Many transit riders across the region check their phones before heading out to eliminate waiting, but the free shuttle buses planned for the Blue and Yellow Line shutdown that starts this weekend will not show up on those websites or apps, at least at the start of the monthslong closure.
WTOP Track Work Guide: Summer 2019 Blue and Yellow Line shutdown
DASH Bus is working with Metro to get the Blue Line local shuttle, which is being operated by Alexandria’s transit company, to show up in Metro’s bus-tracking system.
Yellow Line local shuttles will eventually be trackable only on the weekends, when Metrobus is running the service. On weekdays, A Metro-hired contractor will run the shuttle using coach buses that do not have Metro’s tracking technology installed, so riders will not see real-time arrival information, Metro spokeswoman Sherri Ly said in an email.
Schedules for the shuttles are available if riders look up a specific trip at a specific time.
Metro’s online trip planner has now been updated with those scheduled shuttle bus times, and display screens at the stops will show scheduled shuttle information and any alerts, Ly said.
At rush hour, the shuttles are scheduled every five minutes. At other times, the shuttle buses are planned every 10–12 minutes on each of the five routes.
Metro’s bus-tracking website and apps that use the information provided by the agency will work for all regular Metrobus routes, including routes that have extra service during the May 25 to Sept. 8 closure of all six stations south of Reagan National Airport.
The DASH tracker will work for regular DASH routes.
DASH plans to launch its new mobile app Tuesday morning. The app will provide discounted $1 fares during the shutdown to riders who pay with their phones.
