Sunday, April 24, 2011

Save the E6

This blog is dedicated to saving the E6 Chevy Chase bus line, which is one of three bus routes slated for total elimination -- K1 (Takoma-Walter Reed), N8 (Tenley-Glover Park Loop), E6 (Chevy Chase)-- by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transition Authority (WMATA). This blog focuses on the Chevy Chase E6 line.  Its elimination will affect hundreds of riders every week.  


Let Metro know you value this vital service
before it's too late !


Read more about the WMATA's plans in a recent article by Marty Chase, Metro Targets Once-Popular Chevy Chase Bus Line for Elimination.  His article describes how the Chevy Chase Bus Line, which loops between the Friendship Heights Metro Station and Knollwood, is threatened for elimination due to budget constraints resulting from a $189 million budget gap in FY 2011. Metro attributes this shortfall to greater expenses and losses in revenue from lower ridership.   


A second report by Marty Chase, Metro's Move to Eliminate E6 Bus Draws Strong Opposition, was published in the ChevyChasePatch following an April 2011 Chevy Chase neighborhood advisory meeting with more than a 100 attendees.  As Marty notes if this issue is important to you write or contact Metro soon.  Your email can be sent to writtentestimony@wmata.com.  Another option is to contact Metro's Board of Directors, which include Tom Downs, Tommy Wells, and Michael Barnes.  Metro provides the following email address as a way to contact its board of directors, BoardofDirectors@wmata.com.

The Northwest Current's staff writer, Beth Cope, reported on the recent Chevy Chase advisory neighborhood commission meeting, which discussed Metro's proposal to eliminate the E6 bus line. Over 100 residents attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the plan.  Read about the meeting in the April 27, 2011 edition, Residents Bristle at Possible E6 Bus Cuts.

Marty Chase continued his coverage of this important issue to many of us in the Chevy Chase Patch.  On May 3 he wrote about the upcoming WMATA hearings to discuss the future of the E6 bus and its possible elimination, Metro to Hold Bus Route Hearing in Wheaton . . .Long Way from the E6.


Little notice has been given. Metro first announced their plans to eliminate the E6 line in March 2011, along with service reductions and eliminations of several other bus routes such as the K1 and N8. Hearings will be held in May with a decision expected shortly thereafter, in June.  If approved, the E6 bus line will be eliminated in September. To read more about Metro's plans visit their Community Outreach site, which posted general public hearing information nearly two weeks after they made their initial decision to consider the elimination of the E6 bus line. Noteworthy is that the public hearing notice gives no indication whatsoever of the routes to be impacted by the WMATA proposal. . 


SIGN ONLINE PETITION TO SAVE THE E6 BUS ROUTE (Click here or use the link below)





Signatures are being collected online to Save the E6 (Chevy Chase) Bus Line.  Please support this important neighborhood transportation link.  Sign the petition at: 


http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-e6-chevy-chase-bus-line


Latest Information on the E6 Bus Line
 
The DC Council must vote on its budget to determine if the E6 bus line will continue to operate.  
 
Letters in support of the E6 bus have been sent by three members of the DC Council, Bowser, Cheh, and Brown.  

More than 1,200 residents signed a petition supporting the continuation of the E6 bus route.

Metrobus Weekday Average Ridership Reports

Metro posts the most recent Metrobus ridership numbers on its website, which can be accessed at http://www.wmata.com/pdfs/planning/2010%20Metrobus%20Ridership%20by%20Jurisdiction%20and%20Line.pdf


Background Information 



Below is an overview of Metro's proposed "restructuring" of the E6


CHEVY CHASE LINE, ROUTE E6 SERVICE AREA:  Friendship Heights, Chevy Chase - D.C., Pinehurst Circle, Hawthorne, Knollwood Retirement Home 
Metro's Proposal is to restructure this service by discontinuing all E6 service (i.e., ELIMINATE THE E6 ROUTE ENTIRELY)
METRO'S CLAIM IS THAT ALTERNATIVE SERVICE IS AVAILABLE: 
Passengers on McKinley Street and Western Avenue have service on Routes E2, E3, E4.  Passengers between Pinehurst Circle and  Knollwood would be served by the proposed extension of Route M4, described elsewhere in this docket.  There would be no service along Western Avenue and Broad Branch Road between  Pinehurst Circle and McKinley Street.
This assumes Metro will not ultimately eliminate the M4 Route, which would leave the entire area without any bus services. Also students and others trying to get to Lafayette Elementary School and those customers trying to reach Broadbranch Market would lose their bus service. 


Here is a link to the 2011 Metrobus Service Elevation studies, which is still a work in progress.  Please fill out the evaluation to make sure that Metro reflects your input. This study is still underway so it raises the question of how Metro can evaluate the benefits/drawbacks of the E6 line. 


What Can You Do? 


Hearing on E6 Bus Route Elimination 


Attend Hearing: 
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 @ 6:00 p.m. 
St. Mary Armenian Church 
4125 Fessenden Street, NW 


Submit Your Written Testimony To: writtentestimony@wmata.com
To Speak at Hearing Send Email To:  speak@wmata.com


Contact your Council Member


Ward 3:  Mary Cheh, mcheh@dccouncil.us202.724.8062
Ward 4:  Muriel Bowser, mbowser@dccouncil.us, 202.724.0852
Ward 6:   Tommy Wells, twells@dccouncil.us, 202.724.8072




More information on Metro's Plans for the E6

http://www.wmata.com/community_outreach/public_hearings_meetings.cfm (http://goo.gl/xo7hg)


More Background


2008 Bus Productivity Statistics
2010 Metrobus Fleet Plan


Metro's Board of Directors


A link to Metro's Board of Directors can be found at http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/board_of_directors/.  The minutes from the April 14, 2011 meeting are posted and were approved affirmatively by all 8 directors:  Hudgins, Downs, Downey, Nichols, Hynes, Wells, Acosta, and Barnes. Each voted yes to conduct public hearings on the elimination of the E6 route, as well as the K1 and N8 routes. The board of directors can be reached by email at BoardofDirectors@wmata.com.


















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