Metro News Release

For immediate release: March 26, 2004

Metrobus 30s lines target some of DC’s top spots

" The Thirties are going your way" featured for a month

Several Metrobus routes known as " The Thirties" --which include routes 30, 32, 34, 35 and 36 and provide service to several of the top shopping, employment, and tourist spots in the District of Columbia" will be featured in a 30-day campaign that will encourage customers to take advantage of the buses that serve these high-profile neighborhoods. The promotional materials provide incentives for people who travel to places such as Georgetown, along Wisconsin Avenue, Capitol Hill, the National Mall, The White House and the National Cathedral to do so via Metrobus. Several area merchants are participating in the 30-day " The Thirties Are Going Your Way" promotion by offering discounts to customers who ride " The Thirties" during the 30-day timeframe. The events are being launched in partnership with the Sierra Club. " The Thirties Are Going Your Way" kickoff will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30, at the Shops at Georgetown Park, 3222 M Street, NW. WASH-FM radio will broadcast live from the kickoff in the lower-level food court area. Customers will be able to play a trivia game that focuses on the diverse and dynamic neighborhoods that the Thirties routes service. Prizes will be distributed. The Thirties bus routes provide strong Metrobus service and have capacity along the busy Georgetown section of the bus routes during off-peak periods. They also are among Metro’s top 32 bus routes which generate 50 percent of Metrobus ridership. " We think this " Thirties Are Going Your Way" event will increase awareness of the available service and trip planning tools available to Metrobus customers," said Jane Taylor, Metro’s Director of Marketing. " This event will enhance the amount of information available to Metrobus customers, encourage trial usage targeted bus routes, encourage customers" discretionary trips on Metrobus, and develop long-term partnerships with area businesses, apartment buildings, and other organizations in these neighborhoods." " Metrobus is a cost-effective transportation mode that is a smart way for people to get around town. Parking in Georgetown is no easy task. It’s much easier to hop on Metrobus," Ms. Taylor said. Sierra Club volunteers and Metro representatives will distribute materials at four outreach events in the Georgetown area and bus operators will have a promotional brochure available on their buses. Promotional posters will also be distributed throughout the surrounding neighborhoods, creating an awareness of the incentives available to customers who ride " The Thirties." The 30-day promotion will include on-air mentions throughout the month on WASH-FM (97.1) and will give out dinners and movies along the Northwest corridor of the Thirties routes. The kickoff event will also provide customers with the opportunity to demonstrate Metro’s on-line interactive trip planning via the internet-based RideGuide and the voice-activated RideGuide. Max the MetroDog and remote control Metrobus and Metrorail miniature vehicles will also be at the kickoff. Free Metrobus maps and brochures will also be distributed.

News release issued on March 26, 2004.