This post was written by Hatchet reporter Robert Todaro.

Georgetown University is vying for the city to extend its plans for a streetcar system to its main campus – citing the connection to students and employers as a benefit to D.C.

The D.C. Department of Transportation is studying premium transit lines between Union Station and Georgetown, and one option is a streetcar line – part of a proposed 22-mile system – which would end at the Georgetown waterfront. Georgetown University hopes the city agency will stretch the line to link the school’s law campus, downtown campus and main campus, the Georgetown Patch reported Thursday.

A streetcar line to Georgetown would offer D.C. residents another public transportation option now limited to Metrobus and the D.C. Circulator. The closest Metrorail stop to the neighborhood is the Foggy Bottom station on campus.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District also backs the extension, claiming a streetcar line would reduce congestion and bring more people into Georgetown.

A grant from the Federal Transit Authority is funding the study, part of the DC Transit Future System Plan published in April 2010, and has already begun. DDOT officials told the Georgetown Patch that although the university is not included in the study now, the agency has not ruled out a westward extension in future plans.