Between April and October of 2008, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), in partnership with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), studied ways of improving transit service along Metrobus routes S1, S2, and S4—collectively known as the 16th Street Line.

New Limited-Stop Service Has Begun!

The study is now complete and the first set of recommended improvements took place on March 30th. The centerpiece of the restructured service is a new limited-stop Metrobus Express route called the S9. Shown in orange below, the S9 is a new limited-stop service that runs every 10 minutes on weekdays between 6:30 am and 10:00 am, and from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Instead of stopping every block or two like most local buses, the new S9 stops at only 16 locations in each direction. Northbound stops are indicated by purple dots; southbound, by blue.

For information about other improvements being made to the 16th Street Line, please see the Frequently Asked Questions memo.

Alignment of New S9 Metrobus Express Limited-Stop Service:



The new S9 limited-stop route began on Monday, March 30, 2009. It serves 16 stops in each direction between Silver Spring and Downtown DC.

The 16th Street Line currently provides transit service for about 16,000 passengers every weekday, giving it the third-highest ridership in the Metrobus system. It serves Northwest DC neighborhoods such as Colonial Village, Shepherd Park, North Portal Estates, Brightwood, Crestwood, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and others. Destinations along the 16th Street Line include Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Rock Creek Park, Carter Barron Amphitheater, Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, The White House, Federal Triangle, the National Mall, Silver Spring Metrorail and MARC stations, and many embassies and places of worship.

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