The H Street Shuttle, the free mini-bus which ferried patrons to the theaters and restaurants on the H Street Corridor, will be coming to an end slightly earlier than expected. Instead of finishing its run after the roadwork for the Great Streets Project is completed, it will cease running after the festivities on December 31st 2010.
“We had thought the shuttle would continue while our end of the street was under construction.” said Scott Kenison, Chief Operating Officer of the Atlas Performing Arts Center. “While it was helpful during the work on the rest of the street, our part of the street has yet to be torn up. So just when we’ll be needing the most help, the shuttle ends.”
U Street Parking, the company which operates the nightly shuttle, is also disappointed the contract is coming to an end. Ben Tesfaye, who manages the shuttle on behalf of U Street, said “The District should be applauded for funding revitalization efforts and improving access to transportation services along the H Street corridor. The District’s financial contributions paved the way for greater business development and sales in the community while so much construction was occurring. Through the District’s efforts, residents and consumers were able to be shuttled back and forth in the neighborhood freely and efficiently, improving business activity at a particularly vulnerable time in the economy. To terminate shuttle service funding at this time would be devastating to the local business community, particularly the newly developed H Street corridor.”
The shuttle was funded through the District’s Department of Transportation. DDOT recently launched a new express bus along the H Street corridor, the X9, hoping the new buses will attract some of the same customers who were regular shuttle riders.
Of course the express bus runs Monday through Friday only and service ends at 6:30 p.m. so the many restaurant and bar patrons who used the shuttle to get to the Atlas District will have to go back to riding the bus, taking taxis or using the new Capitol Bikeshare stations on H.
Until the streetcar begins running that is.
And that, sadly, is the weakness of bus and shuttles when they are the main source of transit for an area – they can end or change abruptly. That is why for many areas, light rail, subway, streetcars provide an anchor of transit that declares the city is committed serving a community. Developers, tenants, and business owners know that once that sort of investment is made, it will stay in place for the foreseeable future.
Here’s hoping that the new DDOT director under Gray will continue to support projects like the streetcar, which are vital for neighborhoods like H Street.
This is terrible news for H Street businesses and residents.
Terrible news? there’s already bus service on H Street.
True. But clearly you haven’t noticed that the X2 is always jammed packed, clustered, and full of drama. The shuttle was an improvement and a bit more dependable.
Just take Capital Bikeshare instead! There are 3 or 4 stations right on H St. already.
It is not safe to take X buses, especially in the evenings
The Shuttle was a great convenience for those who came from Gallery Place but it never served H Street’s largest market – the immediate community from Capitol Hill, NoMa, Trinidad, and surrounding communities to the north and south.
It helped us battle the perception that you couldn’t get to H Street because we didn’t have our very own Metro stop.
Well, people do get to H Street. Way over a million in 2010 and only about 60,000 of those rode the shuttle. There were a good number who discovered it as a free “express bus” that was an alternative to the X2 and didn’t patronize the businesses.
The average nightly ridership was about 250 people, less than a good night at Biergarten Haus or Rock and Roll Hotel or the capacity of the Lang Theater at the Atlas. The cost of each of those riders was at least $5/person. That’s hard to justify when the city is facing fiscal difficulties.
How are people getting there? Walking, biking, using Metrobuses (8th Street, K Street, etc. in addition to the X2), taxis, and private vehicles. H Street is accessible.
Sure, we’d like to have it as an additional transportation option but we’ll do OK. Better than OK.
@HStreetDC
Which business do you represent on H Street? And do you honestly believe that people are over the “I can’t get to H Street” issue? Maybe the younger crowd that goes barhopping is over it, but what about the other patrons on the street who come for the art galleries, theaters etc. Just curious on your take on this since it seems like you are an official representative for the businesses on H Street.
Alina, what makes you think that?
Drive, take a cab, carpool, take the X or just go elsewhere for goodness sake. It’s really not that complicated of an issue. There are pockets all over this city that are even farther from an actual bus line and businesses survive. Hopefully H st will be on of them.