SOURCE: DC.gov
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Fares will be free for an introductory period
(Washington, DC) – After more than a decade of planning, construction and testing, Mayor Muriel Bowser and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Leif A. Dormsjo announced today that the DC Streetcar will open for full passenger service on Saturday, February 27 at 10 am, following a brief ceremony.
“I’m proud to announce that Streetcar is ready for passenger service,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “I want to thank the residents of the H Street and Benning Road communities for their patience during the construction and testing of the system. As a way of saying ‘thank you,’ fares will be free on the system for an initial period of time.”
The opening ceremony will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 27 on 13th Street, NE between H Street, NE and Wylie Street, NE (intersection of 13th/H). Members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, the DC Streetcar standard hours of operation will be:
Monday-Thursday: 6 am – 12 am
Friday: 6 am – 2 am
Saturday: 8 am – 2 am
Holidays: 8 am – 10 pm
No Sunday service
Early in the Bowser Administration, DDOT contracted with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the streetcar program. The review found that while the system had numerous issues, there were “no fatal flaws,” and the streetcar system could move forward once the issues were addressed. Leif Dormsjo, the Director of DDOT, assembled a team of consultants and managers to fix the outstanding issues and get Streetcar up and running.
“Mayor Bowser charged my team with taking a failed Streetcar program and making it work for District residents. After years of overspending, mismanagement and lack of direction, we made it happen,” said Dormsjo.
H Street/ Benning Road Line is the first segment of the DC Streetcar system. The Mayor has committed to expanding the line current line east and west. For more information on the full DC Streetcar system, visit the DC Streetcar website at www.dcstreetcar.com.
Residents interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dc-streetcar-opening-tickets-21785191093.
Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to press@dc.gov.
WHEN:
Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 10 am
WHO:
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Leif A. Dormsjo, Director, District Department of Transportation
Chief Gregory M. Dean, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
Current and former District officials
Residents and Community Members
*The program will be updated in the coming days*
WHERE:
13th Street between Wylie Street and H Street NE
*Closest Metro: Union Station Metro Station*
http://dc.gov/release/dc-streetcar-begin-passenger-service-saturday-february-27
