Greenbelt–Prince George's Plaza Line
| Company type | Public transit bus service |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Defunct | 2016-03-27 |
| Fate | Discontinued due to low ridership |
Area served | Greenbelt and Hyattsville, Maryland |
| Owner | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) |
| Website | www |
The Greenbelt–Prince George's Plaza Line, known as Route R3, was a service provided by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority connecting Greenbelt station with Hyattsville Crossing station on the Green Line. This route primarily catered to commuters in the Greenbelt and Hyattsville regions during weekday peak periods. Due to insufficient passenger numbers, the line was discontinued on March 27, 2016.
Early Origins
Originally called the Sargent Road Line, this service operated under Capital Transit Company as Bus Route F6 in the 1940s. It ran during rush hours between 12th Street NE & Quincy Street NE in Brookland, D.C., and Ager Road & Somerset Street in Green Meadows, Maryland, with limited weekday trips extending only to Gallatin Street NE & South Dakota Avenue NE in North Michigan Park.
By the mid-1950s, following the conversion of all Capital Transit streetcar and bus routes, F6 became part of the DC Transit Bus network. The 1960s saw Route F6 discontinued and replaced by Routes F5 and F7, which operated during peak times between Prince George's Plaza and Waterside Mall (F5) or Federal Triangle (F7). These routes largely preserved the original F6 corridor but extended further into downtown Washington, D.C. Subsequently, Route F6 was reinstated as a segment of the New Carrollton–Silver Spring Line.
When WMATA took over DC Transit on February 4, 1973, Routes F5 and F7 were integrated into its Metrobus system. With the opening of Rhode Island Avenue station in 1976, both lines were adjusted to serve this new station. After Fort Totten station launched in 1978, Route F5 was modified to operate solely between Fort Totten and Prince George's Plaza, ceasing service to Waterside Mall; meanwhile, Route F7 was eliminated and its service absorbed by F5.
Greenbelt–Fort Totten Line
On December 11, 1993, coinciding with the inauguration of Prince George's Plaza and Greenbelt station, Route F5 was retired and replaced by Route R3, branded as the Greenbelt–Fort Totten Line. R3 preserved the prior F5 path between Fort Totten and Prince George's Plaza while introducing a detour through Lewisdale via 23rd Street, Lewisdale Drive, and Fordham Street—replacing part of the former Route R6. Beyond Prince George's Plaza, R3 extended service to Greenbelt along Belcrest Road, East-West Highway, Adelphi Road, Metzerott Road, University Boulevard East, and Greenbelt Road—territories once served by Route F6 before its rerouting to New Carrollton station. Unlike F5’s operation limited to peak hours, R3 ran daily with weekend trips restricted between Fort Totten and Prince George's Plaza.
On January 13, 2001, R3’s routing shifted to access Prince George's Plaza Mall via Belcrest Road rather than cutting through its parking lot from Toledo Terrace. Later, on May 15, 2003, R3 stopped entering the mall altogether due to demolition work for a new Target store that replaced the previous Metrobus terminal.
In early 2007, construction of Mosaic Apartments caused a closure at Prince George's Plaza’s eastern entrance. As a result, R3’s outbound buses were rerouted to turn onto East-West Highway before proceeding to Belcrest Road en route to Fort Totten; inbound trips bypassed Belcrest Road by continuing along Adelphi Road toward Greenbelt. This adjustment accommodated traffic changes stemming from new development restrictions.
Between 2010 and 2011, WMATA proposed discontinuing Route R3 while extending Route F6 from Silver Spring station to Fort Totten station along R3’s segment between Riggs Road & East-West Highway and Fort Totten. The Lewisdale loop formerly served by R3 would be covered by Route R2 operating along 23rd Street and University Boulevard but would no longer serve Prince George's Plaza station; meanwhile, Route C8 would provide service to the Archives II building. This proposal aimed at reducing redundant coverage and enhancing operational efficiency by consolidating routes.
Greenbelt–Prince George's Plaza Line
On June 17, 2012, route R3 was redesignated as the Greenbelt-Prince George's Plaza Line and shortened to operate solely between Greenbelt station and Prince George's Plaza station during weekday peak periods. The segment connecting Prince George's Plaza to Fort Totten station was substituted by a rerouted F6, which retained its original path along East-West Highway and Riggs Road before continuing along R3’s previous alignment via Riggs Road to Fort Totten. The Route R2 assumed responsibility for the Lewisdale portion of R3 but ceased service to Prince George's Plaza station. Additionally, Route C8 was modified to include service to the Archives II, supplementing R3’s coverage. While R3 continued operating between Prince George's Plaza and Greenbelt, it eliminated the Beltway Plaza loop, discontinued Greenbelt service outside peak hours, and ended weekend trips on Sargent Road due to F6’s operation limited to weekdays.
Elimination
Within WMATA’s FY2016 budget proposal, Route R3 faced elimination owing to low passenger numbers and the availability of overlapping alternatives. Consequently, on March 27, 2016, WMATA fully discontinued route R3. The diversion serving Archives II was completely taken over by route C8, whereas other portions were served by different routes—with the exception of Metzerott Road, which lost transit service altogether. This termination followed a period of consistently poor performance since the 2012 reduction that removed access to Fort Totten and Lewisdale—areas that had previously demonstrated higher ridership levels.
The corridor linking Greenbelt and Fort Totten was reinstated in WMATA’s Better Bus Redesign Network on June 29, 2025 through the introduction of Route P32. This route integrates segments from former routes C2, F6, F8, TheBus 13 and 19, F1, and parts of F6/R3, operating between Greenbelt and Fort Totten via University of Maryland and Hyattsville Crossing—thereby restoring much of the connectivity provided by the former R3 alignment.