Category: Literary & Language

“And then came Metrorail.

Washington, D.C. was the region’s dominant employment center and many workers lived in the suburbs, Hamre says. As more commuters entered the city in the morning and exited at night, street space became tight — and an underground train seemed the obvious solution.

“Metrorail eliminated the need to provide all that space,” Hamre says. “Planners had this utopian idea that everyone would get on a station in Maryland and not bother anyone living there.”

Train ridership cut away at bus ridership. According to the blog post, the “gradual construction and operation of the Metrorail System allowed the new heavy rail lines to handle the higher passenger loads they were built to accommodate, which in turn reduced the demand for bus service in many corridors where bus lanes previously were installed.””

“The Complex History of Washington Metro’s Bus-Only Lanes” by Rachel Dovey on Next City

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