North Capitol Street Line
The North Capitol Street Line, designated as Route D30 is a daily bus route that is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Fort Totten station of the Red and Green Lines of the Washington Metro and Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington, D.C., with late night and early morning trips extending to L'Enfant Plaza station which is served by the Blue, Orange, Silver, Green and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 15 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes at night.
Background
Route D30 operates between Fort Totten station and Federal Triangle with late night and early morning trips extending to L'Enfant Plaza station providing service along North Capitol Street. The route was one of the most popular routes, with having 4,594 average weekday ridership in 2023. Route D30 operated out of Bladensburg division.Current stops
History
Before WMATA implemented the Better Bus Redesign network, Route D30 was previously known as Route 80. Route 80 began service in 1872 as the North Capitol Street and College Park Line as a horsecar service.The line was a mix of its current and the College Park Line, Operated along North Capitol Street and in College Park, Maryland via Brentwood.
After electric streetcars operated by the Metropolitan Railroad took over the city, the line was acquired in 1902 by the Washington Railway and Electric Company, which merged to become the Capital Traction Company in the 1930s, and operated as DC Transit after 1956. Just two years later on September 7, 1958, Routes 80 and 82 were abandoned, the first streetcar lines to be abandoned.
After DC Streetcars, Route 80 service on the North Capitol Street Streetcar Line, alongside 81 between Brookland & Potomac Park. it was later extended to Riggs Road NE, via 12th Street NE and South Dakota Avenue NE during the early 1970s although both routes were eventually truncated to the Fort Totten Metro Station on February 19, 1978, shortly after it opened.
Route 81 operated as a part of the Line until 1996/1997 when it became a part of the College Park Line, operating between Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood station and Cherry Hill via Greenbelt station.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the line was reduced to operate on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020. However beginning on March 18, 2020, the line was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule. Weekend service was also suspended beginning on March 21, 2020. The line restored its full schedule beginning on August 23, 2020.
On September 5, 2021, the line was shorten to operate up to McPherson Square station and service to Kennedy Center was replaced by routes 42 and 43. Service was also increased to operate every 12 minutes daily.
Early morning and late night service was extended to Foggy Bottom station on June 25, 2023.
As of December 17, 2023, the route now operates 24/7.
In WMATA's FY2025, they proposed terminating Route 80 at Washington Union Station instead of McPherson Square, eliminating service on service along H Street, I Street, K Street, 15th Street, 13th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Massachusetts Avenue. It was also proposed Route 80 would be moved into the 20-minute Frequent Service Network, rather than the 12-minute Frequent Service Network from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week.
As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign taking place on June 29, 2025, Route 80 was modified to operate along E Street NW and terminate at Federal Triangle instead of McPherson Square. Late night service was extended to L'Enfant Plaza station. The line was renamed into the D30.