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New Carrollton–Silver Spring Line

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See also: New Carrollton-Fort Totten Line

F4
New Carrollton-Silver Spring Line
Route F4 in Silver Spring in May 2018
Overview
SystemMetrobus
OperatorWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
GarageLandover
LiveryLocal
StatusIn Service
Began serviceFebruary 19, 1978
Route
LocalePrince George's County, Montgomery County
Communities servedNew Carrollton, Riverdale, Hyattsville, Lewisdale, Green Meadows, Chillum, Carole Highlands, Takoma Park, Silver Spring
Landmarks servedRiverdale Park, Hyattsville Crossing, Takoma Park
StartNew Carrollton
ViaRiverdale Road, East-West Highway, Ethan - Allen Avenue, Philadelphia Avenue
EndSilver Spring
Other routesF6 (February 19, 1978 - June 17, 2012)
Service
LevelDaily
Frequency12-15 minutes (7 AM - 9 PM)
30 - 60 minutes (After 9 PM)
Operates4:50 AM – 2:00 AM
Ridership2,768,533 (FY 2024)[1]
TransfersSmarTrip only
TimetableNew Carrollton-Silver Spring Line
← F1  {{{system_nav}}}  F6 →

The New Carrollton–Silver Spring Line, designated as Route F4, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between New Carrollton station of the Orange Line of the Washington Metro and Silver Spring station of the Red Line of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 12 minutes between 7AM and 9PM, and 30–60 minutes after 9PM. F4 trips are roughly 62 minutes. The line mainly provides service on the East-West Highway corridor from the eastern portion of Prince George's County to Montgomery County.

Background

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Route F4 operates daily between New Carrollton station and Silver Spring station connecting both Prince George's County to Montgomery County via the East-West Highway corridor. The route is one of the busiest Metro routes from Maryland as it mainly connects Riverdale, Hyattsville, Lewisdale which sees increased ridership.

Route F4 begins at New Carrollton and travels via Ellin Road, Harkins Road, and Annapolis Road. The route then turns along Riverdale Road travelling along it before westbound trips turn from Riverdale Road onto Lafayette Avenue, then turns onto Queensbury Road, while eastbound trips turns from Queensbury Road onto 48th Avenue, before turning onto Riverdale Road, buses remain along Queensbury Road, operating until reaching Belcrest Road. The route then turns into Hyattsville Crossing station serving the station before turning back along East-West Highway. The route then operates along East-West Highway, then enters Montgomery County by operating along Ethan Allen Avenue. The route then turns along Philadelphia Avenue until it turns along Fenton Street. The route then turns along Colesville Road, then on Georgia Avenue, and then onto Wayne Avenue to serve the second level of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center. The route will operate the same pathway back vice versa.

Route F4 currently operates out of Landover division.

F4 stops

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History

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Prior to February 19, 1978, F4 originally operated as part of the Michigan Avenue Line between Avondale (Eastern Avenue & Michigan Avenue NE) and Archives (9th Street NW & Constitution Avenue NW).[2] F6 had a prior incarnation as the Sargent Road Line, when it operated as a Capital Transit Company bus route between Green Meadows and 12th & Quincy Street NE in Brookland, D.C. during the 1940s. However, the F6 was eventually truncated to operate between Gallatin Street NE & South Dakota Avenue NE in North Michigan Park, D.C. 12th & Quincy Street NE in Brookland, D.C. in 1949, before ultimately being discontinued in 1958.

The New Carrollton-Silver Spring Line was derived from the former DC Transit East-West Highway Line Route J4.

The original J4 began operating between the University of Maryland and Friendship Heights, via Campus Drive, Baltimore Avenue, Queens Chapel Road, East-West Highway, Prince George's Plaza, Belcrest Road, Queens Chapel Road, Hamilton Street, Ager Road, East-West Highway, Ethan-Allen Avenue, Philadelphia Avenue, Fenton Street, Sligo Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Wayne Avenue, Fenton Street, Colesville Road, East-West Highway, and Wisconsin Avenue around 1961.[3] In 1962,[4] Overtime, the J4 was rerouted between the University of Maryland College Park Campus and Prince George's Plaza via Campus Drive, Adelphi Road, and Belcrest Road.

In October 1963, the J4 was extended from the University of Maryland to Beltway Plaza Mall,[5] via Baltimore Avenue and Greenbelt Road. J4 eventually became a WMATA Metrobus Route on February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired DC Transit and formed its Metrobus System.

Around 1975, J2 was formed as a brand new Metrobus Route to operate as part of the East-West Highway Line alongside the J4, except it would operate between Beltway Plaza and Montgomery Mall. The J2 would operate on East-West Highway between the Prince George's Plaza Shopping Center and the intersection of Ager Road in Green Meadows instead of operating along Belcrest Road, Queens Chapel Road, Hamilton Street, and Ager Road.

On February 19, 1978[6] shortly after Silver Spring opened, Routes J2 and J4 were truncated to only operate between Friendship Heights (J4)/Montgomery Mall (J2) and Silver Spring station. The East-West Highway Line was split into two routes. Routes J2, J4, and a brand new J3 were renamed into the Bethesda–Silver Spring Line operating on its current route between Friendship Heights and Montgomery Mall and Silver Spring, while the portion between Silver Spring and Prince George's Plaza was renamed into the Prince George's-Silver Spring Line, operated by new Routes F4 and F6.

Routes F4 and F6 operated between Silver Spring and New Carrollton (F4) and Greenbelt (F6). Both routes operated parallel with each other between Silver Spring and East-West Highway & Ager Road in Green Meadows, then split from each other. Route F4 would operate along the former J2's routing along East-West Highway, then would operate to New Carrollton Mall via Belcrest Road, Queensbury Road, 48th Avenue (towards New Carrollton)/Lafayette Avenue (towards the Silver Spring Metro Station), and Riverdale Road. Route F6 would operate along the former J4's routing Ager Road, Hamilton Street, Queens Chapel Road, and Belcrest Road, University of Maryland, Baltimore Avenue, Greenbelt Road, and Beltway Plaza. After serving Beltway Plaza, Route F6 would operate to Greenbelt Center via Greenbelt Road, Lakecrest Drive, Lakeside Drive, Westway, Ridge Road, Gardenway, Crescent Road, and Southway. During rush hours, the F6 would operate to Goddard Space Flight Center via Southway and Greenbelt Road.

On December 3, 1978 shortly after the New Carrollton station opened, F4 was extended from its original terminus at New Carrollton Mall to New Carrollton station.

On December 11, 1993, the F6 was rerouted to operate between New Carrollton and Prince George's Plaza station, via Ellin Road, Harkins Road, Finns Lane, Riverdale Road, Auburn Avenue, Good Luck Road, Kenilworth Avenue, River Road, College Park–University of Maryland station, River Road, Kenilworth Avenue, East-West Highway, Prince George's Plaza, Belcrest Road, Queens Chapel Road, Ager Road, West Hyattsville station, Ager Road, and East-West Highway. Service to Beltway Plaza and Greenbelt Center was replaced by extended route C2.[7] During this time, F4 was also rerouted to serve the Prince George's Plaza station.

Around the 1990s, Route F6 would discontinue service to Silver Spring station and terminate at Prince George's Plaza.

Around 1996, after Paint Branch Parkway was finished being completed route F6 was rerouted to operate between the Prince George's Plaza and College Park station, via its original routing via Belcrest Road, Adelphi Road, and Campus Drive, then via Paint Branch Parkway and River Road. Once this change took place, F6's routing on Kenilworth Avenue between River Road and Prince George's Plaza was discontinued.

On September 12, 1999, route F6 was re-extended to Silver Spring station via West Hyattsville station. The route operated along Queens Chapel Road, Hamilton Street and Ager Road to serve West Hyattsville, then follow route F4's routing to Silver Spring along East-West Highway, Ethan Allen Avenue, and Philadelphia Avenue.[8]

On June 30, 2002, new Sunday service was added to the F4, operating every hour between 8:30 am to 9:30 pm.[9]

On May 15, 2003, the original bus bays inside Prince Georges Plaza mall, were demolished in order to build a new Target store. Routes F4 and F6, along with routes 86, C4, F8, R2, R3, and R4 have stopped entering and looping inside around the mall.[10]

On February 20, 2006, the line was changed from the Prince George's- Silver Spring Line to the New Carrollton-Silver Spring Line.

On September 28, 2008, the former Silver Spring Bus Bay was closed and ultimately demolished so that the new Silver Spring Transit Center could be built. Both routes F4 and F6 terminated at the temporary stop that WMATA placed at a curb, located on the northbound side of the intersection of Wayne Avenue & Colesville Road.[11]

As the result of an accident between a MARC commuter train and two F4 buses on the railroad crossing at Riverdale station on March 26, 2009, route F4 was rerouted to operate along the East-West Highway bridge between Queensbury Road and Baltimore Avenue via 49th Avenue, Queensbury Road, Taylor Road, and turning onto East-West Highway to prevent another accident from happening on the railroad crossing. Service between Riverdale Road and 49th Avenue plus Queensbury Road and East-West Highway was discontinued. Alternative service was replaced by TheBus Route 14 on the weekdays until TheBus 14 discontinued service to Riverdale station in 2019.[12][13][14]

In 2010, WMATA proposed to split the F4 and F6 routing into two routes. While the F4 remained the same, the F6 was proposed to be rerouted to serve Fort Totten, keeping its routing between the New Carrollton station & intersection of East-West Highway & Riggs Road the same, except route F6 would be rerouted to operate on the Route R3 routing between the intersection of Riggs Road & East-West Highway & Fort Totten along East-West Highway, Riggs Road, Sargent Road.[15] This was proposed to reduce redundancy with F4 between Silver Spring station and the East West Highway and Riggs Road intersection. The proposal was brought up again in 2012 with the same similarities.[16][17]

In May 2012, WMATA announced that route F6 would be rerouted to operate between New Carrollton & Fort Totten station to replace route R3 keeping the same routing between New Carrollton and the East-West Highway and Riggs Road intersection but running along route R3 routing to Fort Totten from there. Route F6 will now operate on R3's former routing between the intersection of Riggs Road & East-West Highway & Fort Totten station beginning on June 17, 2012. Route F4 also began operating every 12–20 minutes during the weekdays and 30 minutes on Sundays as a result of the changes to reduce crowding from F6 riders.[18]

With the Silver Spring Transit Center opening in September 2015, route F4 was rerouted along Fenton Street and Colesville to serve the new transit center. Route F4 was given Bus Bay 223 on Level 2 sharing the Bus Bay with the J4.[19]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the F4 operated on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020.[20] It however began operating on its Sunday service on March 18, 2020.[21] Weekend service was also reduced to operate every 30 minutes.[22] Its regular service was restored on August 23, 2020.[23]

On March 14, 2021, new short trips between New Carrollton and Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) stations were introduced to reduce crowding on its buses.[24]

On September 5, 2021, service was rerouted along Queensbury Road between Baltimore Avenue and 49th Avenue restoring its pre-2009 routing. Service along Baltimore Avenue was eliminated. Service was also increased to operate every 12 minutes daily between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.[25]

As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign Network approval, the F4 was renamed into the P30.[26][27]

Incidents

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  • On March 27, 2009, a MARC commuter train struck an F4 bus while it was crossing along the Queensbury Road railroad crossing. The F4 bus (D40LFR 6040) then hit another F4 bus that was turning (Flxible Metro 9731) causing damage to both buses.[12][13] After the accident, route F4 was rerouted along East-West Highway to no longer serve the Queensbury Road railroad crossing and to prevent another accident from happening.
  • On April 11, 2018, a man armed with a knife attempted to hijack an F4 bus after trying to rob a passenger along Riverdale Road. The driver of the bus pulled over and called emergency help. The man demanded everyone to get off the bus and tried taking off with the bus but was stopped due to a security feature that was equipped during an emergency. A Prince George's County police officer was able to detain the suspect and Metro Transit Police shortly after arrested the suspect. None of the 16 passengers on board or the driver were injured.[28][29]
  • On January 17, 2025, an F4 bus crashed into a vacant building in Riverdale, Maryland after the driver suffered a medical emergency. None of the passengers were injured however the driver passed away.[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ "Metrobus FY2024 Annual Line Performance Report" (PDF). wmata.com. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  2. ^ "DC Transit System 6 Public Timetables 1950s & 1960s era | #1883829478". Worthpoint. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "Vintage 1961 Washington DC Transit System Map Bus | #3867867277". Worthpoint. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "Vintage 1962 Washington DC Transit System Map Bus | #3847226975". Worthpoint. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "New Bus Line from Plaza to University, Chevy Chase" (PDF). October 17, 1963.
  6. ^ Likowski, Barbara (February 23, 1978). "F6 Metrobus Route Questioned" (PDF).
  7. ^ Pierre, Robert E. (December 9, 1993). "METRO SHUFFLING ITS BUS SCHEDULE". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "Maryland and Virginia Metrobus Service Changes Effective September 20, 1999". Archived from the original on November 15, 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  9. ^ "Metrobus changes effective June 30, 2002". June 9, 2002. Archived from the original on June 9, 2002. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "Metrobus service suspended at Prince Georges Plaza". Gazette.net. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. ^ "Bus stops to be relocated during construction of Silver Spring Transit Center". Metro News Release. September 25, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "MARC train crashes into Metrobus at Riverdale station Thursday afternoon". Gazette.net. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Metro News Release | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  14. ^ "Metro News Release | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "MARYLAND PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES : FISCAL YEAR 2011" (PDF). www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  16. ^ "B11-03: Proposed Adjustments to Metrobus Service; October 11-13, 2011". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  17. ^ "Notice of Public Hearing Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Proposed Adjustments to Metrobus Service Docket B11-03" (PDF). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  18. ^ "Metro News Release". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  19. ^ "Directory Map" (JPG). www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  20. ^ "Metro announces additional COVID-19 changes, including reduced service beginning Monday | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  21. ^ "METRO SERVICE LEVELS & HOURS FURTHER REDUCED TO SUPPORT ESSENTIAL TRIPS ONLY, STARTING WEDNESDAY | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  22. ^ "Weekend: Metro service limited to 26 bus routes, reduced rail service; expect wait times of 30 minutes; customers urged to travel only if essential | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  23. ^ "Metrobus Service Changes beginning August 23 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  24. ^ "Metrobus Service Changes Beginning March 14, 2021 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  25. ^ "Improved frequency and changes to Metrobus service begin Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021". Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  26. ^ "Metro Board of Directors approves Better Bus Network Redesign, new bus routes to start next summer". WMATA. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  27. ^ "Maryland Better Bus Routes" (PDF).
  28. ^ Taylor, Dan (April 12, 2018). "Attempted Metrobus Hijacking In PG County | WMATA". Bowie, MD Patch. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  29. ^ Cook, Gina. "Police: Man With Knife Tried to Hijack Metrobus in Prince George's County". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  30. ^ "Metrobus driver dies after medical emergency, bus runs into building in Riverdale". DC News Now | Washington, DC. January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  31. ^ "Metrobus crashes into building after driver suffers apparent medical emergency". wusa9.com. January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
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