The McLean–Crystal City Line, designated Routes 23A, 23B & 23T, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Tysons Corner Center & Ballston–MU station of the Orange and Silver lines of the Washington Metro and Shirlington Transit Center & Crystal City station of the Yellow and Blue lines of the Washington Metro. The 23 line trips are roughly 15-60 minutes during the weekdays, and 20-60 minutes during the weekends. This line provides service from Tysons Corner in Fairfax County to Ballston and Crystal City of Arlington County.
Route description and service
The 23A, 23B, and 23T operate out of Four Mile Run Division 7 days a week. Route 23A only operates during late nights daily and early mornings on Saturdays and Sundays. The 23A runs the full route between Tysons Corner Center and Crystal City. The 23A also runs through other neighborhoods such as McLean, Rock Springs, Buckingham, Nauck, Parkfairfax, Arlington Ridge, and Aurora Highlands. Routes 23B and 23T operate on daily schedules with the same intervals, with transfers between Ballston station and Shirlington Transit Center. The 23B operates between Ballston station and Crystal City station, while the 23T operates between Tysons Corner Center and Shirlington Transit Center.
History
The McLean–Crystal City Line was introduced in 1934, under the Glebe Road Line, as the route was part of the Washington Virginia & Maryland Coach Company. It was later operated by WMATA in 1973, when it acquired all routes from the WV&M. Since 1973, the McLean–Crystal City Line consists of all 23 line. Some 23 routes were split into different lines, to run as a sister line which brings faster service between rush hours. The 23 line runs along Dolley Madison Boulevard, Old Dominion Drive, and Glebe Road, connecting to the neighborhoods of Fairfax and Arlington Counties, along with the neighborhoods of the City of Alexandria.
Route 23A initially started as a daily service route, which runs the full route all day. Route 23C was added to operate between the Langley CIA Headquarters and Crystal City, although, select 23C trips terminates at the Village at Shirlington. The 23C only operates during rush hour, bringing faster service between the neighborhood of McLean and Crystal City. Starting on September 24, 2005, bus transfers from Langley are no longer accepted due to security restrictions. The 23C bus time was not affected following the addition of the transfer restriction.
Service changes to the McLean–Crystal City Line wasn't changed until March 30, 2014. The 23A now ends at Tysons Corner Center instead of the Tysons-Westpark Transit Station. The 23A was also rerouted from Chain Bridge Road, to Dolley Madison Boulevard, to bring new service for the Silver Line, which opened on July 26, 2014. Two new routes was added to the line, the 23B & 23T. The 23B and 23T replaced the 23A rush hour service, although neither the two routes serves Langley resulting the discontinuation of the 23C. The remaining 23A portion between Tysons-Westpark Transit Station and Tysons Corner Center was served by route 23W of the Westpark Shuttle Line to serve as a temporary route to run through Tysons Galleria until the Silver Line opens. Since 2016, the 23B and 23T runs on daily service, as the 23A runs on late nights and early mornings.
2010 proposed changes
In 2010 during WMATA's FY2011 budget, WMATA proposed to eliminate route 23C and replace it with route 23A. This was due to bus transfer being restricted at Langley, as riders will have to stop at Old Dominion Drive and Chain Bridge Road to transfer to the 15K or 15L of the Chain Bridge Road Line.
With the 23C being proposed to be converted to the 23A, service at Douglas Park, which operates via Walter Reed Drive and Arlington Mill Drive, would be discontinued. Arlington Transit route 77 will continue to provide service on Douglas Park, following the same path as the 23C, although ART 77 will split on South Glebe Road to continue straight towards Court House station.