Pike Ride

Pike Ride is a combination of bus routes along Columbia Pike in Northern Virginia, United States. It consists of service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metrobus) and Arlington Transit (ART), connecting the Pentagon and Pentagon City Washington Metro stations in Arlington County with Annandale in Fairfax County.

Pike Ride
Pike Ride-branded WMATA route 16H bus in 2018
FoundedSeptember 7, 2003 (2003-09-07)[1]
LocaleArlington County, Virginia
Annandale, Virginia
Service areaColumbia Pike
Routes10[2]
StationsPentagon Station, Pentagon City Station
Daily ridership17,000 (January 2018 estimate)[3]
OperatorMetrobus
ART

The service started in 2003. Route timetables and other useful information were implemented in numerous bus stops along the corridor, printed in both English and Spanish. ART provides cell phone users with an 800 number that is listed at each bus stop to call and obtain bus schedule information.

Routes

The following routes are branded as Pike Ride service:[2]

Route Terminals Major streets Operator History Notes
16A
  • Little River Turnpike
  • Columbia Pike
 WMATA

See Columbia Pike Line for history.
  • Daily Service
  • Limited stops in Arlington County
16C
  • Culmore (Glen Carlyn & Vista Drives)
  • Columbia Pike

See Columbia Pike Line for history.
  • Daily Service
  • Limited stops in Arlington County
16E
  • Culmore (Glen Carlyn & Vista Drives)

See Columbia Pike Line for history.
  • Late night service daily
  • Early morning service weekends only
16M
  • Skyline City (Seminary Rd & Magnolia La)
  • Columbia Pike

See Columbia Pike–National Landing Line for history.
  • Daily Service
16L
  • Weekday peak hour service only (AM to Pentagon, PM to Annandale).
16Y
  • Barcroft (Four Mile Run Dr & Columbia Pike)

See Columbia Pike–Farragut Square Line for history.
  • MetroExtra line
  • Weekday peak hour service only (AM to McPherson Square, PM to Barcroft)
41
  • Arlington Mill (Dinwiddie St & Columbia Pike)
  • Columbia Pike
 Arlington Transit
  • Daily Service
74
  • Arlington Village (Walter Reed Dr & Columbia Pike)
  • Columbia Pike
  • Weekday peak hour service only (AM to Pentagon City, PM to Arlington Village)
75
  • Columbia Pike
  • Weekday Service

History

Robert L. May of Barcroft began operating buses along Columbia Pike in 1921, running from downtown Washington over the 14th Street Bridge to Barcroft. Among other additions, he acquired the former Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Railway at foreclosure in 1930 and replaced it with buses in 1932. May incorporated the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Transit Company in 1934.[4][5][6] This company continued independent operation until February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired it.[7][8]

Improvements
Columbia Pike Premium Transit Network
 to Federal Triangle
 Pentagon
South Orme
 Virginia State Route 27
 South Scott
 South Courthouse
 South Barton
 South Walter Reed
 South Glebe
 South Oakland
 South George Mason
 South Taylor
 Four Mile Run
 Four Mile Run
 South Dinwiddie
 South Greenbrier
 to Annandale, Culmore, Virginia

Since 2003, some effort has been made to improve service along the corridor. In July 2016, the Arlington County Board approved a Transit Development Plan that includes enhanced bus service along Columbia Pike.[9] There will be 23 enhanced bus stops, with BRT-like amenities like near-level boarding, real-time bus arrival information and off-vehicle fare collection.[10] This proposal, called a Premium Transit Network, has since been delayed until 2019 due to Metro rebuilding efforts.[11] The use of dedicated lanes for the corridor was studied by the country, but were deemed to be challenging and unlikely. The buses could have a distinctive appearance.[12]

References
  1. "Pike Ride - Bus Service on Columbia Pike". Archived from the original on July 9, 2009.
  2. "Pike Ride". arlingtontransit.com. Arlington Transit. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  3. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (January 16, 2018). "Columbia Pike Service Evaluation" (PDF). Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  4. United States Interstate Commerce Commission (1948). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Motor carrier cases, Volumes 48-49. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 617. Retrieved 2015-03-15. Respondent's present extensive operations were initiated by its predecessor, R.L. May, now president of the corporation, with one bus in the early 1920s over the Columbia Pike between Barcroft and Washington.
  5. United States. Government Printing Office (1954). Congressional Serial Set, Issue 11728. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2015-03-15. Having operated a bus line since 1921 and managed a street railway company from 1930 until the Federal Government confiscated the railway rights-of-way in Washington, D.C., in 1932, R. L. May, in December 1934, formed the A.B. & W. Corp., turning over to it all working capital and assets used by his bus line, including a garage and terminal on Pitt and Cameron Streets in Alexandria.
  6. United States. Congress. House Appropriations (1926). District of Columbia Appropriation Bill: 1927, Hearings ... 69th Congress, 1st Session. Washington, D.C. p. 52-53. Retrieved 2015-03-15. Columbia Pike Line.—Route 202. Louisiana Avenue, between Eighth and Ninth Streets NW., to Barcroft, Va., via Louisiana Avenue, Eighth Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Thirteenth Street, C Street, Ohio Avenue, Fourteenth Street, Highway Bridge, Military Road, Alexandria Road and Columbia Pike. For: Arlington, Columbia Station, Johnson Hill, Barcroft, East Arlington.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. "DC Transit". Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  8. Eisen, Jack (January 14, 1973). "No Fanfare Marks Bus Line Takeover". The Washington Post. p. A10.
  9. "County Board Approves New Transit Plan, With an Asterisk". Arlington Now. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  10. "Don't Expect Fancy 'Streetcar-Like' Buses on Columbia Pike". Arlington Now. 2016-07-24. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  11. "Columbia Pike 'Premium Transit Network' Delayed". Arlington Now. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  12. "Dedicated Lanes Unlikely for Columbia Pike 'Premium Transit Network'". Arlington Now. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
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