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Tag: metrobus

  • Man who threatened to kill family on a Metrobus sentenced to 5 years in prison – WTOP News

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    A man who threatened to kill a family of four on a crowded Metrobus in March has been sentenced to five years in prison.

    A D.C. man who pulled out a Uzi-style pistol on a Metrobus and threatened a family has been sentenced to five years in prison. (Credit U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro Office)

    A man who threatened to kill a family of four on a crowded Metrobus in March has been sentenced to five years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced Wednesday.

    In March of this year, Ricardo Rush, 29, pulled out an “Uzi-style semi-automatic pistol” on a bus in Southeast D.C. and threatened to kill two parents and their two young children, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of D.C.

    Court documents said Rush boarded the bus only a few minutes before the family, which sat in the row in front of Rush. It was just after 11:30 a.m. that Rush began to harass the family. At one point, he stood up and waved the gun in the mother’s face.

    The bus subsequently pulled over, prompting Rush to momentarily step off before pointing the gun toward the woman again and reboarding. Rush later head-butted the father and threatened to shoot and kill all four members of the family again.

    Rush eventually got off the bus and fled the scene on foot.

    He was arrested April 10, when officials located a loaded semiautomatic handgun inside his home.

    Rush pleaded guilty in June to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and assault with a dangerous weapon, among other charges. Having been previously convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in 2021, Rush was barred from owning a firearm of any kind.

    He was sentenced Oct. 23 to five years in prison. In addition to the five-year prison term, Rush will serve three years of supervised release.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Metro sees big gains in safety and ridership over past year – WTOP News

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    As Metro wraps up a yearlong review of its service, the transit agency is reporting two major wins: a sharp drop in crime and a steady rise in ridership.

    As Metro wraps up a yearlong review of its service, the transit agency is reporting two major wins: a sharp drop in crime and a steady rise in ridership.

    According to Metro’s newly released FY2025 Annual Service Excellence Report, crime across the system fell by 43% between June 2024 and June 2025. The biggest drop was in car thefts at stations, which were down nearly 60%. Larceny cases fell by 33%, while robbery and assault each dropped by more than 20%.

    This continues a downward trend that began in 2023, with overall crime now down 50% compared to two years ago.

    Metro credits the improvement to several key efforts, which include more visible police and staff on trains and platforms, expanded use of surveillance cameras to solve cases and data-driven deployment of officers. Crisis intervention teams also played a role, helping to de-escalate more than 30,000 situations involving individuals in crisis.

    Also last year, Metro introduced new fare gates aimed at preventing fare evasion on trains. Combined with stepped-up fare enforcement, including nearly 20,000 enforcement actions, these efforts are being credited for declining crime rates.

    Ridership on the upswing

    Meanwhile, ridership is on the rise, partially fueled by the return-to-office push in the D.C. area. Metro recorded 264 million trips over the past fiscal year, which is a 9% increase.

    The report also provides a look at Metrorail’s new “Tap. Ride. Go” system, which allows riders to pay a fare by tapping a credit card at the fare gate. Early numbers for the payment system, which was rolled out in May, show it was used for 7% of weekday trips and 13% of weekend trips.

    This year, Metro also implemented automatic train control on all lines, and since the switch was flipped on, the agency said the system is shaving an average of 51 seconds off each trip.

    Some of the areas Metro looks to improve include bus system reliability, with buses being twice as likely to be late than early to a stop. Metro said the afternoon rush hour played a big role in that, but so did a bus driver shortage. Metro plans to address the shortage by hiring 560 bus operators in the coming months.

    While seeing a rise in the use of the MetroAccess system for users with disabilities, the agency also saw satisfaction among users drop from 84% to 78%. Metro said the transition to a new contracting model used last year is to blame for the drop in on-time performance for MetroAccess. It has added a new provider to the mix to help meet demand.

    Metro said the number of riders dissatisfied with safety on the rail system is also going down, from 17% last year to 9% this year. On buses, that number is down from 15% to 13%.

    The report will be presented to Metro’s board during a meeting on Sept. 11.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Mike Murillo

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  • First on WTOP: Thousands fined for driving, parking in DC’s bus lanes – WTOP News

    First on WTOP: Thousands fined for driving, parking in DC’s bus lanes – WTOP News

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    Thousands of people have received tickets for driving or parking in D.C.’s dedicated bus lanes, ever since a program that aims to make buses safer and more efficient advanced to its second phase earlier this year.

    Thousands of people have received tickets for driving or parking in D.C.’s dedicated bus lanes, ever since a program that aims to make buses safer and more efficient advanced to its second phase earlier this year.

    As part of its Clear Lanes initiative, D.C.’s Department of Transportation started giving citations in January to those illegally driving, parking, standing or stopping in a bus lane. That followed a warning period, during which drivers weren’t fined.

    All told, 2,692 citations have been issued for bus lane violations  since Jan. 29, according to DDOT data obtained by WTOP. However, Acting Director Sharon Kershbaum said it’s still too soon to determine whether the program has been effective.

    It usually takes a few months to see a drop in citations, she said.

    “The goal of Clear Lanes is really behavior change,” Kershbaum said. “We want to make sure that we don’t have vehicles that are blocking the bus zone or the bus lane.”

    The bus lanes are spread out across the city, and are usually painted red with block lettering. Many also have signs nearby.

    Driving, parking, standing or stopping in a designated bus lane comes with a $100 fine.
    (WTOP/Scott Gelman)

    WTOP/Scott Gelman

    bus sign
    The bus lanes are spread out across the city, and are usually painted red with block lettering. Many also have signs nearby.
    (WTOP/Scott Gelman)

    WTOP/Scott Gelman

    bus lane
    bus sign

    Driving, parking, standing or stopping in a designated bus lane comes with a $100 fine. Cameras mounted on buses take pictures of violators. The vehicle information is then sent directly to DDOT.

    “With our priority bus lanes, we want to make sure that our buses can continue to move quickly,” Kershbaum said. “When you have a vehicle that is parked or just stopping in the middle of a bus lane, and the bus needs to get out of the lane to drive around it, that dramatically slows the speed of the bus.”

    As a result of that, Kershbaum said the whole route takes longer, too.

    The city is building 25 miles of priority bus lanes, she said, enabling buses to get through routes faster. But, “the key of it is, we can’t have people blocking those priority bus lanes.”

    With a combination of enforcement and priority bus lanes, Kershbaum said other cities have seen about 30% efficiency improvements “in terms of how long it takes to get from one segment of a route.”

    The initial phase of the program, which launched in November, focused on bus stops, rather than bus lanes. Drivers parking, standing or stopping in areas around bus stops on certain routes started receiving $100 fines in November.

    A total of 17,885 of the bus zone citations have been issued since Jan. 29, far more than the bus lane violations, according to DDOT data.

    When drivers block the area around a bus stop, Kershbaum said, “It means that the buses have to actually stay in the roadway. And you’ve got people that are walking in between cars. It’s incredibly dangerous.”

    In the case of speed cameras, Kershbaum said it takes four to six months before there’s a gradual decline in citations, indicating a potential change in driver behavior.

    “I’m imagining it’s going to be similar with Clear Lanes,” Kershbaum said. “The first time you get ticketed, that’s going to be the realization, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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