503059 Revision of the DC Circulator's Georgetown Loop and Amendment of the Definition of "Rechargeable Fare Media"

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 

NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

 

The Director of the District Department of Transportation, pursuant to the authority set forth in sections 3(b), 11b(1), 11e(a), and 11h(a) and of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002, effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.02(b), 50-921.32(1), 50-921.35(a) and 50-921.38(a)); Mayor’s Order 2009-43, dated March 26, 2009; and Mayor’s Order 2009-62, dated April 21, 2009, hereby gives notice of the adoption, on an emergency basis, of amendments to Chapter 15, DC Circulator. of Title 18, Vehicles and Traffic, of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).  The amendments revise the Georgetown Loop route of the DC Circulator bus service to assume the route of the Georgetown Metro Connection, which operates from the Rosslyn, Virginia, Metrorail Station to Dupont Circle via the Georgetown neighborhood.  The amendments also broaden the definition of “rechargeable fare media”.

 

Emergency action is necessary to protect the public safety and welfare.  The Georgetown Metro Connection bus service is scheduled to end on August 31, 2010.  Over 55,000 persons per month use this service and many of them are low-income, elderly, and disabled, requiring access to employment and healthcare opportunities in the Rosslyn, Virginia, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown neighborhoods and surrounding areas.  Allowing the service to end will have a significant negative impact on the safety and welfare of these populations by diminishing their transportation access.  The DC Circulator is poised to continue the bus service beginning on or about September 1, 2010.

 

This emergency rulemaking was adopted on August 27, 2010, and became effective immediately on that date.  The emergency rulemaking will expire on December 24, 2010, or upon publication of a Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first.

 

The Director also gives notice of intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt this rulemaking in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

Chapter 15, DC CIRCULATOR, of Title 18, VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC, of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Section 1501, ROUTES, is amended as follows:

 

Paragraph (c) of Subsection 1501.1 is amended to read as follows:

 

(c)        Georgetown Loop – which may include stops in Georgetown; Rosslyn, Virginia; Adams Morgan; Dupont Circle; and the U Street, N.W., corridor;

 

Section 1599, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 1599.1 is amended by amending the definition of the term “Rechargeable fare media” to read as follows:

 

Rechargeable fare media - a plastic, permanent farecard that may be issued by the Department or WMATA embedded with technology that keeps track of the fare value on the farecard, which may include tracking transfers, weekly passes, and monthly passes.  A WMATA SmartTrip Card is an example of a rechargeable fare media.

 

All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking may file comments in writing, no later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Scott Kubly, Associate Director, District Department of Transportation, 2000 14^th Street, N.W., 5^th Floor, Washington, D.C.  20009.  Copies of this rulemaking are available electronically, at no cost, at www.dcregs.dc.gov.