As budget cuts loom, hundreds rally to tell Metro board: ‘Leave the bus lines alone’

(Click on the image for the Washington Post report)

By Faiz Siddiqui
Osama Iqab unfurled a poster-size photograph of a crammed 18P Metrobus, hoping the image would stick with Metro board members and convince them to preserve his bus route — which is slated for elimination to help close a looming budget gap.
“I would more than love to live in D.C.,” the 28-year-old told the board Monday night as he explained that he lives in Burke Centre in Fairfax, Va., because his family there depends on him. “If you get rid of those routes, you’re literally getting rid of a major transportation mode for me to get into work.”
Among the early speakers was Indian Head Mayor Brandon Paulin, 21, the youngest mayor in Maryland’s history and an ardent defender of the W19 route, which is slated for elimination. He said the route is the town’s only commuter bus into the District, depositing riders on the city’s southeast edge at Southern Avenue.
“In Charles County, it’s not like calling an Uber’s really easy,” Paulin said. “To my constituents, there are quite a few that said they’re going to have to find a new job. To me, that’s not acceptable. We can’t leave families on the streets.”
[Metro proposes to "Eliminate service or modify routes P17 and P19 to operate between Southern Ave Station and Fort Washington instead of downtown DC."]