Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line
The Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line, designated Route A12 is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Addison Road station of the Blue and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro and Capital Plaza Mall. The line operates every 20–25 minutes during peak hours, 30–35 minutes during weekday off peak hours, 45 minutes on Saturday, and 60 minutes on Sunday. Route A12 trips roughly take 55 minutes. On Sundays, Route A12 is extended to Capitol Heights station replacing portions of route F14.
| A12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Jr Highway Line | |||
 | |||
 Route A12 at Landover Station | |||
| Overview | |||
| System | Metrobus | ||
| Operator | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | ||
| Garage | Landover | ||
| Livery | Local | ||
| Status | In Service | ||
| Began service | 1978 | ||
| Ended service | A13, A17: November 21, 1978 A15: December 15, 2004 A11: March 29, 2015 | ||
| Route | |||
| Locale | Prince George's County | ||
| Communities served | Capitol Heights, Hyattsville, Landover, Dodge Park, Palmer Park, Seat Pleasant, Kent Village, Glenarden | ||
| Landmarks served | Capital Plaza Mall, Prince George’s Hospital, Landover station, Seat Pleasant, Addison Road station, Capitol Heights station (Sunday only) | ||
| Start | Capital Plaza Mall | ||
| Via | Annapolis Road, Baltimore–Washington Parkway, Landover Road, Brightseat Road, Martin Luther King Jr Highway, Addison Road, East Capitol Street (Sundays Only) | ||
| End | Addison Road station (Monday-Saturday) Capitol Heights station (Sunday only) | ||
| Service | |||
| Level | Daily | ||
| Frequency | 20-25 minutes (Rush Hour) 30-35 minutes (Midday and Weekday Evening Service) 45 minutes (Saturday) 60-70 minutes (Sunday) | ||
| Operates | 4:55 AM – 12:35 AM (Weekdays) 5:40 AM – 11:15 PM (Saturdays) 5:55 AM - 11:10 PM (Sundays) | ||
| Transfers | SmarTrip only | ||
| Timetable | Martin Luther King Jr Highway Line | ||
| |||
Current route
Route A12 operates daily between Capital Plaza and Addison Road station providing service among the Landover community. On Sundays, route A12 is extended to Capitol Heights station replacing a portion of route F14 since the F14 does not run on Sundays. Route A12 currently gets its buses out of Landover division.
History
The Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line began in 1978 consisting of routes A11, A12, A13, A15, and A17. Routes A11 and A12 operated between Capital Plaza and Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington D.C., via Annapolis Road, Baltimore Washington Parkway, Landover Road, Palmer Highway, Marlboro Pike, Pennsylvania Avenue, Independence Avenue, and Constitution Avenue. Route A13 operated between Federal Triangle and Washington Business Park and routes A15 and A17 provided weekday peak hour service between Dodge Park and Federal Triangle.
Route A12 originally operated by the Bradbury Heights Bus Line as the Kent Village Line in 1922. It then operated under the Washington Marlboro & Annapolis Motor Lines Inc. (WM&A). It also operated under the District Heights Line but was later replaced by the P12 and V14.[1] The line was later acquired by WMATA on February 4, 1973.[2]
Service Changes (1978)
On November 21, 1978 when Landover station opened, routes A11, A13, A15, and A17 were discontinued and route A12 was shorten to Potomac Avenue station discontinuing service to Downtown. Routes A11, A15, and A17 were replaced by both route A12 and the Orange Line while route A13 was replaced by route F13.[3]
Service Changes (1980)
On November 22, 1980, when Addison Road station Road and Capitol Heights station opened, A12 was shortened even further to operate between Capital Plaza and Addison Road station Mondays through Saturdays, as both the Orange and Blue Lines would provide much faster and direct service between much of Prince George's County and Downtown Washington D.C. Route A12 was also extended to operate to Capitol Heights station via, East Capitol Street on Sundays replacing a portion of route F14 which doesn't operate on Sundays.[4]
Route A11 was also reincarnated on November 22, 1980 to make a one way trip between Capital Plaza to Federal Triangle on Saturday mornings only before the first Orange Line trip from the New Carrollton station departs. Route A11 would mainly operate using the A12's former routing between Capital Plaza and the Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington D.C., except it would not serve Landover station.
Route A15 (1983–2004)
In 1983, route A15 was reincarnated to operate between Capital Plaza and Addison Road station via Landsdowne Village Apartments in Landover, MD during weekday peak periods using the same routing as A12 but instead serving Landsdowne Village Apartments.
On December 15, 2004, route A15 was discontinued and replaced by routes routes A11, A12, and Prince George's County's The Bus Route 22. Alternative service was provided by routes A12 between Capital Plaza and Landover Mall and The Bus Route 22 operated between Landover Mall and Landsdowne Village Apartments, via Morgan Boulevard station.[5][6]
Service Changes (2014)
Even after Landover Mall had closed in 2002, routes A11 & A12 would still loop around the former mall due to Sears still being opened. On March 30, 2014, both A11 & A12 were rerouted to no longer serve the former site of the Landover Mall and were rerouted to operate along Brightseat Road, Glenarden Parkway, Ardwick Ardmore Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Highway,via route F14's routing, to provide weekly Metrobus service to Glenarden, due to Sears announcing that its Landover store will close in March 2014.[7][8] This routing gives direct bus service to Landover station as it was only previously provided between Glenarden and New Carrollton station.[9]
2014 Proposed Changes
In 2014, WMATA proposed changes to route A12.[10]
WMATA proposed to split the A12 into two routes with the A12 running between Addison Road station and New Carrollton station via Brightseat Road and Ardwick Industrial Park and discontinuing service to Capital Plaza and Landover station primarily running along Martin Luther King Jr. Highway. A new Route L12 will operate the A12 routing between Capital Plaza and Largo Town Center station via Landover station and Woodmore Town Center primarily running on Landover Road via Palmer Park and Hawthorne Street running along the old A12 routing. Stops between Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy and Brightseat Road will be replaced by a rerouted route F14 which will discontinue service along a portion of Brightseat Road being replaced by Route A12.[10] Public feedback however opposed to the changes and the reroutes were not implemented.
Service Changes (2015)
On March 29, 2015, route A11 was discontinued making route A12 the only Route to operate the Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line.
References
- "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- "History". Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Feaver, Douglas. "Bus Routes Change Sunday to Link with Orange Line". Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- Feaver, Douglas (November 20, 1980). "Bus Route Changes to Take Place as Two New Blue Line Stations are Scheduled to Open in Prince George's County, Maryland". Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Metrobus service changes, effective Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, December 2004
- "Metrobus service changes, effective Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004". December 18, 2004. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- "Metro News Release | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
- O'Connell, Jonathan. "Sears to close Landover store in March". Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "Metrobus service changes effective March 30 include more trips to improve reliability, reduce crowding". Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "MARYLAND PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES" (PDF). Retrieved 17 February 2020.