The city announced earlier this year that the Circulator’s current ridership was not enough to sustain its $40 million operating budget. The ride service was created in 2005 to help supplement the Metro bus by offering six routes. 

The loop between Union Station and Georgetown — the only route to see ridership on par with pre-pandemic levels — will now be taken over by the Metro bus. Meanwhile, the National Mall route, the Woodley Park and 14th Street NW, and the Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza route won’t be replaced. 

These additions to Metro bus routes are calculated to cost $8.7 million a year. This comes as Metro prepares to make some routes 24-hour, which will cost the city an additional $11 million a year.

These changes to accommodate the phasing out of the Circulator include extending the 31 and 33 bus service all the way to Union Station, creating quicker loops for buses along 14th Street NW, and also having a shuttle bus take riders from Stanton and Pomeroy roads SE to the Anacostia Metro stop.

Metro is reportedly buying some of the 15 battery-powered electric buses in the Circulator fleet and also helping employees find work with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.