DURING A LUNCH OUTING on Monday, this writer saw a shiny new green bus make its way down Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington. It was part of the new bus fleet deployed this week on Arlington Transit's No. 41 bus route, the system's busiest, linking Columbia Pike with the Ballston and Court House stations. The sight of the new bus was a surprise of sorts, since ART's pre-existing fleet looks all boxy and awkward, more like a prison-transport vehicle than public transit.

The new, more appealing and energy-efficient buses are 35 feet long and 102 inches wide and have 30 seats inside. They also feature automated bus stop announcements for your listening convenience.

With the new buses, ART has now increased the capacity on the No. 41 route, with service every 15 minutes during weekdays. Weekend service will also increase to every 20-30 minutes, depending on the time of day.

ART buses will begin accepting Metro's SmarTrip cards in the fall. While Metrobus has many routes serving Arlington, ART has more neighborhood-oriented routes.

» "Arlington Transit Launches Eight Environmentally Friendly, Easy-Access Buses" [Arlington County]
» "Arlington Transit" [Commuter Page/Arlington County]

Photo courtesy Arlington County

Posted by Michael Grass at 11:26 AM on August 22, 2007
Tagged in Arlington County , Free Ride , News , Top Stories , Transit , Virginia