Update at 8:45 a.m. — We’re told via Twitter and email that drivers are striking near the Courthouse Metro station.
Arlington Transit bus riders are being told to “expect delays on all routes” this morning.
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ART bus
Civil War ‘History Mobile’ Coming to Arlington — A tractor trailer turned mobile history museum will be visiting Arlington several times this summer, as part of commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The History Mobile’s exhibits “look at the war through the eyes of civilians, slaves and soldiers.” [Sun Gazette]
ART Contractor Wins Safety Award — The contractor that operates Arlington Transit (ART) buses won a top safety award on Sunday. The company, Forsythe Transportation, helped reduce safety complaints on ART by 58 percent in one year, according to a county press release. [Arlington County]
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If so, indulge the kid’s obsession at Arlington Central Library’s “truck petting zoo.”
From 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, various types of work vehicles will be on display at the library’s (1015 N. Quincy Street) east parking lot, near the tennis courts. Kids of all ages are invited to touch and explore the vehicles up close.
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The first accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. at Glebe Road and 4th Street N. A minivan rear-ended a bus stopped at a bus stop, sending two people to the hospital.
The second accident happened three blocks away on Glebe Road and 7th Street N., according to Arlington Transit Services Manager Steve Yaffe.
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Update at 3:00 p.m. — The driver of the van has been charged with reckless driving, according to Arlington County police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. A passenger from the bus and the van driver were both taken to the hospital after the accident, Nosal said.
A minivan slammed into the back of an Arlington Transit (ART) bus at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and 4th Street, near Ballston, just after 11:30 this morning.
A Metro representative taught novice bus riders how to read a bus schedule, find the best route and pay bus fare. The workshop also discussed the benefits of using a SmarTrip card.
According to the Arlington Transit web site, 129 people attended the event, which was held at the Gates of Ballston community center. Attendees later visited a nearby CVS to learn how to add money to their SmarTrip cards.
Starting on Monday, April 4, the ART 41 will start running on a new weekday schedule. Buses will now run every 15 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Additionally, bus service will start earlier in the morning and end later at night.
Also on Monday, three new rush hour bus trips will be added to the ART 87 route. Three additional buses will leave the Pentagon Metro at 4:35, 5:15 and 5:55 p.m. Those buses will make all the normal outbound stops.
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Update at 2:30 p.m. — This story has been corrected. A previous version of the story stated that the ART bus accident happened at Route 1 and 23rd Street and involved one minor injury. In fact, the Route 1 accident did not involve the bus. The bus accident happened as described below.
An ART bus was involved in an accident near Ft. Myer just before 10:30 this morning.
The SmarTrip weekly bus pass will cost $15, the same as the paper passes.
Riders will now be able to use their pass during whichever seven-day period they choose. The SmarTrip card will support the purchase of up to two weekly passes at a time.
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As a result, the project — which started last summer and was originally slated to take 15 months — has been prolonged by an estimated three months. Planners will now have to redesign the relocation process. Work is not expected to resume until “late spring,” according to a letter from the county to local residents and organizations.
The delay will also affect the Metro and ART bus stops that were closed and relocated as a result of the project.
Petition Workers Indicted for Voter Fraud — Two individuals who worked on the unsuccessful effort to change Arlington’s form of government have been indicted for election fraud. William Cockerham and Cheryl Simmons are expected to have their trial dates set this morning. Earlier this year we exposed Simmons as a paroled felon, ineligible to collect the 2,214 petition signatures she claimed to have collected. More from the Washington Post.
ART Bus Lives Up to Its Name — Arlington’s transit agency has deemed its “Art on the ART Bus” experiment a success. The program placed artwork on an ART bus in connection with a new exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center. The arty bus launched on Dec. 11 and will continue rotating throughout the ART system for the next couple of months. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.
Likewise, while trash collection and some bus service will be operational on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but just about everything else county-related — including libraries, courts and schools — will be closed.
The good news: parking meters will not be enforced on Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1. Happy holidays, indeed.