Metrobuses Get a Makeover

Video

Metrobuses Get a New Look

Metro has given its fleet of buses a color makeover to help attract riders. Editor's Note: No audio

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Victoria said the "state-of-the-art" bus has features to make the ride safer and more comfortable. The bus has nine onboard video cameras and a reverse camera to help the bus operator see behind the bus.

"In this region, everything is about rail," Victoria said. Buses are important, he said, because they feed the rail system and they "can go where rail can't."

Victoria said riders will see improvement in on-time performance within a year as a result of an ongoing management restructuring and software systems that are working properly. Metro also wants to add rapid-bus service to 18 crowded corridors across the region over the next six years. The aim is to improve travel times and increase reliability.

"Bus is no longer the little brother to rail," Victoria said.

In July, three software systems that help track bus locations were integrated "so now they are able to speak to each other," Victoria said. Before that, bus operators had to log on to three separate systems in order for that information to be sent to the Metrobus control center, he said. With better tracking ability, workers in the control center can see if buses are early, late or off their route and managers can call the bus, adjust service or dispatch a supervisor to the location, he said.

As part of a Metrobus reorganization, officials also plan to cut layers of management so supervisors on the street will be responsible for no more than 20 bus operators and will have direct authority and responsibility to deal with all issues associated with those operators and their runs, including schedules and customer complaints, he said. The reorganization will begin this fall and be phased in gradually, he said.

The most noticeable change will come next month, when the new buses start running. Each will have 61 seats -- a few seats less than the older long buses -- and room for 42 people to stand. The natural gas buses require special fueling facilities, and only two Metrobus garages are equipped. That limits where they can run.

Among the lines being considered to get the first new buses: the X line along Benning Road in Northeast Washington, the 70 line along Georgia Avenue, the 5A between downtown Washington and Dulles International Airport, and the S line along 16th Street in Northwest.