Sheriff Road–River Terrace Line

U4
	Sheriff Road-River Terrace Line
Overview
System	Metrobus
Operator	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Garage	Bladensburg (Weekends and some peak hour trips); Southern Ave (Weekdays only)
Livery	Local
Began service	1949
Route
Locale	Northeast
Communities served	Central Northeast, Deanwood, River Terrace
Landmarks served	Minnesota Avenue station, River Terrace, Sheriff Road
Start	Minnesota Avenue station
Via	Sheriff Road NE, Minnesota Avenue NE, Benning Road NE
End	Eastern Avenue & Chapelwood Lane NE (Sheriff Road); 33rd & Blaine Streets NE (River Terrace)
Length	25-30 minutes
Service
Level	Seven Days a Week
Transfers	SmarTrip only
Timetable	Sheriff Road-River Terrace Line
Route map

The Sheriff Road-River Terrace Line, designated as Route U4, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Minnesota Avenue station of the Orange Line of the Washington Metro & Sheriff Road NE & Lee Street NE (Sheriff Road) or 33rd Street NE & Blaine Street NE (River Terrace). Route U4 operates every 10-15 minutes during peak hours, and 30-35 minutes at all other times. Route U4 trips roughly take 30 minutes.

Background

Route U4 provides daily service between Minnesota Avenue station and Sheriff Road NE & Lee Street NE (Sheriff Road) or 33rd Street NE & Blaine Street NE (River Terrace). Because the U4 route is a short Metrobus route with low passenger demand, U4 has almost always been assigned the smaller sized 30-foot buses, as opposed to the regular 40-foot sized buses WMATA typically uses on many of its Metrobus routes. However, route U4 occasionally uses 40 ft buses if the 30 ft buses are undergoing maintenance.

Route U4 operates out of Southern Avenue division during the weekdays and Bladensburg division during the weekends. The route mostly utilizes the 2012 Orion VII BRTs (3041-3044) out of Southern Avenue and 2006 30 ft Orion VII CNGs during the weekends but also regularly uses the XN40s based out of Bladensburg.

History

U4 originally operated as part of the "Sheriff Road-River Terrace" streetcar line, between the Deanwood & River Terrace neighborhoods of Northeast Washington D.C. The U4 streetcar line was later replaced by buses during the 1950s and eventually became a WMATA Metrobus Route on February 4, 1973 when WMATA acquired all four bus companies that operated throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area and merged them all together to form its own, "Metrobus" System. U4 kept operating on the same exact streetcar routing it had been operating on since 1949, even after becoming a WMATA Metrobus Route.[1]

1978 Changes

On December 3, 1978, U4 went through a minor rerouting change to divert into/serve the newly opened Minnesota Avenue station. The rest of U4's routing remained the exact same.[2] The line was named the Minnesota Avenue Shuttle.

1984 Changes

On January 22, 1984, route U4 was rerouted to operate between Sheriff Road and Capitol View passing Minnesota Avenue station in both directions.[3]

Proposed Changes

In 2014, WMATA announced a series of proposals for route U4 that will be implemented in June 2015 if it was approved by the Metro Board. It went as the following:[4]

Route U4: Daily service at all times between River Terrace and Deanwood Station via the current route between River Terrace and Minnesota Avenue station, then via the current route of V7 and V8 from Minnesota Avenue Station to Deanwood station.
Route U4 would no longer serve the portion of the current route between Minnesota Avenue Station and Sheriff Road.
New Route U7 would serve the portion of the current route between Minnesota Avenue Station and Sheriff Road.

This rerouting was to create a better balance of capacity and demand on lines serving the Minnesota Avenue station.

Incidents

On September 5, 2017, a passenger was arrested after he spat on a U4 bus driver along Minnesota Avenue. The driver was taken to a hospital.[5][6]

References

"WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
Feaver, Douglas B. (1978-11-30). "Bus Routes Change Sunday to Link with Orange Line". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
Leslie, Renee T. (12 January 1984). "Metro Sets Shuttle Bus Link For SE Residents". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
"DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES" (PDF). www.wmata.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
Marraco, Marina (5 September 2017). "Passenger arrested for spitting in the face of Metrobus driver". FOX 5 DC. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
Powers, Martine. "In latest assault on a bus operator, passenger spits on U4 driver". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

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[:0-1] "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.

[2] Feaver, Douglas B. (1978-11-30). "Bus Routes Change Sunday to Link with Orange Line". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2019-11-10.

[3] Leslie, Renee T. (12 January 1984). "Metro Sets Shuttle Bus Link For SE Residents". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2020.

[4] "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROPOSED BUS SERVICE CHANGES" (PDF). www.wmata.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.

[5] Marraco, Marina (5 September 2017). "Passenger arrested for spitting in the face of Metrobus driver". FOX 5 DC. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

[6] Powers, Martine. "In latest assault on a bus operator, passenger spits on U4 driver". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2020.