Tag Archives: Washington DC

Bus Photo of the Month: September 2023

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Gillig Phantom 5418

Location: River Road at Landy Lane, Bethesda, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Ride On Montgomery County Transit
Date of Photo: March 24, 2001

This weekend, Mrs. Oren’s Transit Page and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary!  Mrs. OTP is very supportive of my hobby and this website, and this has been demonstrated in various ways over the course of our relationship.  One of the ways is that as a bit of a gag on our wedding website, I included instructions for how to get to our wedding venue by public transit.  We weren’t sure if anyone would actually attempt to do this, but it turns out several of our guests did in fact take a combination of Metrorail and Ride On to come celebrate us on our special day.  

To mark this occasion, I chose a photo of a bus operating on the route our guests were instructed to take to reach our venue.  Although it is technically a Metrobus route, it is operated by Ride On on weekends and most holidays.  Since our wedding took place on a Sunday, it seemed appropriate to share a photo of a Ride On bus serving the route.  

Have you ever used public transit to travel to a wedding?

For more photos of Ride On’s Gillig Phantoms, please click here.  

Some Things Are Worth Waiting For…

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New Flyer XE60 19506
Very observant visitors to this site might have noticed two things recently.  First, it has been a very long time (nearly two years in fact) since any announcements of new photos being posted to Oren’s Transit Page have been made.  Second, the January 2023 Bus Photo of the Month came from a city that was not included on Oren’s Transit Page before.  The reasons for this are several fold.  In 2021, travel was slowly resuming and the Oren’s Transit Page Baby (as he was known then) required a level of care that was age-appropriate but one that does not facilitate frequent website updates.  In 2022, travel really took off again, as my travels took me not only up and down the Northeast Corridor but to the Florida panhandle, San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Israel, and Greece.  As you can imagine, travels that extensive generate lots of photos, which in turn, take time to organize, touch up, caption, and post.  The good news is I’ve made some headway on that front, and I believe any photos I took prior to May 2022 are now online.

The “highlights” from this update in my opinion in “chronological” order are:

The rest of 2022’s photos are still to come, and I’ve already taken one trip within the US in 2023 and I’m sure more are to come, so stay tuned.  The photos from all those travels will be posted.  Eventually.

Here is the full listing of where new photos were added to the site, with new sections highlighted in bold and italics.  

WMATA Silver Line Phase Two Grand Opening

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Yesterday marked what is likely the last significant extension of the Washington Metrorail system.  At about 2 PM, the second phase of the Silver Line opened to the public, extending the line by about 11 miles from Whiele-Reston East to Ashburn.  A total of six new stations opened, including one at Dulles Airport, bringing the total number of stations in the system to 97 and the total system mileage to 129 miles.  (A 98th station, Potomac Yard, is an infill station that is scheduled to open in early 2023 so while one more station will be constructed, no track miles will be added.)

Unfortunately, I was unable to get out to the new stations in daylight and the weather was less than cooperative, which meant I was unable to really appreciate the new trackage.  I think part of the excitement surrounding a new transit line is seeing something new from the train, especially when it runs above ground as the Silver Line extension does, and I missed out on that yesterday.  I do intend to ride again in daylight very soon, but there is also something special about doing it on day one.  The weather and lighting conditions also made for challenging photography conditions, but I think some of these images are decent (even by my usual standards) and I am sharing them now.

Interior display on a 7000 series train showing all the stations on both phases of the Silver Line, November 15, 2022

View of the main terminal at Dulles Airport as seen from the Metrorail station platform, November 15, 2022

Train arriving at Dulles Airport with the terminal building in the background, November 15, 2022

Alstom 6132 at Dulles Airport Station, November 15, 2022

Train arriving at Dulles Airport Station, November 15, 2022

Kawasaki 7510 leaving Dulles Airport Station, November 15, 2022

Dulles Airport Station, November 15, 2022

Dulles Airport Station, November 15, 2022

Dulles Airport Station Mezzanine, November 15, 2022

Dulles Airport Station Mezzanine, November 15, 2022

Dulles Airport Station Mezzanine, November 15, 2022

Ashburn Station, November 15, 2022

Ashburn Station, November 15, 2022

Ashburn Station, November 15, 2022

Ashburn Station entrance pylon, November 15, 2022

6000 Series train showing the “planning name” of the Ashburn station on its destination sign rather than the actual name, November 15, 2022

Breda Rehab 3030 at Herndon Station, November 15, 2022

Your webmaster showing off a ceremonial station opening pennant in front of the newly updated Metro map

 

Bus Photo of the Month: October 2022

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Gillig Advantage/BRT 4060

Location: Rockville Pike at Edmonston Drive, Rockville, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Montgomery County 
Date of Photo: October 11, 2017

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the launch of Ride On Extra, a limited stop service operated by Ride On between Lakeforest Mall and Medical Center Metro Station along MD Route 355.  The route, also known as Route 101, only makes 13 stops compared to the 80 stops on underlying local services on routes 46 and 55, significantly cutting travel times along this busy corridor.  The buses also feature onboard WiFi and USB charging ports.  

Service was suspended at various times during the pandemic and my travel patterns haven’t given me occasion to use this route recently, but I found the route to be quite useful when I have been able to use it.  This route is a precursor to bus rapid transit service on this corridor, and like the Route 129, this route will be discontinued when that service begins.  However, with the MD 355 BRT line only in the preliminary engineering stage, it is unlikely that construction will begin prior to the 2025 to 2028 timeframe.  In other words, it looks like Ride On Extra will be celebrating a few more anniversaries before it is replaced by Flash BRT service.

For more photos of Ride On Gillig Advantage buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: September 2022

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New Flyer XDE40 7098

Location: 9th Street, NW at Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC
Operator of Vehicle: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: April 11, 2011

Beginning with the launch of its first “MetroExtra” route in 2007, WMATA attempted to brand the new service with specially painted buses.  This branding eventually evolved into what are often referred to as the “MetroLocal” and “MetroExtra” schemes where most of the bus is painted silver with the back portion being painted red for local buses and blue for MetroExtra buses.  However, after about 14 years of the current schemes being in use, Metro is repainting all of the MetroExtra buses into the “standard” red Local scheme.  Instead, passengers will need to rely on the destination sign to identify MetroExtra services.

I suspect some of this stems from the fact that blue MetroExtra buses often wound up on local routes and vice versa, and I mentioned this as a reason I tend to dislike branded bus schemes in a post six years ago.  Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of the current Metrobus paint schemes and hope that when the livery is next updated that it is an improvement over the current one.

For more photos of WMATA New Flyer XDE40 buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: August 2022

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Orion V 82

Location: National Airport Station, Arlington, VA
Operator of Vehicle: Alexandria Transit Company (DASH)
Date of Photo: June 16, 2019

From the time of its establishment in 1984, DASH in Alexandria, VA has operated buses manufactured by Orion Industries until exactly one month ago.  On July 1 of this year, DASH ran a ceremonial farewell trip to its last Orion built buses, two Orion V units similar to the one in this photo.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this event, but from what I’ve seen, DASH made the event a special one.  The headsigns created for the special trips were definitely noteworthy.  In addition to marking the end of the Orion era at DASH, the retirement of the Orion Vs marks the end of high floor bus operations at DASH as the entire fleet is now made up of low floor vehicles.  

Orion ended manufacturing of the Orion V in 2009.  Considering the standard lifespan of a transit bus in North America is typically in the 12 to 15 year range, it is not surprising that the last Orion Vs still standing are gradually being retired now, with only a handful still in operation.  Given that Orion announced on April 25, 2012 that it would no longer take any orders for new buses and that its factories would close when outstanding orders were fulfilled, it should be expected that Orion built buses will no longer be plying the streets of North America within the next few years as the last Orion VIIs built by the company upon its closure are removed from service.

For more photos of DASH buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: June 2022

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Flxible Metro-B 9256

Location: K Street, NW at Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC
Operator of Vehicle: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 16, 2003

On the occasion of my birthday month, I thought it would be fun to feature a photo of my first “home route.”  As the name implies, a home route is the route that goes by where you live and therefore take at the start or end of most trips.  For many people, their first home route isn’t one they can necessarily choose, as infants or toddlers have no agency in deciding where to live.

I believe that because my parents and I lived next to a bus line and subway station and used transit for much of our local travels rather than driving is a primary reason I am interested in transit.  We frequently took the L2 bus, pictured here, or the Red Line to go to a variety of different places.  I remember the original incarnation of the L4 and have vague memories of an L5 existing before the current (albeit suspended) L1 was introduced.  The L4 has since been discontinued, reinstated, and discontinued again, and the L2’s southern terminal in Downtown Washington and alignment south of Woodley Park has changed considerably in recent years.  However, this was and always will be the first bus route I relied on regularly.

What’s your home route?  Any special stories to share about it?  Share your answers in the comments!

For more photos of WMATA Flxible Metro-B buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: May 2022

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Orion V/CNG 5997

Location: Shady Grove Station, Derwood, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Ride On Montgomery County Transit
Date of Photo: March 20, 2009

Earlier this week, I saw some photos posted on social media of Ride On’s new electric buses, manufactured by Gillig.  My understanding is that the buses have been delivered to Ride On but have not yet entered service.  The order, placed in 2021, consists of ten buses that will operate out of the Silver Spring garage.  These ten buses will join four Proterras that have been in service since the fall of 2020.  

Back in 1996, Ride On ordered its first compressed natural gas buses.  These three buses originally featured a green and white livery with a cloud imagery wrap on the windows.  They were later repainted to match the scheme on the 40 foot CNG buses that were delivered in 1999.  While these buses are no longer in service, Ride On has almost exclusively ordered CNG buses for its Gaithersburg Garage since taking delivery of these buses over 20 years ago.

For more photos of Ride On 35 foot Orion V/CNG buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: January 2022

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New Flyer XE40 1001

Location: Friendship Heights Station, Chevy Chase, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: October 24, 2019

The number of electric buses in the United States has been increasing in recent years, and 2022 is only going to continue that trend.  In mid-2021, the American Public Transportation Association estimated that about 1,000 of nearly 73,000 public buses was powered by electricity.  The number of agencies that have purchased electric buses for their fleets continues to rise, and some have committed to only purchasing electric buses in order to make their fleets emission free.  

In the Washington, DC area, WMATA, the largest agency in the region, currently has a single electric bus that entered service in 2016.  Pre-pandemic, it operated during rush hours only on routes in Northwest Washington.  After receiving some public criticism from the likes of the Sierra Club for not adopting a plan to convert the fleet to electric vehicles sooner, in December, WMATA announced a plan to convert its fleet to be fully electric vehicles by 2045.  Ten buses purchased as part of the agency’s Battery-Electric Bus Test and Evaluation Program are expected to enter service at the Shepherd Parkway Division later this year.

WMATA isn’t the only agency with electric buses in the DC area.  DC Circulator has been operating a fleet of Proterra electric buses since May 2018.  Ride On’s first electric buses, also Proterras, entered service in the fall of 2020.  DASH in Alexandria, VA introduced New Flyer XE40s in the fall of 2020 and Proterras during the summer of 2021.  Finally, in Frederick, MD, TransIT purchased five Gillig Advantage low floor buses that were converted to operate using battery electric power in 2016 and an additional four BYD K7M buses in 2020.

Although the upfront cost of purchasing an electric bus is higher than that of a standard diesel or diesel-electric hybrid, electric buses often have much lower maintenance costs.  Therefore, over the life of an electric bus, its “true cost” is lower than that of conventionally powered buses.  

For more photos of WMATA’s New Flyer XE40 Buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: August 2021

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Orion V 69

Location: King Street Station, Alexandria, VA
Operator of Vehicle: Alexandria Transit Company
Date of Photo: June 17, 2009

The DC transit scene used to be dominated by the Orion V.  They made up a sizeable portion of WMATA’s bus fleet, and also had a significant presence at Ride On and Fairfax Connector.  Now, the only local agency to operate the bus type is DASH, and even those days are numbered.  DASH, the local bus system in the City of Alexandria, is about to undergo other changes, too.  In addition to the imminent retirement of what remains of the Orion V fleet, starting next month, DASH will be launching its redesigned bus network and going fare-free.  Along with new articulated buses from New Flyer and electric buses manufactured by Proterra, transit in Alexandria is not going to look like this come next month.  

For more photos of DASH buses, please click here.