Wisconsin Avenue Limited Line
| Company type | Public transit service |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Defunct | 2020 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. , United States |
Area served | Washington, D.C. |
| Owner | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) |
The Wisconsin Avenue Limited Line, identified as Route 37, was a weekday peak-period bus service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority that linked Friendship Heights station on the Red Line with Archives station, served by the Green and Yellow Lines. Operating at intervals of 15 to 22 minutes during peak travel times and in the direction of heavy traffic flow, each Route 37 journey took approximately 45 minutes. This route provided limited-stop transit primarily along Pennsylvania Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue, acting as a supplementary service to routes 31 and 33.
Background
Route 37 functioned during weekday rush hours, running in the peak travel direction between Friendship Heights station and Archives station. Its path mainly followed Wisconsin Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, delivering limited-stop service that complemented routes 30N, 30S and 31, 33 during busy periods on the heavily trafficked Wisconsin Avenue corridor.
Initially, Route 37 was operated from the Western division before transitioning to Montgomery division operations in 2017.
History
Originally launched as the Wisconsin Avenue Express Line, Route 37 initially ran between Washington Union Station and Friendship Heights station. It was later truncated to operate solely between Friendship Heights and Archives station. During the 1990s, the route was further shortened to run between Friendship Heights and Tenleytown–AU station. The line was ultimately discontinued in 1996, with its service replaced by routes 30, 32, 34, 35, and 36.
In 2008, WMATA conducted a review of the 30s lines aiming to streamline operations, enhance reliability, and minimize delays. At that time, these routes collectively served over 20,000 passengers daily.
Reincarnation
On June 29, 2008, Route 37 was reinstated under the name Wisconsin Avenue Limited Line, offering limited-stop service between Friendship Heights station and Archives station along Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues. This change replaced the segment of route 30 running between Friendship Heights and Potomac Avenue station. Simultaneously, a new route 39 was introduced to provide limited-stop service along Pennsylvania Avenue, while routes 31, along with routes 32 and 36, plus M5 assumed responsibility for other portions of routes 30, 34, and 35.
2010s
During the 2010s, Route 37 experienced a minor reroute to conclude at Western Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue to improve access to Friendship Heights station.
In WMATA’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal released in 2019, there was a recommendation to discontinue Route 37 as a cost-saving measure due to its low ridership—averaging only about 450 passengers on weekdays—and a farebox recovery rate of just 14.6%, significantly below the overall system average of 34.3%. Nearly half of its users could switch to alternative services. The decline in ridership was partly attributed to Route 37 bypassing high-demand neighborhoods such as Georgetown. After receiving feedback from riders opposing this change, WMATA retracted the elimination plan in April 2020.
Service on Route 37 was halted starting March 16, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Amid reduced federal funding later that year, proposals to cut Route 37 resurfaced in September 2020. Since its suspension in March, the route had not resumed operation; by September 2021 it was removed from WMATA’s official website and formally discontinued. The corridor continues to be served by local routes 31 and 33.
As part of WMATA’s Better Bus Redesign project, there was an initial suggestion to bring back Route 37 as Route D8X running between Bethesda station and Archives station, utilizing Wisconsin Avenue—following the existing Route 33 alignment between Friendship Heights and Washington Circle—but this concept was ultimately abandoned.