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Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line

From Alfawiki
Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line (Route A12)
Company typeBus service
IndustryPublic transportation
PredecessorKent Village Line (Bradbury Heights Bus Line), District Heights Line (WM&A)
Founded1978
FateService discontinued or replaced by other routes (A11 discontinued in 2015; A12 modifications)
Headquarters
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
,
United States
Area served
Prince George's County, Maryland; Washington Metro stations: Addison Road, New Carrollton, Capitol Heights
Key people
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
ProductsBus transit service
ParentWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line, known as Route A12, was a daily bus service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. It linked Addison Road station on the Blue and Silver Lines with New Carrollton station on the Orange and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro system. On weekdays, buses ran every 20 minutes from 7 AM until 9 PM, then every 30 minutes after 9 PM. Weekend service operated hourly after 9 PM. The average journey time was around 30 minutes. On Sundays, Route A12 extended its route to Capitol Heights station, taking over a segment previously covered by route F14.

Route

Functioning daily, Route A12 connected New Carrollton station and Addison Road station, serving the community of Landover. On Sundays, its path was extended to reach Capitol Heights station, substituting for part of the route F14, which did not operate on Sundays.

Buses for Route A12 were dispatched from the Landover garage.

A12 Stops

<section begin=A12-table/>

<section end=A12-table/>

History

Established in 1978 as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line were routes A11, A12, A13, A15, and A17. Routes A11 and A12 provided service between Capital Plaza and Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington D.C., while A13 connected Federal Triangle with Washington Business Park. Routes A15 and A17 offered weekday peak-hour transit between Dodge Park and Federal Triangle.

Route A12 traces its origins back to the early days as the "Kent Village Line," initially operated by Bradbury Heights Bus Line starting in 1922. It later came under Washington Marlboro & Annapolis Motor Lines Inc. (WM&A), where it was known as the "District Heights Line." WMATA took control of this route on February 4, 1973.

Following the inauguration of Landover station on November 21, 1978, routes A11, A13, A15 and A17 were eliminated; Route A12 was truncated to Potomac Avenue station and ceased Downtown service. The Orange Line replaced routes A11, A15 and A17 alongside Route A12’s adjustments; meanwhile route A13 was succeeded by route F13.

When Addison Road and Capitol Heights stations opened on November 22, 1980, Route A12 was cut back to operate between Capital Plaza and Addison Road station on weekdays and extended to Capitol Heights via East Capitol Street on Sundays—substituting a portion of route F14. Additionally, route A11 was reinstated for Saturday mornings to run between Capital Plaza and Federal Triangle prior to the first Orange Line departure.

In the year following these changes—in 1983—route A15 resumed weekday peak services running between Capital Plaza and Addison Road through Landsdowne Village Apartments; this service ended on December 15, 2004 and was replaced by routes A11 and A12 together with Prince George's County's The Bus Route 22.

Although Landover Mall closed in late 2002, routes A11 and A12 continued their loops around it because Sears remained operational. However on March 30, 2014 both routes were rerouted away from the mall to serve Glenarden via Brightseat Road and Glenarden Parkway following Sears’ closure announcement. This modification enhanced direct transit access to Landover station.

Route A11 was discontinued on March 29, 2015 leaving route A12 as the sole service provider along the Martin Luther King Jr. Highway corridor.

During the COVID-19 outbreak beginning March 16, 2020 route A12 shifted to a reduced Saturday supplemental schedule before transitioning to a Sunday schedule between Capital Plaza and Capitol Heights station by March 18. Weekend operations were suspended starting March 21 but partially reinstated on July 18 with full restoration by August 23.

On September 5, 2021 frequency of route A12 increased to run every twenty minutes daily from seven in the morning until nine at night.

Route Division

In 2014, WMATA suggested dividing the A12 into two separate lines: the A12 would operate between Addison Road station and New Carrollton station, traveling via Brightseat Road and Ardwick Industrial Park, but discontinuing service to Capital Plaza and Landover station, which primarily ran along Martin Luther King Jr. Highway. Meanwhile, a new Route L12 was proposed to cover the previous A12 path between Capital Plaza and Largo Town Center (now ) station, passing through Landover station and Woodmore Town Center along Landover Road. The stops located between Martin Luther King Jr. Highway and Brightseat Road were planned to be served by a rerouted F14. However, due to public opposition, these adjustments were ultimately not carried out.

In 2023, WMATA revisited the idea of splitting the A12 and L12 routes, closely mirroring the 2014 proposal but excluding the rerouting of F14 along Brightseat Road.

Effective June 25, 2023, route A12 was modified to run from Addison Road station to New Carrollton station, following its usual course until Glenarden Parkway & Martin Luther King Jr. Highway, then continuing along the F14 alignment to New Carrollton. The portion between Capital Plaza Mall and Landover Road & Barlowe Road was taken over by Route L12, which now operates between Capital Plaza Mall and Downtown Largo station via Woodmore Towne Centre.

Better Bus Redesign Initiative

In 2022, WMATA initiated the Better Bus Redesign project, marking its first comprehensive restructuring of the entire Metrobus system.

By April 2023, WMATA unveiled its Draft Visionary Network plan, which included proposals for splitting the A12 alongside introducing Route L12, even though the split had yet to be executed.

The draft recommended altering the A12 so that it would bypass both Glenarden and Palmer Park, maintaining a direct path along Martin Luther King Jr. Highway between New Carrollton and Addison Road stations under the new designation Route MD147. This service would integrate with the P12 route and extend to Suitland station via Addison Road and adjacent neighborhoods. These changes preceded the actual implementation of the A12/L12 separation in June 2023.

The segment of A12 running along Landover Road was divided into new designations: MD256 operated between Prince George's Hospital and Downtown Largo station, traversing key local roads; this later transitioned into Route L12 in June 2023 with an extension reaching Capital Plaza Mall. Another section from Landover station to Capital Plaza was extended towards College Park–University of Maryland station as Route MD255.

Service covering the Glenarden loop was reassigned to proposed routes MD257, MD357, and MD363.

Prior to releasing its Revised Draft Visionary Network, WMATA launched Route L12 between Capital Plaza and Downtown Largo via Landover Road—essentially implementing the proposed MD256 with an extension to Capital Plaza—and removed MD255 from consideration. Meanwhile, MD256 was renamed P41 (excluding service to Prince George's Hospital), and MD147 became P60 while retaining its routing for 2025. These adjustments formed part of WMATA’s Proposed 2025 Network.

On November 21, 2024, WMATA formally approved its Better Bus Redesign Network.

Starting June 29, 2025, route A12 will cease serving Glenarden and Palmer Park areas, instead operating directly along Martin Luther King Jr. Highway between New Carrollton and Addison Road stations. From there, it will merge with P12 service heading toward Suitland station, adopting the P60 designation. The A12 label will be reassigned to what was formerly known as the 10B route.

External links

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