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Friendship Heights–Southeast Line

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Friendship Heights–Southeast Line
Company typePublic transit service
IndustryPublic transportation
DefunctSeptember 5, 2021 (2021-09-05)
FateService discontinued due to overlap with other routes
Area served
Washington, D.C., and Southern Prince George's County, Maryland
ProductsBus service (Routes 30N and 30S)
ParentWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Friendship Heights–Southeast Line, which included Routes 30N and 30S, was a daily transit service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. This line linked Friendship Heights station on the Red Line with either Naylor Road station or Southern Avenue station on the Green Line. Each route operated on an hourly schedule, with journey durations averaging around 90 minutes. The service covered significant neighborhoods in both Northwest and Southeast Washington, D.C., extending into Southern Prince George's County, providing passengers with a seamless one-bus ride. Complementary transit options in Southeast were available through the 32, 34, and 36 routes, while Northwest was served by the 31 and 33 routes.

On September 5, 2021, WMATA terminated the Friendship Heights–Southeast Line, citing overlap with Routes 31, 32, 33, and 36 as the primary reason.

Route

Operating at 60-minute intervals, Routes 30N and 30S were supported by additional services including routes 31, 32, 33, 34, and 36 that serve Southeast and Northwest areas. These two routes combined segments from routes 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, and 39: specifically, routes 31, 33, and 37 connected Friendship Heights with Potomac Park or Federal Triangle via Wisconsin Avenue; meanwhile, routes 32, 34, 36, and 39 ran between Potomac Park or Archives station and Southern Avenue or Naylor Road along Pennsylvania Avenue. This arrangement reflected the routing pattern that existed before August 2014 for routes 32 and 36.

Initially, buses serving routes 30N and 30S operated out of the Andrews Federal Center garage until June 23, 2019. After that date, operations were transferred to the Western division.

Route 30N stops

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Route 30S stops

<section begin=dc30S-table/>

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History

The origins of the 30s routes trace back to streetcar lines managed by the Capital Traction Company and the Washington and Georgetown Railroad during the 1860s, before transitioning to bus operations in 1936. By 2008, these lines were transporting more than 20,000 passengers each day.

Before Routes 30N and 30S were introduced, the Pennsylvania Avenue Line was operated under Routes 32 and 36, with some trips ending at Farragut Square or Foggy Bottom–GWU station. Until June 29, 2008, service included Routes 30, 32, 34, 35, and 36. Specifically, Routes 34, 35, and 36 terminated at Naylor Road station, Route 32 ended at Southern Avenue station, and Route 30 concluded at Potomac Avenue station. In 2008, WMATA launched a study aimed at improving service efficiency and minimizing delays on these lines.

On June 29, 2008, WMATA retired Routes 30, 34, and 35 while introducing Routes M5, 31, 37, and 39. Routes 32 and 36 continued without changes; Route 31 extended its coverage between Friendship Heights station and Foggy Bottom; M5 linked Eastern Market station with Naylor Road station. The newly created Routes 37 and 39 operated as MetroExtra services running parallel to Routes 31 and M5 but with fewer stops. Later in December of the same year, M5 was rebranded as Route 34 when it extended service to Archives station.

In a proposal made in 2013, WMATA suggested streamlining the Pennsylvania Avenue and Naylor Road Lines by terminating Routes 32 and 36 at Foggy Bottom and creating a new Route 30S to replace portions of these routes while discontinuing Route 34. Four alternative routings were evaluated to optimize travel between Southern Avenue and Friendship Heights via major points such as Georgetown, Union Station, Thomas Circle, or Foggy Bottom.

On August 24, 2014, Routes 30N and 30S took over from Routes 32 and 36; Route 30N operated between Friendship Heights station and Naylor Road station, replacing Route 36; Route 30S ran between Friendship Heights and Southern Avenue station, succeeding Route 32. Additionally, a new Route 33 was introduced to supplement Route 31 service between Friendship Heights and Federal Triangle station, covering sections of the former Routes 32 and 36 that were discontinued. The routes were shortened to end at Foggy Bottom–GWU station/Potomac Park. The Naylor Road Line (Route 34) was consolidated into this merged line. These adjustments aimed to alleviate overcrowding, reduce bus bunching and delays, while simplifying operational complexity.

Routes 30N and 30S combined features from previous Routes 30 and 35 with the alignments of Routes 32 and 36 into a single integrated service that also incorporated elements from Routes 31, 32, 33, 34, and 36.

Starting December 15, 2019, Routes 30N, 30S, 32, 34, 36, and 39 were rerouted along the National Mall via 4th Street NW between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW to provide more direct transit access.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, 2020, Routes 30N and 30S shifted to weekend schedules on weekdays. Service frequency increased to every thirty minutes by March 21 due to suspension of other routes. Full weekday schedules resumed on August 23; weekend services were suspended with coverage provided by Routes 32, 33, and 36 instead.

WMATA’s FY2021 budget initially proposed cutting Routes 30N and 30S in favor of maintaining Routes 31, 32, 33, 36, and 39 to enhance reliability and simplify the system but reversed this plan in April 2020. The proposal was revisited during early FY2022 planning stages.

On September 5, 2021, both Routes 30N and 30S were discontinued; their service was replaced by increased frequencies on Routes 31, 32, 33, and 36 running every twelve minutes throughout the day.

External links

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