frequency was decreased to every 30 minutes beginning March 21. Full operations resumed on August 23, 2020.
On May 29, 2022, late-night trips on route 70 were extended to end at L'Enfant Plaza station.
Under WMATA's Better Bus Redesign initiative effective June 29, 2025, route 70 will be rebranded as D40 while retaining its existing routing.