Greenbelt–Twinbrook Line

The Greenbelt–Twinbrook Line, designated Route C2 or Route C4, are daily bus routes operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Greenbelt station (C2) or Prince George's Plaza station (C4) of the Green Line and Wheaton station (C2) or Twinbrook station (C4) of the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Both lines operate every 20–30 minutes during peak hours and 24–30 minutes at other times on weekdays and Saturdays, and 30–40 minutes on Sundays. Trips would take roughly 60-70 minutes for both routes. On Sundays however, the C2 is shortened to operate between Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center and Greenbelt Station, which takes 30 minutes. Both lines connect northern Prince George's County to Montgomery County via the University Boulevard East/West (MD 193) corridor.

C2, C4
Greenbelt–Twinbrook Line
Route C2 at Beltway Plaza
Overview
SystemMetrobus
OperatorWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
GarageMontgomery
LiveryLocal
StatusIn Service
Began serviceC2: 1973
C4: 1984
Route
LocalePrince George's County, Montgomery County
Communities servedTwinbrook (C4), North Bethesda (C4 & late night C2 trips), Wheaton, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Langley Park, Lewisdale, Adelphi (C2), Hyattsville, College Park (C2), Greenbelt (C2)
Landmarks servedGreenbelt station (C2), Beltway Plaza (C2), University of Maryland (C2), Prince George's Plaza station (C4), Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center, Wheaton station, Twinbrook station (C4)
StartC2: Greenbelt station
C4: Prince George's Plaza station
ViaUniversity Boulevard, Greenbelt Road (C2), Baltimore Avenue (C2), Riggs Road (C4), East-West Highway (C4)
EndC2: Wheaton station (Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center on Sundays only)
C4: Twinbrook station
Service
LevelDaily
FrequencyWeekdays: 15-30 minutes
Saturdays: 12-30 Minutes
Sundays: 15-45 Minutes
OperatesC2: 5:10 AM - 10:26 PM
C4: 4:20 AM – 1:30 AM
TransfersSmarTrip only
TimetableGreenbelt-Twinbrook Line
← B30  {{{system_nav}}}  C8 →

Background

Routes C2 and C4 mostly provide service along University Boulevard operating between Montgomery County and Prince George's County via Takoma Park connecting riders between the two. Routes C2 and C4 get their buses out of Montgomery division.

History

Origination of the Line

C2 was created as a new route on February 4, 1973, to replace the segment of the former J8 streetcar line between Wheaton Plaza & Montgomery Mall when the J8 became a Metrobus Route and was truncated to only operate between the Wheaton Plaza & Beltway Plaza.[1][2][3] Routes C2 & J8 operated as part of the "Beltway Plaza–Montgomery Mall Line" until February 19, 1978.[4] when they were both merged into route C2. Route C2 operated between Montgomery Mall & Beltway Plaza, via Prince George's Plaza Mall & University of Maryland, College Park.[2][3][4]

Route C6 originally operated between White Oak to Montgomery College and then between White Oak and Twinbrook until replaced by various routes.

1984 Changes

On December 15, 1984, route C2 was truncated to terminate at the newly opened Twinbrook station only discontinuing service to Montgomery Mall. During this same time, route C4 began revenue service to operate alongside with the C2 operating between Twinbrook and Langley Park (Lebanon Street & University Boulevard East). The line was renamed as the "Greenbelt-Twinbrook Line" as of result.[5]

1990 Changes

On September 22, 1990, route C2 was truncated even further to only operate up to Wheaton station while route C4 was diverted to serve Wheaton station. Route C2 would now only operate between Wheaton station and Beltway Plaza.[1]

1993 Changes

On December 11, 1993, route C2 was extended from Beltway Plaza Mall to Greenbelt Center via Greenbelt station when the Green Line northern portion was opened replacing route F6 service between University Of Maryland and Beltway Plaza which was rerouted to serve New Carrollton station along with route F4. But Route C2 will discontinue service via Prince Georges Plaza and University Of Maryland operating on a direct route along Campus Drive.[6]

Route C4 was extended from Langley Park to Prince George's Plaza station, along route C2's original routing from intersection of University Boulevard East in Langley Park & the Prince George's Plaza Mall, via Riggs Road, and East West Highway.[6]

2001 Changes

On January 13, 2001, route C4 was rerouted along Toledo Terrace and Belcrest Road to serve the apartment complexes behind The Mall at Prince Georges. The line would serve the mall bus bays from Belcrest Road.[7]

2003 Changes
Route C4 at Prince Georges Plaza

On May 15, 2003, the original bus bays inside Prince Georges Plaza mall, were demolished in order to build a new Target store. Routes C4 along with routes 86, F4, F6, F8, R2, R3, R4 and TheBus 13, 14, 18 have stopped entering and looping inside around the mall.[8]

2010 Proposed changes

In 2010, WMATA proposed to completely discontinue the C4 and to replace it with the C8 and J5.[9]

Under the proposal, the J5 would discontinue service along the Capital Beltway and Grosvenor–Strathmore station and will serve the former C4 stops via Parklawn Drive, Randolph Road, Veirs Mill Road, Wheaton Station, and Georgia Avenue. Service to Prince George's Plaza station would be provided by the C8 which was proposed to discontinue service to College Park–University of Maryland station and University of Maryland. However a major problem in the proposal was the C8 was proposed to only operate on Weekday Peak Hour services only while the J5 only operated during Peak Hours. With the discontinuation of the C4 and the changes made on the C8 and J5, it would not only lose direct service from Prince George's Plaza to Twinbrook, it would also mean residents would have a lack of bus service where the C4 operated since the C8 and J5 would only operate during rush hours only.

Route C2 was proposed to be shorten to Greenbelt station discontinuing service to Greenbelt Center being replaced by a new route T12, T14, and existing T16 or routes G12, G14, and G16 eliminating service between Greenbelt station and Greenbelt Center. This was a result of Greenbelt bus service lacking much service and the city of Greenbelt wanting to restructure the lines.[10][11][12][13]

2010 Changes

On December 19, 2010, route C2 was truncated from the Greenbelt Center to only operate up to Greenbelt station at the request of the city of Greenbelt with service between Greenbelt station and Greenbelt Center being replaced by new routes G13, G14, and G16, in order to simplify Greenbelt bus service as much as possible with other routes and as a method of circumventing the transportation budget shortfall in Prince George's County, MD.[14] Route C2 also discontinue the Beltway Plaza Loop as well being replaced by routes G14, and G16.[15][16][17]

2015 Proposed Changes

In 2015, WMATA proposed to split the C2 and C4 into two separate routes. Route C2 would operate between Greenbelt station and the upcoming Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center while route C4 would keep its current routing but have every other trip end at Wheaton station. Sunday service would also be added to route C2 in order to replace route 81 which is proposed to be eliminated. The changes were due to the demand for bus service is the lowest on the section of the line between Langley Park and Greenbelt station and it is easier to manage service on University Boulevard with only one route instead of having overlapping service.[18]

March 2016 changes

On March 27, 2016, new Sunday Service was added to the C2 operating between Greenbelt station and Langley Park only replacing route 81 service.[19][20]

December 2016 changes

When the Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center opened on December 22, 2016, the C2 and C4 were rerouted, along with several other Metrobus, Ride On buses, Shuttle UM and TheBus routes, to serve the newly opened Transit Center. Routes C2 and C4 would serve Bus Bay A.[21][22][23]

Incidents
  • On September 30, 2010, a C4 bus rear ended a C2 bus along University Boulevard. 26 people were injured in the collision.[24][25][26]
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References
  1. "Metro History" (PDF). WMATA. March 5, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  2. Jones, Mike (September 29, 1977). "Metro Service Better, Bus Rerouting Planned" (PDF). Greenbelt News Review. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  3. "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  4. Likowaki, Barbara (January 19, 1978). "Bus Route Changes to Affect Greenbelt" (PDF). Greenbelt News Review. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  5. Lynton, Stephen (May 15, 2019). "Metro Plans to Revise D.C., Montgomery Bus Routes for Red Line".
  6. Pierre, Robert (December 9, 1993). "Metro Shuffling Its Bus Schedule". Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  7. "Metrobus service changes effective January 13, 2001 Maryland". February 10, 2001. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  8. "Metrobus service suspended at Prince Georges Plaza". Gazette.net. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. "Public hearing" (PDF). www.wmata.com.
  10. Johnson, Matt. "WMATA proposes restructuring Greenbelt bus service". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. Johnson, Matt. "Metro Board will take up Greenbelt restructuring". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. Matt' Johnson (September 27, 2010). "Proposed Greenbelt Bus Changes". Flickr. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  13. "Proposed Metrobus and The Bus Service For Greenbelt" (PDF).
  14. "Public hearing" (PDF). www.wmata.com.
  15. "Greenbelt News Review Vol. 74, No. 3". 10 December 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  16. "Maryland to get enhanced Metrobus service". WMATA. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. Johnson, Matt. "Greenbelt advocates educate bus riders on changes". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  18. "C2,C4 Greenbelt-Twinbrook" (PDF). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  19. "Metro News Release". WMATA (Press release). March 25, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  20. "Bus Service Is Improving for Greenbelt residents, including new Sunday service and more". PlanItMetro. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  21. "Metrobus service changes effective December 18 include more late-night service | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  22. "Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center, December 22 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  23. Rowl, DW. "Langley Park's new transit center opened on Thursday!". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  24. "Metro bus accident occurs on University Boulevard | Silver Chips". silverchips.mbhs.edu. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. "Two Metrobuses collide in Silver Spring". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  26. "Post Now - Two Metrobuses collide in Silver Spring". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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