Metro is trying to make improvements to one of its shuttle bus lines to cut down on long lines as commuters head to work during a massive summer shutdown.
As of Monday, during peak periods, shuttle buses on the express Huntington-Pentagon route are now departing directly from both the south and north sides of the Huntington station.
Metro officials hope that by having shuttle buses serve both sides of the station, they'll be able to help people get to their destinations more quickly.
"With separate routes established from each side of Huntington Station, customers on the north (lower) side will benefit from reduced crowding on buses and customers on the south (upper) side will experience shorter travel times," Metro said in a release on its website Sunday.
Metro staff will be on site at the Pentagon station to direct riders to the correct Huntington express bus, depending on whether they wish to travel to the north or south side of the station.
Last week marked the start of a whole new commute for many Metro riders, who now have to take shuttle buses between stations or find other forms of transportation. Many commuters had to deal with long lines and confused shuttle bus drivers.
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"We'll see how today goes. Last week was not so good," said rider Monica Thomas on Monday morning.
She said the issue isn't really how the buses serve the station, but what happens after she boards.
"I think one bus I took last week actually got in the express lane on the highway, and one bus didn't. And that made a difference as well," she said.
Some of the shuttle bus drivers are contractors who came to town from other states and don't know the routes as well as local drivers, News4 transportation reporter Adam Tuss said last week.
Riders have complained about shuttle bus drivers getting in the wrong lanes and traveling in the wrong directions at times.
Metro said Sunday it has some more changes in store that the transit agency hopes will help commuters.
As of Monday, Metro will adjust the bus stops for several routes that serve the north side of the Huntington station "to improve on-time performance and traffic flow," it says.
In addition, starting Thursday, the Huntington-Pentagon express stop on the north side of the station will move to bus stop G/H on Huntington Avenue, and Fairfax Connector 171 will move to Bus Bay E, Metro said. The transit agency hopes this will improve traffic flow in the bus loop and speed up express shuttle service.
