More News

Increased buses, shorter routes and better customer service were among the suggestions by residents of southern Prince George's County during a meeting Tuesday held by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to evaluate ways to improve bus routes in the area.

The meeting was one of several officials with WMATA organized throughout the Washington, D.C., region in August as part of a service evaluation study to use resident feedback on bus routes to develop recommendations for improved services.

About a dozen residents descended on the Oxon Hill library for Tuesday's meeting to meet with representatives from WMATA and the Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation to discuss the D12, D13 and D14 bus routes, which service Oxon Hill, Temple Hills and Suitland with stops at the Southern Avenue, Naylor Road and Suitland Metro stations.

Residents complained of crowded bus lines, inconsistent arrival times and disjointed transfers from Metro trains to buses while suggesting ways to improve services.

"I want Metro to be more considerate of people's time getting home," said Tony King of Oxon Hill. "We shouldn't have to wait 26 minutes for a bus [during rush hour] and stand up [because it's crowded]."

On average, the D12, D13 and D14 routes are late 20 percent to 35 percent of the time, said Jim Hamre, director of the office of bus planning for Metro. The delay is on par with overall bus services throughout Metro but among the worst in southern Prince George's County, said Cathy Asato, a Metro spokeswoman.

He said feedback taken during the meeting will be presented during an Oct. 19 public hearing meeting at the Oxon Hill library with WMATA. Riders could begin seeing changes in services by next year, he said.

"This is mainly intended to focus on existing services and what we can do to make it better," Hamre said. "Over time, [south county] is going to be a growth community."

Still, residents said the improvement would be long overdue.

Cheryl Miller of Temple Hills said she spends four hours daily commuting to her job at a bioscience company in Laurel. Miller said she relies solely on Metrobus and Metrorail services to get anywhere from work to church, and peppered officials with suggestions on shortening travel times on routes.

"It takes me 50 minutes [to get] from Southern Avenue to Brinkley Road. It's too long," she said. "The D14 is extremely too long; that route can be cut in half."

But Hamre warned residents that any changes made to the routes would be "small and incremental," because WMATA is dealing with tight fiscal budgets and increased demands for service throughout the region.

He also reminded residents that any changes made to south county bus routes would be competing for funding also needed to meet the needs of communities throughout Montgomery and Prince George's counties, he said.

"You're competing with everything in suburban Washington," he said.

jgarner@gazette.net