College Park Line

The College Park Line, designated Routes 83 & 86, are daily bus routes operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between the Rhode Island Avenue Station, which is served by Red Line of the Washington Metro, and the Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, Maryland (83), or Calverton (Center Park Office Park) (86). 83 is shortened to only operate on short trips between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier during early mornings on the weekends. 83 & 86 mainly operate on the U.S. Route 1 corridor between Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. & College Park, Maryland. Route 83 trips are roughly 50 minutes long and route 86 trips are roughly 70 minutes long.

Current Route

The 83 and 86 operate out of Landover division seven days a week. Both 83 and 86 originally operated out of Bladensburg Division up until June 2019, when they were shifted to make room for other routes at Bladensburg Division when Northern division closed due to structure failures. During the week, Route 83 operates every 30–60 minutes between 4:35 AM and 11:20 PM, while Route 86 operates every 30–60 minutes between 5:00 AM and 10:50 PM. On Saturdays, the 83 provides service on a 60-minute headway from 5:35 AM to 11:00 PM, while the 86 provides service also on a 60-minute headway from 7:03 AM to 11:28 PM. On Sundays, the 83 runs from 6:35 AM until 8:20 PM and the 86 runs from 7:03 AM until 7:50 PM every hour.

The 83 is shortened to operate daily between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier terminal only during early mornings on the weekends. These shortened trips were originally under Route 82 which was renamed the 83 in 2016.

During snow detours, routes 83 and 86 are rerouted to Greenbelt station with no service to Cherry Hill or Calverton. Additionally, route 86 would remain straight along Rhode Island Avenue with no service to Hyattsville Crossing station.

Route 83 stops

Route 86 stops

History

Background

Route 82

The 82 Streetcar Line, which operated as part of the former Capital Transit Company (CTC) Maryland Line streetcar route operated between Potomac Park and Branchville. It began operation in 1897. In 1958, the 82 Streetcar Line was converted into a DC Transit Bus Route, as Capital Transit Company (CTC) was renamed as, "DC Transit System" (DCTS) and each of the streetcar lines throughout the DC Area were getting replaced by buses. 82 was the original bus route of the Maryland Line. Later around 1961, DC Transit Bus Route 82, was extended north of its Branchville terminus, to Hollywood, via Rhode Island Avenue, Lackawanna Street, 53rd Avenue, 52nd Place, and Rhode Island Avenue. Then, around 1968, 82 was extended to the Seven Springs Village Apartment Complex (Hollywood) on Cherry Hill Road in College Park, Maryland, via Edgewood Road, Baltimore Avenue, and Cherry Hill Road. The line was eventually taken over by WMATA and officially became a Metrobus route on February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired DC Transit.

Route 84

The 84 operated as part of the Maryland Streetcar Line as an extension of the 82 Streetcar Line between Branchville and Beltsville from 1902 up until 1949 when it was ultimately discontinued. Eventually around 1973, when the WMATA Metrobus System was formed, the 84 was brought back to operate on the Maryland Line between Potomac Park and East Pines, operating parallel to Routes 82, 86, and 88 between Potomac Park and Mount Rainier, then via the former DC Transit East Riverdale-Cheverly Line Route B4's routing between Mount Rainier and East Pines, when the B4 got discontinued. The 84 eventually stopped operating as part of the Maryland Line on December 3, 1978, when it got split off into its own separate Metrobus Route named the Rhode Island Avenue–New Carrollton Line, operating between Rhode Island Avenue station and New Carrollton station.

Routes 86 and 88

Both the 86 and 88 were created around 1973 when WMATA's Metrobus System was formed. The 86 originally operated between Potomac Park and Riverdale, mostly following 82 and 84's routing, only except diverting off Baltimore Avenue onto the intersection of Riverdale Road and then operating via Rhode Island Avenue and Queensbury Road to reach its Riverdale terminus, which is currently where Riverdale station is located.

The 88 follows the 82, 84, and 86's routing between Potomac Park and Mount Rainier, then operating via the former DC Transit East Riverdale-Cheverly Line Route B6 and B8's routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, when the B6 and B8 both got discontinued. The B6 and B8 operated on almost the same routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, only with the exception that B8 would divert off Landover Road to serve the Prince George's Hospital, before operating to Cheverly. The 88 followed B8's diversion off Landover Road to serve the Prince George's Hospital. Route 88 was ultimately discontinued on December 3, 1978, when Cheverly station opened and its routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly was replaced by Route F2.

Changes

On March 27, 1976, Routes 82, 84, 86, and 88 were rerouted to divert off the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue NE to serve the newly opened Rhode Island Avenue station.

On February 19, 1978, 83 was created as a brand new Metrobus Route to operate parallel to 82 between Potomac Park and Hollywood, except making limited stops to provide a speedier trip during weekday rush hour/peak period times.

During this same time, the 86 was rerouted to operate between Potomac Park and College Park, to replace the former Route G6 Hyattsville Line routing between Mount Rainier and College Park when the G6 was rerouted to operate as part of the Rhode Island Avenue Line alongside Route G4 between Avondale and Metro Center station. The 86 would retain its original routing between Potomac Park and the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue & 38th Street in Brentwood, then operate via 38th Street, Hamilton Street, 40th Avenue, Oglethorpe Street, 42nd Avenue, Queensbury Road, Belcrest Road, Prince George's Plaza, East-West Highway, Queens Chapel Road, Baltimore Avenue, College Avenue, Dartmouth Avenue, Calvert Road, and Rhode Island Avenue.

On September 24, 1978, as Metrorail Service increased its frequency, Routes 82, 83, 84, 86, and 88 were truncated to only operate up to Rhode Island Avenue station, The B6 was created as a brand new Metrobus Route to operate as part of WMATA's Eckington Line between the Rhode Island Avenue station and Metro Center, to provide alternative service to the 82, 83, 84, and 86 Metrobus Routes between the Rhode Island Avenue station and Downtown Washington D.C. despite not operating all the way up to Potomac Park.

The 88 was eventually discontinued on December 3, 1978 shortly after the Cheverly Station opened. The 84 was split off into its own separate line named the Rhode Island Avenue–New Carrollton Line, after route 84 was extended from Riverdale (East Pines), to operate to the newly opened New Carrollton station.

In August 1988, when Queens Chapel Road was closed along East-West Highway in University Park to make room for the construction of the underground Green Line tracks, the 86 was rerouted to no longer operate on Queens Chapel Road and operate along East-West Highway itself to Baltimore Avenue. The reroute eventually became permanent due to the wishes of University Park residents.

In October 1989, when the Cherry Hill Park Campground opened, routes 82 and 83 were rerouted to operate to Cherry Hill Park via the Seven Springs Apartments Complex. Also the 82 and 83's former Hollywood Loop north of Rhode Island Avenue and Edgewood Road in College Park was eliminated.

On December 11, 1993, when the Green Line extension Greenbelt opened, Route 82 was truncated to only operate on short trips between the Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier during early morning, late night, and PM rush hours only eliminating service to Cherry Hill. Route 83 would replace the 82 and operating the same routing as the 82 except it would serve the newly opened Greenbelt station in between via Greenbelt Road and Cherrywood Lane.

Route 86 was also extended from its College Park terminus at the intersection of Dartmouth Avenue & Knox Road, to operate further north up to Centerpark Office Park (Calverton), to replace the segment of route R2's former routing between the intersection of Baltimore Avenue & Campus Drive (University of Maryland) and Calverton, via Baltimore Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Powder Mill Road, and Beltsville Drive, which was discontinued. Route 86 was also rerouted off Belcrest Road to serve the newly opened Prince George's Plaza (now ) station.

Between 1996 and 1997, Route 81 was shifted from the North Capitol Street Line to operate as part of the Maryland Line between Rhode Island Avenue station and Cherry Hill via Greenbelt station, to simply operate as a variant of Route 83's routing, as 83 was rerouted to serve College Park–University of Maryland station via Baltimore Avenue, Paint Branch Parkway, and River Road, instead of serving Greenbelt station.

On January 13, 2001, the line was renamed as the College Park Line.

On May 15, 2003, the original bus bays at Prince George's Plaza Shopping Center were closed to build a new Target store. As a result, route 86 and other routes stopped directly entering and looping inside Prince George's Plaza.

On June 27, 2004, route 86 was rerouted at the request of the city of College Park to directly serve the College Park–University of Maryland station by operating along the 83's routing along Baltimore Avenue, Paint Branch Parkway, and River Road instead of operating along College Ave, Dartmouth Ave, and Calvert Road.

Due to the construction of a new curb next to the new Mosaic Apartments built right next to Prince George's Plaza station around May to June 2007, all Metrobus Routes that have previously exited Prince George's Plaza station from the northbound side had to do so by exiting Prince George's Plaza via a right turn onto East-West Highway and left onto Belcrest Road. Route 86 was in the direction of Calverton to exit Prince George's Plaza station northbound, right onto East-West Highway, and remain straight on East-West Highway to past Belcrest Road but was able to keep its entire routing in the direction of Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood station the same as the route was still allowed to turn left from East-West Highway onto Belcrest Road, make a right turn from Belcrest Road to enter Prince George's Plaza station, and make a right turn southbound on Belcrest Road.

On August 25, 2011, WMATA added a new route to the College Park Line called "83X" as a pilot route during the summer to provide additional direct service from Cherry Hill Campground to College Park–U of MD station operating four weekdays trips only from 8:30 am to 10:00 am only from the third Monday in June through the second Friday through August.

During WMATA's Fiscal Year of 2015, WMATA proposed to split Route 83 and 86 into four routes. Route 83 and 86 would terminate at College Park station from Rhode Island Avenue station and be renamed Route 83S and 86S or keep their same names. The second portion was to be named Route 83N and 86N or Route R6 and R8 and will operate between College Park station and Cherry Hill (83N/R6) and Calverton (86N/R8) keeping the same routing with Route 83 and 86. All existing services would still be covered but passengers will have to transfer at College Park station to continue their trips.

During WMATA's FY2016 budget, it was proposed for route 83 to be given Sunday service replacing route 81 and discontinuing Sunday service to Greenbelt station. Routes 83 and 86 would replace route 81 in College Park while route C2 would replace route 81 between Greenbelt station and the University of Maryland. The reason for the changes was for WMATA to make the College Park Line easier to understand for riders.

On March 27, 2016, all route 81 service was discontinued and replaced by route 83. Route 83 also added Sunday service replacing the 81 but no longer serving Greenbelt station where it was replaced by route C2. Route C2 also added Sunday service to replace Route 81 portion between Greenbelt Road and Greenbelt station.

On December 18, 2016, all route 82 was discontinued and was replaced by the 83. Short trips between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier were renamed into the 83. Also, due to Metro closing at midnight during that period because of SafeTrack maintenance, select Route 83 trips were introduced to operate between Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood and College Park–U of MD station on Friday and Saturday late nights only.

On March 19, 2017, route 83 short trips between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier during weekday peak hours were discontinued and replaced by route G9.

Beginning on September 1, 2019, the College Park Metrobus loop was temporarily closed for construction of the Purple line at College Park station. As a result, routes 83 and 86 were temporarily rerouted to stops along River Road, and later to the west side of the station via Calvert Road in April 2020.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, routes 83 and 86 were relegated to operate on its Saturday schedule beginning on March 16, 2020. However beginning on March 18, 2020, the route was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule. Also beginning on March 21, 2020, weekend service was further reduced with the 83 operating every 30 minutes and route 86 having all weekend service suspended. On August 23, 2020, additional service was added to routes 83 and 86 operating every 60 minutes with a 30-minute frequency along Baltimore Avenue. However, Route 86 Sunday service remained suspended while Route 83 operated every 30 to 35 minutes in place.

In May 2020, WMATA announced that route 83X will not operate during the 2020 summer season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Metro's reduced service since March 16, 2020. Alternative service would be provided by routes 83 and 86. The 83X suspended was lasted into 2021, and was never returned to service by the September 5, 2021 changes.

On September 26, 2020, WMATA proposed to reduce the frequency of buses to every 60 minutes on both routes 83 and 86 and eliminate all route 86 Sunday service due to low federal funding. Route 86 has not operated on Sundays since March 15, 2020 due to Metro's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in February 2021, due to low federal funds, WMATA proposed to extend route 83 to Greenbelt station to replace route C2 and eliminate all 86 service if WMATA does not get federal funding.

On September 5, 2021, route 86 Sunday service was restored and the line's pre-pandemic schedule was also restored.

On June 12, 2022, service to the east side of College Park station resumed with buses serving Bus Bay G.

As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign Network approval, service on the College Park Line was simplified.

Route 83 was renamed into Route P1X and was rerouted to serve IKEA Way in College Park, discontinuing service to both College Park station and Cherry Hill. Service was also rerouted to remain along Baltimore Avenue, discontinuing service along Greenbelt Road, Rhode Island Avenue, Edgewood Road, and Cherry Hill Road. Service between College Park station and Cherry Hill was replaced by Route M42, which operates along the former 83 routing between College Park and Cherry Hill, and extended to North Bethesda station via the former C8 routing.

Route 86 was renamed into Route P10 and was rerouted along Jefferson Street and 42nd Avenue in Hyattsville, eliminating service on 38th Street, Hamilton Street, 40th Avenue, and Oglethorpe Street, and between College Park station and Calverton. Service between College Park and Calverton was replaced by Route M44 which operates between Hyattsville Crossing and North Bethesda stations, following the former 86 routing between Hyattsville Crossing and Calverton, skipping College Park in the process.

References

{{Reflist

External links

83, 86 College Park Line
– wmata.com

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