Even if you haven't ridden it, chances are you've heard about the X9. It's the recently launched express bus line that runs along H Street (like the X2, but with fewer stops, and it only runs during rush hour). The blogger behind Metro-Venture regularly reviews different bus lines and metro station, so it's no small thing that she award the X9 a 9 out of 10. The same blogger reviewed the X2 a little under a year ago. She gave it a 4.
A few other lines of local interest that the blogger reviews:
D4 (7) Where I'd take it: Downtown, to 13th and I NW.
D8 (7) Where I'd take it: Union Station.
X1/X3 (4) Where I'd take it: I might the X1 to North Capitol if the X2 was full.
X8 (7) Where I'd take it: When I used to housesit for a friend on the Hill I'd sometimes catch this to Union Station (it runs down Maryland).
90/92/93 (5) Where I'd take it: U Street, 14th Street, Adams Morgan, Eastern Market.
Circulator Union Station - Navy Yard Via Capitol Hill (3) Where I'd take it: probably no where. I'd take the 90 instead.
Circulator Union Station - Georgetown (8) Where I'd take it: all the way to Georgetown. I rarely go, but the Circulator does get me there when I need to make it to Mie N Yu. I have not tried taking the D3, but that might be a better bet.
12 comments:
The author must ahve gotten lucky. I dont really get that excited to go eastbound in the PM because I've been on an X9 that has caught up to an X2 and doesnt pass it and then when you get to H St NE, you have to stop whenever the X2 does and you can't get out to walk until 8th/9th St.
According to NextBus they dont run every 15 minutes in the morning. About half the time I check at 7:30am I see the next one arriving 40, 60, or 70 minutes from now. Are there unannounced ones that show up in there?
But I guess it is good in the few instances (maybe 1/3rd of the time) that it works the way it should
Does it drive anyone else nuts that metro advertises the X9 going to McPherson Square but it only goes to Metro Center? It even says that on the buses.
The D3 doesn't go all the way to Georgetown anymore. It stops at DuPont Circle (19th and P? 21st and P?). And it only runs in the mornings and the afternoons on the weekday. But having said that, it's my daily bus and I am very fond of it!
Thanks for the shout-out, first of all. And yes, I might have gotten lucky, like Dave B says, but those two nights of riding the X9 were far and away the best Metrobus experiences I've had in a long time. And unless you have ambitious drivers - like I did - you do run the risk of getting stuck behind the X2.
It's the same thing with the 70/71 and the 79 on 7th/Georgia Avenue, so there's definitely still room for improvement with the "Express" routes.
dont forget about the d6, especially for those south of h street. it runs to union station, 2 blocks from chinatown, through penn quarter, metro center, k street, dupont, georgetown....
its convenient BUT such a long route does make for a challenge when it comes to being on time. and in off-peak times, especially close to end of the line, it often runs early.
People actually follow bus schedules? It wasnt soom after I started riding the bus that I realized they are total crap. Wait for 20 minutes then have 3 come piggybacking each other. They are useful only for knowing if a bus is supposed to come with some regularity or once an hour. NextBus makes the bus system infinitely more rideable.
Check that: I WAS soon after I started riding buses that I found the schedules to be crap
From the review of the X2: "And probably 1/4 of the bus had groceries with them, in rolling carts, reusable bags, or the plastic variety. This line is very popular with the grocery shopping set." What a snob! Sorry if people shopping for food after work and carting them home on a bus (as I did just last night on the 90) inconveniences you. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable in a limo.
I don't know how people ride the bus in this city.....so dirty and ghetto.
12:51,
I read it more as the blogger expressing frustration with the crowdedness of the bus. The grocery bags and carts were merely adding to the crush. I don't think she meant to be snobby.
On the 90/92/93: "Can be an intimidating ride for new passengers and/or those who are used to commuter buses chock full of hipsters and young professional types. You gonna get schooled, yo." No, no snobbery here. None at all. Move along.
4:55,
I was addressing the first section you quoted. Please don't try to apply my response to a different argument. You're really creating more of a strawman situation.
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