District Heights–Seat Pleasant Line
| Company type | Public transit bus route |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | January 4, 1981 |
| Defunct | June 29, 2025 |
| Fate | Merged with Route K12 and renamed Route P62 |
Area served | Washington, D.C. metropolitan area |
| Products | Bus service |
| Parent | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority |
District Heights–Seat Pleasant Line (Route V14)
The District Heights–Seat Pleasant Line, known as Route V14, was a daily bus route managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority that linked Deanwood station on the Orange and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro with the Penn Mar Shopping Center located in District Heights. This route serviced important neighborhoods such as Deanwood, Chapel Oaks, Fairmount Heights, Seat Pleasant, Carmody Hills, Pepper Mill Village, Capitol Heights, Coral Hills, Walker Mill, and District Heights.
During peak periods, buses ran every 20 to 30 minutes, while midday and weekend trips operated on an hourly basis. The total travel time for Route V14 was roughly 40 to 45 minutes. The pathway included Walker Mill Road, Hill Road, Seat Pleasant Drive, Central Avenue, and Addison Road. Operations were based out of the Landover garage and utilized the standard Metrobus local color scheme.
In fiscal year 2024, Route V14 carried a total of 361,623 passengers. Service hours extended from 5:20 AM to 10:06 PM on weekdays and from 6:05 AM to 10:05 PM on weekends. Transfers were permitted only through SmarTrip card usage.
Background
Route V14 provided daily service between Deanwood station and Penn Mar Shopping Center, with certain trips limited to running between Penn Mar Shopping Center and Addison Road station. The line connected numerous communities to multiple Metrorail stations and was operated out of the Landover facility.
History
Introduced on January 4, 1981, Routes V14 and V15 began service as new Metrobus lines operating between the recently opened Addison Road station and Penn Mar Shopping Center. These routes replaced segments of the shortened V12 line. Unlike the V12’s more direct course along Pennsylvania Avenue, both V14 and V15 primarily traveled via Addison Road, Central Avenue, Suffolk Avenue, and Walker Mill Road. Route V14 provided most-day coverage while V15 was limited to weekday peak hours.
On December 11, 1993, both routes were extended northward beyond Addison Road to reach Deanwood station, taking over the previous R12 routing along Central Avenue and nearby streets. The V14 adopted a more direct alignment along Hill Road; meanwhile, V15 followed a detour including Hastings Drive and Pepper Mill Drive. The stretch between Addison Road and Penn Mar Shopping Center remained mostly consistent aside from a slight modification in the Pepper Mill Village area. Following these adjustments, the line’s name changed from the District Heights Line to the District Heights–Seat Pleasant Line.
In 2015, WMATA proposed discontinuing route V15 along with its detours on Pepper Mill Drive and Hastings Drive. They planned to enhance Route V14’s weekend service by running its full route on Sundays instead of terminating at Addison Road.
As of March 27, 2016, route V15 was eliminated and substituted with an expanded Route V14 that included weekend operations. On Sundays, V14 began operating its entire route between Deanwood station and Penn Mar Shopping Center.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, service was scaled back starting March 16, 2020, to a Saturday supplemental timetable before further reductions to Sunday schedules by March 18. Weekend service was suspended beginning March 21. Full service levels were restored on August 23, 2020.
Better Bus Redesign
In 2022, WMATA launched the Better Bus Redesign initiative, marking the first major restructuring of its Metrobus system.
By April 2023, WMATA released its Draft Visionary Network, which included plans to keep the V14 route under the new designation Route MD259.
Subsequently, in the Revised Draft Visionary Network, the MD259 route was redesignated as Route P62 and extended from Penn Mar Shopping Center to Branch Avenue station by adopting a modified path previously covered by the K12 along Pennsylvania Avenue, Forrestville Road, Allentown Road, and Auth Road. These adjustments were incorporated into WMATA's proposed 2025 network.
On November 21, 2024, WMATA formally approved the Better Bus Redesign Network.
Effective June 29, 2025, Route V14 merged with the K12, was extended from Penn Mar Shopping Center to Branch Avenue station following the former K12 corridor, and was renamed Route P62.