ART Route 75 Expands on Monday — The ART 75 bus route will add stops at the Shirlington Transit Center and the Virginia Square Metro station on Monday. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.
New Ballston Burger Joint Coming Soon — Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) will feature grass-fed beef, home-made buns, and a selection of wine and beer. The 30-40 seat restaurant is expected to open in early November. More from TBD.
The ART 41 and WMATA 16S buses will now use a temporary stop at the Pike and South Columbus Street, just before the Four Mile Run bridge. The ART 45 bus will now stop at South Thomas Street, about a quarter mile up a hill from the Buchanan Street stop.
One resident who emailed us about the closure complained that the new Columbus Street stop was too far away and that too little notice was given about the changes. We’re told WMATA is in the process of producing a brochure to help explain the new stop locations.
Arlington’s ART bus system may stop honoring Metrobus passes if WMATA doesn’t start sharing revenue, according to Michael Perkins at Greater Greater Washington.
While regional bus providers like ART are compensated when SmarTrip holders pay for individual rides, so far there is no revenue-sharing agreement for SmartTrip (and paper) “flash passes.”
The Arlington County Board approved a controversial snow removal ordinance on Saturday by a vote of 4-1. Board chairman Jay Fisette cast the lone ‘no’ vote, calling the hefty penalties in the ordinance “overkill.”
The board also passed a fare hike for the county’s ART and STAR buses. The base ART bus fare will increase from $1.25 to $1.50.
DHS Investigating DCA Bomb Sticker — The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a suspicious sticker found on a trash can at Reagan National Airport, reports Government Security News. The sticker appears to be a stencil-type illustration of a man with a bomb strapped to his chest. DHS and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have emailed a photo of the sticker to various security companies and law enforcement agencies, GSN reports.
New ART Route To Pentagon City — A new ART bus line will connect Pentagon City with the Douglas Park and Nauck neighborhoods. The ART 84 line will run every 30 minutes during rush hour, starting June 21. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.
Update on 5/11 — A county spokesperson says the fire was “electrical in nature” but an exact cause won’t be determined for another week or so.
Among the tracking options for riders are the “RealTime Desktop,” which displays a useful but user-unfriendly map of the bus system, and “RealTime Smartphone,” which can be accessed on a computer as well as on a smartphone and which is actually much easier to use. There will also be RealTime displays at select bus stops throughout the county.
Excluding Metro’s NextBus system, the new ART system the first local real-time bus information service in the region. Beta testing on the system began a few weeks ago.
ART bus service has been suspended for the day due to weather. Above-ground Metrorail and bus service also remains suspended.
The Crystal Couture show has been canceled for tonight. Classes have been canceled at Northern Virginia Community College. Pentagon City mall is closed and will reopen Sunday at 11:00 AM.
