The College Park Line, designated Routes 83 & 86, are daily bus routes operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between the Rhode Island Avenue Station, which is served by Red Line of the Washington Metro, and the Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, Maryland (83), or Calverton (Center Park Office Park) (86). 83 is shortened to only operate on short trips between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier during early mornings on the weekends. 83 & 86 mainly operate on the U.S. Route 1 corridor between Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. & College Park, Maryland. Route 83 trips are roughly 50 minutes long and route 86 trips are roughly 70 minutes long.
Current Route
Route 86 along Route 1 in 2020
The 83 and 86 operate out of Landover division seven days a week. Both 83 and 86 originally operated out of Bladensburg Division up until June 2019, when they were shifted to make room for other routes at Bladensburg Division when Northern division closed due to structure failures.[2] During the week, Route 83 operates every 30–60 minutes between 4:35 AM and 11:20 PM, while Route 86 operates every 30–60 minutes between 5:00 AM and 10:50 PM. On Saturdays, the 83 provides service on a 60-minute headway from 5:35 AM to 11:00 PM, while the 86 provides service also on a 60-minute headway from 7:03 AM to 11:28 PM. On Sundays, the 83 runs from 6:35 AM until 8:20 PM and the 86 runs from 7:03 AM until 7:50 PM every hour.
The 83 is shortened to operate daily between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier terminal only during early mornings on the weekends. These shortened trips were originally under Route 82 which was renamed the 83 in 2016. Select Route 83 trips operate between Rhode Island and College Park during Friday and Saturday late nights only.
During snow detours, routes 83 and 86 are rerouted to Greenbelt station with no service to Cherry Hill or Calverton. Additionally, route 86 would remain straight along Rhode Island Avenue with no service to Hyattsville Crossing station.
The 82 Streetcar Line, which operated as part of the former Capital Transit Company (CTC) Maryland Line streetcar route, operated between Potomac Park and Branchville.[3] It began operation in 1897.[4] In 1958,[4] the 82 Streetcar Line was converted into a DC Transit Bus Route, as Capital Transit Company (CTC) was renamed as, "DC Transit System" (DCTS) and each of the streetcar lines throughout the DC Area were getting replaced by buses. 82 was the original bus route of the Maryland Line. Later around 1961, DC Transit Bus Route 82, was extended slightly north of its Branchville terminus, to Hollywood, via Rhode Island Avenue, Lackawanna Street, 53rd Avenue, 52nd Place, and Rhode Island Avenue.[5] Then, around 1968,[6] 82 was extended to the Seven Springs Village Apartment Complex (Hollywood) on Cherry Hill Road in College Park, Maryland, via Edgewood Road, Baltimore Avenue, and Cherry Hill Road. The line was eventually taken over by WMATA and officially became a Metrobus route on February 4, 1973, when WMATA acquired DC Transit.[7]
Route 84
84 operated as part of the Maryland Streetcar Line as an extension of the 82 Streetcar Line between Branchville and Beltsville from 1902 up until 1949, when it got ultimately discontinued.[3] Eventually around 1973, when the WMATA Metrobus System was formed, 84 was brought back to operate on the Maryland Line between Potomac Park and East Pines, operating parallel to Routes 82, 86, and 88 between Potomac Park and Mount Rainier, then via former DC Transit "East Riverdale - Cheverly" Line Route B4's routing between Mount Rainier and East Pines, when the B4 Route got discontinued. 84 eventually stopped operating as part of the Maryland Line on December 3, 1978, when it got split off into its own separate Metrobus Route named the, "Rhode Island Avenue - New Carrollton Line", due to being rerouted to operate between the Rhode Island Avenue and New Carrollton Metro Stations.
Route 86
86 was created as a brand new route around 1973 when WMATA's Metrobus System was formed. 86 originally operated between Potomac Park and Riverdale, mostly following 82 and 84's routing, only with the exception of in the end, diverting off Baltimore Avenue onto to the intersection of Riverdale Road and then operating via Rhode Island Avenue and Queensbury Road to reach its Riverdale terminus, which is currently where the Riverdale MARC Train Station is located.
Route 88
Much like 86, Route 88 was created as a brand new route around 1973 when WMATA's Metrobus System was formed. 88 would operate between Potomac Park and Cheverly, following 82, 84, and 86's routing between Potomac Park and Mount Rainier, then operating via the former DC Transit "East Riverdale - Cheverly" Line Route B6 and B8's routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, when the B6 and B8 routes got discontinued. B6 and B8 operated on almost the same exact routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, only with the exception that B8 would divert off Landover Road to serve the Prince George's Hospital, before operating to Cheverly. 88 followed B8's diversion off Landover Road to serve the Prince George's Hospital. Route 88 was ultimately discontinued on December 3, 1978 when the Cheverly Metro Station opened and its routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, was replaced by the F2 Metrobus Route.
Changes
On March 27, 1976, Routes 82, 84, 86, and 88 were rerouted to divert off the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue NE to serve the newly opened Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station.
On February 19, 1978, 83 was created as a brand new Metrobus Route to operate parallel to 82 between Potomac Park and Hollywood, only with exception of making limited stops to provide a speedier trip during weekday rush hour/peak period times.
During this same exact time, 86 was rerouted to operate between Potomac Park and College Park, in order to replace the former G6 Hyattsville Line's routing between Mount Rainier and College Park when G6 was rerouted to operate as part of the Rhode Island Avenue Line alongside Route G4 between Avondale and Metro Center. 86 would retain its original routing between Potomac Park and the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue & 38th Street in Brentwood, then operate via 38th Street/38th Avenue, Hamilton Street, 40th Avenue, Oglethorpe Street, 42nd Avenue, Queensbury Road, Belcrest Road, the Prince George's Plaza Shopping Center, East - West Highway, Baltimore Avenue, College Avenue, Dartmouth Avenue, Calvert Road, and Rhode Island Avenue. However; unlike Route G6, 86 would not operate on 34th Street, Taylor Street, Windom Road in Mount Rainier/Brentwood, MD, nor on Queens Chapel Road in University Park, MD.
On September 24, 1978, as Metrorail Service increased its frequency, Routes 82, 83, 84, 86, and 88 were truncated to only operate up to Rhode Island Avenue station, instead of operating all the way up to Potomac Park in Downtown Washington D.C. B6 was created as a brand new Metrobus Route to operate as part of WMATA's Eckington Line between the Rhode Island Avenue station and Metro Center, in order to provide alternative service to the 82, 83, 84, and 86 Metrobus Routes between the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station and Downtown Washington D.C.[8] despite not operating all the way up to Potomac Park.
88 was eventually discontinued on December 3, 1978 shortly after the Cheverly Station opened. 84 was split off into its own separate line named the Rhode Island Avenue–New Carrollton Line, after route 84 was extended from Riverdale (East Pines), to operate to the newly opened New Carrollton station.
In October, 1989,[9] when the Cherry Hill Park Campground opened at the intersection of Jayrose Boulevard & Cherry Hill Road in College Park, MD, Routes 82 and 83 were rerouted to operate between the Rhode Island Avenue Station and Cherry Hill, via the Seven Springs Apartments Complex (that both routes would still continue to serve). During the time that this particular rerouting change took place, 82 and 83's former Hollywood Loop north of Rhode Island Avenue and Edgewood Road in College Park was eliminated.
On December 11, 1993, when the Green Line extension Greenbelt opened, Route 82 was truncated to only operate on short trips between the Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier during early morning, late night, and PM rush hours only eliminating service to Cherry Hill. Route 83 would replace the 82 and operate along its exact routing as the 82 except it would serve the newly opened Greenbelt station in between via Greenbelt Road and Cherrywood Lane.[10][11]
Route 86 was also extended from its College Park terminus at the intersection of Dartmouth Avenue & Knox Road, to operate further north up to Centerpark Office Park (Calverton), in order to replace the segment of route R2's former routing between the intersection of Baltimore Avenue & Campus Drive (University of Maryland) and Calverton, via Baltimore Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Powder Mill Road, and Beltsville Drive, which was discontinued.[10] Route 86 was also rerouted off Belcrest Road in order to serve the newly opened Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station.
Around 1996/1997, Route 81 was shifted from the North Capitol Street Line to operate as part of the Maryland Line between Rhode Island Avenue station and Cherry Hill, to simply operate as a variant of Route 83's routing, as 83 was rerouted to serve the College Park - U of MD station, instead of serving the Greenbelt station.
On January 13, 2001, the line was renamed as the "College Park Line".[12]
On May 15, 2003, the original bus bays at Prince George's Plaza Shopping Center were closed to build a new Target store. As a result, route 86 and other routes stopped directly entering and looping inside Prince George's Plaza.[13]
On June 27, 2004, route 86 was permanently rerouted at the request of the city of College Park to directly serve the College Park–U of MD station by operating along the 83's routing along Baltimore Avenue, Paint Branch Parkway, and River Road instead of operating along College Ave, Dartmouth Ave, and Calvert Road.[14][15]
Due to the construction of a new curb next to the new Mosaic Apartments built right next to Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station around May/June, 2007, all Metrobus Routes that have previously exited Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station from the northbound side, had to do so by exiting the Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station via a right turn onto East-West Highway and left onto Belcrest Road. Route 86 was in the direction of Calverton to exit Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station northbound, right onto East-West Highway and remain straight on East-West Highway to past Belcrest Road but was able to keep its entire routing in the direction of Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood station the same as the route was still allowed to turn left from East-West Highway onto Belcrest Road, make a right turn from Belcrest Road to enter Prince George's Plaza (now Hyattsville Crossing) station, and make a right turn southbound on Belcrest Road.
On August 25, 2011, WMATA added a new route to the College Park Line called "83X" as a pilot route during the summer in order to provide additional direct service from Cherry Hill Campground to College Park–U of MD station operating four weekdays trips only from 8:30 am to 10:00 am only from the third Monday in June through the second Friday through August.[16]
During WMATA's Fiscal Year of 2015, WMATA proposed to split Route 83 and 86 into four routes. Route 83 and 86 would terminate at College Park station from Rhode Island Avenue station and be renamed Route 83S and 86S or keep their same names. The second portion was to be named route 83N and 86N or route R6 and R8 and will operate between College Park station and Cherry Hill (83N/R6) and Calverton (86N/R8) keeping the same routing with route 83 and 86. All existing service would still be covered but passengers will have to transfer at College Park station in order to continue their trips. If the proposal had gone through, it would mark the return of the R6 and R8 (unless it was switched to Route 83N/86N) service as they haven't operated since 1993[10] under the "Queens Chapel Road Line" (R6) and "Riggs Road Line" (R8).[17]
During WMATA's FY2016 budget, it was proposed for route 83 to be given Sunday service replacing route 81 and discontinuing Sunday service to Greenbelt station. Routes 83 and 86 would replace route 81 in College Park while route C2 would replace route 81 between Greenbelt station and University of Maryland. The reason of the changes was for WMATA making the College Park Line easier to understand towards riders.[18]
On March 27, 2016, route 81 service between Rhode Island Avenue station and Cherry Hill Campground was discontinued and replaced by route 83.[19] Route 83 also added Sunday service replacing the 81 but no longer serving Greenbelt station where it was replaced by route C2. Route C2 also added Sunday service to replace Route 81 portion between Greenbelt Road and Greenbelt station.[19][20]
On December 18, 2016, Route 82 was discontinued and was replaced by the 83.[21] Short trips between Rhode Island Avenue station and Mount Rainier were made 83 routes instead during late nights and early mornings. Also, due to Metro closing at midnight during that time period because of SafeTrack maintenance, select Route 83 trips were introduced to operate between Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood and College Park–U of MD station on Friday and Saturday late nights only.[21]
Beginning on September 1, 2019, the College Park Metrobus loop was temporarily closed for construction of the Purple line at College Park station. As of a result, route 83 and 86 were temporarily rerouted to stops along River Road, and later to the west side of the station via Calvert Road in April, 2020.[23][24]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, routes 83 and 86 were relegated to operate on its Saturday schedule beginning on March 16, 2020.[25] However beginning on March 18, 2020, the route was further reduced to operate on its Sunday schedule.[26] Also beginning on March 21, 2020, weekend service was further reduced with the 83 operating every 30 minutes and route 86 having all weekend service suspended.[27] On August 23, 2020, additional service was added to routes 83 and 86 operating every 60 minutes with a 30-minute frequency along Baltimore Avenue. However Route 86 Sunday service remained suspended while Route 83 operated every 30 to 35 minutes in place.[28]
In May 2020, WMATA announced that route 83X will not operate during for the 2020 summer season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Metro's reduced service since March 16, 2020. Alternative service would be provided by routes 83 and 86.[29]
On September 26, 2020, WMATA proposed to reduce the frequency of buses to every 60 minutes on both routes 83 and 86 and eliminate all route 86 Sunday service due to low federal funding. Route 86 has not operated on Sundays since March 15, 2020 due to Metro's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] Later in February 2021, due to low federal funds, WMATA proposed to extend route 83 to Greenbelt station to replace route C2 and eliminate all 86 service if WMATA does not get federal funding.[31]
On September 5, 2021, route 86 Sunday service was restored and the line's pre-pandemic schedule was also restored.[32]
On June 12, 2022, service to the east side of College Park station resumed with buses serving Bus Bay G.[33]
