Mount Pleasant Line

The Mount Pleasant Line, designated Routes 42 and 43, is a daily bus route in Washington, D.C., It was a streetcar line until the 1960s.

Route

Routes 42 and 43 operate at nearly all hours of the day during the week, with slightly reduced hours on weekends. Route 43 operates between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily operating every other trip alongside the 42. Both routes operate out of Western division.

Routes 42 and 43 begin at Mount Pleasant Street NW and 17th Street NW in Mount Pleasant. They head south-southwest on Mount Pleasant Street NW, then southwest on Columbia Road NW, then south on Connecticut Avenue NW towards Dupont Circle. Route 42 travels around the circle, providing access to the Dupont Circle station on Metro's Red Line at both Q Street and just south of the circle. Route 43 travels through the Connecticut Avenue underpass, bypassing these two stops and a northbound stop at R Street. The routes then continue to Farragut Square, traveling through Potomac Park before terminating at the Kennedy Center.

History

Streetcar era

Route 40 and 42 began operation in 1872 as the Mount Pleasant Streetcar Line, a horsecar service. The horse-drawn cars were replaced between 1896 and 1900 by electric streetcars operated by the Metropolitan Railroad.

The line was acquired in 1902 by the Washington Railway and Electric Company, which merged to become the Capital Traction Company in the 1930s, and operated as DC Transit after 1956.

Route 40 operated from Mount Pleasant through downtown Washington, D.C., to Seat Pleasant, Maryland; while Route 42 ran from Mount Pleasant to the Kingman Park neighborhood in eastern D.C.

Both routes began at Mount Pleasant and ran to H Street, turning east there, south on 14th Street NW, and east on F Street NW along the F Street Line. At 5th Street NW, Route 40 turned south, continuing east around the north side of the Capitol and along East Capitol Street to 15th Street NE, while Route 42 turned north and east past Washington Union Station on the East Washington Line, ending at D Street NE and 13th Street NE. Route 40 ran east to Seat Pleasant via East Capitol Street NE, Southern Avenue NE, 63rd Street NE, Eastern Avenue NE, 61st Street NE, Dix Street NE, 63rd Street NE, Southern Avenue NE, and East Capitol Street NE.

Bus era

The Route 40 streetcar line was replaced by buses on December 3, 1961; 40 followed on January 28, 1962.

On February 4, 1973, the 40 and 42 were acquired by WMATA when they acquired DC Transit and three bus companies that operated throughout the Washington metropolitan area and merged them into the Metrobus system.

On March 27, 1976, when Farragut North station, Metro Center station, Judiciary Square station, and Union Station opened, routes 40 and 42 began serving each of the stations in the middle of the routes.

On January 17, 1977, when Dupont Circle station opened, routes 40 and 42 served the Dupont Circle station in the middle of their routes.

On September 24, 1978, route 42 was extended southeast of its original terminus at the intersection of D and 13th Street NE in Kingman Park to terminate at the new Stadium–Armory station; route 40 began serving the new station. Routes 40 and 42 were shifted slightly to serve the District of Columbia General Hospital next to Stadium Armory. Several short routes were introduced to add service along stretches of routes 40 and 42: 44, alongside route 42 between Stadium–Armory station and Mount Pleasant; 45, alongside the 40, 42, and 44 between Mount Pleasant and the Bureau of Engraving; and 46, alongside the 40, 42, and 44 between Mount Pleasant and the Kennedy Center.

On January 4, 1981, roughly two months after the Capitol Heights station opened, route 40 was truncated to only operate between Mount Pleasant and Capitol Heights station, via Metro Center, Washington Union Station, and Stadium–Armory station. The segment of 40's routing between Capitol Heights station and the former terminus in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, was replaced by route F14. Route U8 also began operating on the particular segment of routes 42 and 44 between Seat Pleasant and Capitol Heights station, during the early 1990s once it was introduced. No changes were made to the 42, 44, 45, 46 Metrobus Routes, which operated as part of the Mount Pleasant Line.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, route 45 was discontinued and replaced by routes 40, 42, 44, and 46.

In March 1995, routes 40, 44, and 46 were discontinued; 42 was truncated to connect Mount Pleasant and Metro Center. The segment of 40, 42, and 44 between Metro Center station and Washington Union Station was replaced by the Sibley Hospital–Stadium Armory Line ( D1, D3, and D6). The segment of 40, 42, and 44 between Union Station and Stadium–Armory station was replaced by the D6 and the 96 and 97. The remaining segment of 40 between Union Station and Capitol Heights station was replaced by the 96 and 97.

On December 28, 2008, a new route 43 was introduced to operate alongside 42 between Mount Pleasant and Farragut Square, skipping Dupont Circle station via the Connecticut Avenue underpass. Route 43 began operating during the weekday peak-hours in the peak direction to alleviate crowding on the 42.

In 2019, WMATA proposed to add daily service on Route 43, which alternated with Route 42 trips serving Dupont Circle. Route 42 would continue to operate early mornings and late nights daily, and evenings on Sundays only.

The changes were recommended in a WMATA technical memorandum of October 2018: "Metrobus Service Evaluation Study: Mount Pleasant Line: 42, 43 and Connecticut Avenue Line: L1, L2." The memo also said that sending more buses under Dupont Circle would avoid congestion and reduce travel time for passengers continuing past Dupont Circle in each direction. THe memo also suggested altering running time to provide a more realistic schedule and to reach at least 80% on-time performance. Recent on-time performance for the line was:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, route 43 was suspended and route 42 was reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule during the weekdays beginning on March 16, 2020. On March 18, 2020, the line was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule. Weekend service was later suspended on March 21, 2020.

On August 23, 2020, route 43 was extended to Gallery Place station and Metro Center station via the 42 routing along H Street, I Street, 9th Street, F Street, and 11th Street. Route 43 also added daily service operating every other trip from the 42, travelling underneath Dupont Circle and skipping Dupont Circle station. Service will run between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

In February 2021 during the FY2022 budget, WMATA proposed to eliminate the 42 and 43 routing between Farragut Square and Gallery Place station due to alternative services. It however would operate every 12 minutes daily.

On September 5, 2021, routes 42 and 43 were rerouted to operate to the Kennedy Center via 18th Street, 19th Street, and Virginia Avenue NW to replace Route 80 service. Service to Gallery Place and Metro Center was eliminated.

Due to rising cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the line was reduced to its Saturday service on weekdays. Full weekday service resumed on February 7, 2022.

As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign beginning on June 29, 2025, routes 42 and 43 were combined and named the D72. The D72 follows the 43’s route between Mount Pleasant and Farragut Square, then turns onto I Street NW before terminating at McPherson Square station along H Street NW. Also: during rush hour and early morning weekend hours, the line was extended from Mount Pleasant to Van Ness–UDC station via Park Road NW, Porter Street NW, and Connecticut Avenue NW. Service to Dupont Circle was replaced by an extended Route H8 (renamed into the D74), which terminates at Potomac Park. Service to Kennedy Center was replaced by a rerouted 32 (renamed the D10).

References

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External links

Metrobus

Streetcars in Washington, D.C.
42
Adams Morgan
Dupont Circle
Mount Pleasant (Washington, D.C.)
1961 establishments in Washington, D.C.