Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line
| Company type | Bus service |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Founder | Capital Street Company |
| Defunct | 2025 |
| Fate | Merged into Route D96 as part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. , United States |
Area served | Glover Park, Dupont Circle, Burleith, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. |
| Products | Bus transit service |
| Parent | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) |
The Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line, identified as Route D2, was a daily bus service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority that connected Glover Park with Dupont Circle station on the Red Line. This route covered vital neighborhoods such as Burleith and Georgetown, offering crucial transit options in areas without direct Metrorail access. Route D2 operated at intervals of 20 to 24 minutes during daytime hours and every 40 minutes in the evening, with each trip taking approximately 20 minutes.
Background
Operating every day between Glover Park and Dupont Circle station, Route D2 provided important Metro connections for local residents. The service was run out of the Western division, primarily utilizing 30-foot Orion VII BRT buses to meet passenger demand and align with DC's Small Bus Program; standard 40-foot buses were occasionally deployed. Earlier iterations of the route featured Orion II and Orion V models before transitioning to the current fleet.
History
Originally, the Glover Park Line was run by the Washington Railway & Electric Company until its 1933 merger with the Capital Traction Company. The D1 route began service between Glover Park and Downtown under the Capital Street Company, switching from streetcar to bus operations on March 1, 1925. DC Transit maintained control until 1956, after which WMATA took over on February 4, 1973.
With the introduction of the Blue Line on July 1, 1977, route D2 extended service to Stadium–Armory station. Running along Q, E, K, and C Streets between Glover Park and Stadium–Armory, it was referred to as the Glover Park-Trinidad Line.
In 1995, D2’s route was truncated to end at Dupont Circle station, while service to Stadium–Armory was assumed by a rerouted D6. To complement D2 during weekday peak periods, a new D1 route provided trips to Washington Union Station, and the line adopted the name Glover Park–Dupont Circle Line.
On December 19, 2010, route D2 transitioned from operating in a loop to running as two directional routes terminating at Dupont Circle station and Glover Park respectively.
In 2019, WMATA suggested combining routes D2 and G2 into a single G2 line running between Glover Park and Howard University, which would have discontinued service to Georgetown. This proposal aimed to streamline operations along Q Street NW. Nevertheless, strong opposition from local communities concerned about losing Georgetown service led WMATA to abandon this plan.
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, service on route D2 was gradually scaled back starting March 16, 2020, shifting to a Sunday schedule and suspending weekend trips by March 21. By June 28 of that year, weekday service operated every 40 minutes during limited hours. Some additional trips resumed on August 23; however, weekend service remained suspended.
In September 2020, WMATA proposed permanently cutting weekend operations on route D2 due to budget constraints; weekend service was ultimately reinstated on March 14, 2021.
In February 2021, WMATA put forward a proposal to discontinue route D2 entirely and merge its service with routes M4 and N6 if federal funding was not secured. Under this plan, the new N6 would cover former D2 stops between Glover Park and Dupont Circle before continuing along M4’s route to Sibley Memorial Hospital. The Glover Park loop would be removed.
As part of WMATA’s Better Bus Redesign implemented on June 29, 2025, route D2 combined with the N4 and N6 routes and was redesignated as D96. The newly formed D96 now operates between Bethesda station, Wisconsin Avenue, Friendship Heights station, Wesley Heights, New Mexico Avenue, and continues along the former corridor between Glover Park and Dupont Circle. On weekdays, service extends further into Potomac Park.