Marlboro Pike Line

The Marlboro Pike Line, designated Route J12, was a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between the Addison Road station of the Blue & Silver Lines of the Washington Metro & Forestville (8411 Old Marlboro Pike). The line operated every 35 minutes during peak hours, and 70 minutes during midday and on the weekends. J12 trips were roughly 28–35 minutes long.

Background

Route J12 operated between Addison Road station and Forestville (8411 Old Marlboro Pike) from 4:25 am to 11:30 pm on weekdays and 6:15 am to 10:00 pm on weekends every 35 minutes during peak hours and 70 minutes during the off-peak hours. Route J12 originally operated out of the Southern Avenue Annex division until February 1989, when the Landover division opened. The J12 was shifted to operate out of Andrews Federal Center division on June 23, 2019.

J12 stops

History

J12 began operation in 1925 and initially operated as part of the Marlboro Pike streetcar line between Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington D.C. and Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. J12 was later converted into a bus route during the 1950s, before ultimately becoming a WMATA Metrobus Route on February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired four private bus companies that operated throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. J12 began serving Potomac Avenue and Eastern Market stations, once they opened on July 15, 1977, in the middle of its already existing route.

On September 25, 1978, J12 was shortened to only operate between Potomac Avenue station and Andrews Air Force Base during the times the Blue Line operated. J12 would continue to make one early morning and late night trip that operated between the Federal Triangle & Andrews Air Force Base during the e times the Blue Line did not operate.

On January 4, 1981, route J12 was truncated even further to only operate between the Addison Road station and Andrews Air Force Base.

WMATA also introduced new Routes J11, J13, J14, and J15 around this time. Route J11 would operate between Addison Road station and Andrews Air Force Base, operating the weekday middays alongside the J12, except it would operate via the Machinists Place Building. During weekday early morning weekday times before Metrorail opens, J11 would operate on special southbound trips alongside the J13, from Federal Triangle towards Andrews Air Force Base, bypassing Addison Road station altogether. Route J13 would operate along the original J12 route between Andrews Air Force Base and Federal Triangle when Metrorail was closed. Routes J14 and J15 would operate between Addison Road station & Ritchie, via Addison Road, Central Avenue, Larchmont Avenue, Marlboro Pike, Kipling Parkway, Ritchie Road, Ashwood Drive, Dunmore Place, Edgeworth Drive, Central Avenue (J15), Brightseat Road (J15), CentrePointe Office Park (J15), Hampton Mall (J15), and Hampton Park Boulevard (J15). Both routes J14 & J15 would operate all-day service on weekdays, in a counterclockwise manner, meaning in the exact opposite directions of each other. Route J14 would only operate during midday hours while J15 operated during the weekday peak hours in the peak direction.

On January 13, 2001, when the Green Line extension to Branch Avenue was complete, routes J11, J12, & J13 were rerouted to operate to between Potomac Avenue station (J11 rush hour trips only, J13)/Addison Road station J11 & J12 only and Forestville (8411 Old Marlboro Pike) instead of Andrews Air Force Base, by diverting from the intersection of Forestville Road onto the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and then J12 & J13, making a turn onto the intersection of Old Marlboro Pike to reach the Forestville terminus. Route J11 would continue to still operate by diverting onto the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and turning onto the intersection of Presidential Parkway/Machinists Place to serve the Machinists Place building.

The segment of Routes J11, J12, and J13's routing on Forestville Road between the intersections of Suitland Parkway & Allentown Road and the intersection of Forestville Road & Andrews Air Force Base Gates, was replaced by both Routes K11 and K12, which were extended from their original terminus to terminate at the newly opened Branch Avenue station.

In October 2001, due to heightened security at the Andrews Air Force Base, in response to the September 11 attacks, Routes J11, J12, and J13 were no longer allowed to enter inside the Andrews Air Force Base gates and were truncated to only operate to Forestville (8431 Old Marlboro Pike) instead. Due to the unexpected nature of these changes, WMATA was not able to update its schedule to reflect those route changes until June 30, 2002.

On December 18, 2004, when Morgan Boulevard & Largo Town Center stations opened, routes J14 and J15 were discontinued and replaced by Prince George's County TheBus Route 24. Route 24 was extended from its original terminus at District Heights, to operate up to the newly opened Morgan Boulevard station, via Kipling Parkway, Ritchie Road, Ashwood Drive, Dunmore Place, Edgeworth Drive, Ritchie Road, Central Avenue, Hampton Mall, Hampton Park Boulevard, and Brightseat Road to replace the J14 and J15. Despite this route change, Prince George's County TheBus Route 24 still kept operating on the segment of its route by the Penn Mar Shopping Center in Forestville, Maryland.

On June 24, 2007, as the Blue Line began operating earlier, northbound J13 trips operating from Forestville towards Federal Triangle as well as the special southbound J11 trip operating back from Federal Triangle towards Forestville (bypassing Addison Road station) were discontinued.

On June 26, 2016, both routes J11 & J13 were discontinued and fully replaced by route J12. Peak hour route J11 trips to Machinists Place Building were renamed route J12,

In 2016, WMATA proposed to reroute the J12 to serve Capitol Heights station, discontinuing service along Central Avenue to Addison Road station. WMATA also proposed to reroute the line into the Penn Marr Shopping Center via Donnell Drive for improved transfer opportunities to Routes K12, V12 and TheBus 20. However none of the proposals went through. The same proposal came up during WMATA's FY2019 budget proposal, with only the Capitol Heights reroute being mentioned.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the line was reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020. Beginning on March 18, 2020, the line was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule. Weekend service was also suspended beginning on March 21, 2020. The line restored its full schedule beginning on August 23, 2020.

On June 16, 2024, all service to the Machinists Place Building was eliminated.

As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign taking place on June 29, 2025, the J12 portion between Penn Mar Shopping Center and Forestville was combined with the K12, operating between Suitland station and Forestville and renamed into the P66. Service between Addison Road station and Penn Mar Shopping Center was taken over by TheBus.

References

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