GW students will have an easier time getting to the shops and restaurants of Georgetown starting Sept. 12 when a new shuttle service connecting Georgetown to Foggy Bottom, Rosslyn and DuPont Circle Metro starts.
The Georgetown and Rosslyn business communities began the Georgetown Metro Connection as a private initiative, Georgetown Partnership Executive Director Ken Gray said.
Shuttles will run 7 a.m. to midnight on the weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. They will run every 10 minutes and cost 50 cents one way or 25 cents with a Metrorail transfer.
It took the Georgetown and Rosslyn business communities five years to obtain the funding and develop a system for the Georgetown Metro Connection.
“We’re within walking distance of three metro stops, but on a hot day or a rainy day it can be a very long walk,” Gray said. “We wanted a way to link us to the metro stops.”
Putting a Metro stop in Georgetown would be expensive, and to implement it would take years because of construction of the tunnels, Gray said.
From the Foggy Bottom Metro stop, the shuttle will run along K Street to Wisconsin Avenue and back. Shuttles from Rosslyn will run across the Key Bridge onto M Street, and from Dupont Circle down New Hampshire Avenue and along M Street.
“We talked with GW, which has a bus system, to help us figure out our routes,” Gray said.
One of the reasons for the Georgetown Metro Connection was the severe parking issue that Georgetown has, Gray said.
“The parking is very expensive and very limited,” he said, adding that he hopes the new system will attract more people to work in Georgetown who would not normally because of parking costs.
“I think the new system will affect Georgetown for the better. People will be able to leave their car at home and still have easy access to Georgetown,” Gray said.
Many students said the new shuttle system will be useful.
“I would definitely use it,” freshman Tai Prince said. “It would be a help to have a stop there. I always want to go into Georgetown but don’t have the time to walk all the way there.”
Sophomore Meghan Shea also praised the Georgetown shuttle.
“(The shuttle system) will be great, especially if you’re wearing uncomfortable shoes,” she said.
Other students think the new shuttle service would not affect them.
“I’m someone who doesn’t mind the walk into Georgetown,” sophomore Matt McDonough said. “But it’s cool that there is another way to get there if I need it.”
Although first year graduate student Chris Berry said he would probably not use the shuttle, he could see how it would be useful for others.
“I probably wouldn’t use it because I live north of Georgetown,” he said. “But for people who live elsewhere it would be useful.”
