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.
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:
RouteTerminalsMajor streetsOperatorHistoryNotes16A Annandale (Patriot & Americana Drives) Pentagon station Little River Turnpike Columbia PikeWMATASee Columbia Pike Line for history. Daily Service Limited stops in Arlington County16C Culmore (Glen Carlyn & Vista Drives) Pentagon station Columbia PikeSee Columbia Pike Line for history. Daily Service Limited stops in Arlington County16E Culmore (Glen Carlyn & Vista Drives) Franklin Square Columbia Pike 14th StreetSee Columbia Pike Line for history. Late night service daily Early morning service weekends only16M Skyline City (Seminary Rd & Magnolia La) Crystal City station L'Enfant Plaza station (late nights) Columbia PikeSee Columbia Pike–National Landing Line for history. Daily Service16Y Barcroft (Four Mile Run Dr & Columbia Pike) McPherson Square station Columbia Pike Arlington Boulevard Roosevelt BridgeSee Columbia Pike–Farragut Square Line for history. MetroExtra line Weekday peak hour service only.41 Arlington Mill (Dinwiddie St & Columbia Pike) Court House Columbia Pike Glebe RoadArlington Transit Daily Service74 Arlington Village (Walter Reed Dr & Columbia Pike) Pentagon City Columbia Pike Weekday peak hour service only (AM to Pentagon City, PM to Arlington Village)75 Shirlington Station Virginia Square-GMU Station Columbia Pike Carlin Springs Road 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. This company continued independent operation until February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired it.
Improvements
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. 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. This proposal, called a Premium Transit Network, has since been delayed until 2019 due to Metro rebuilding efforts. 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.
References
External links CommuterPage.com: Pike Ride