New bus route will connect Huntington Metro, National Harbor

Starting in October, employees and visitors will be able to take a bus from the Huntington Metro station to National Harbor every 30 minutes.

Metro’s board of directors officially approved the NH2 pilot program Thursday at their Finance Committee meeting. The pilot will run from October until June 2017. If it’s successful, Metro aims to make the NH2 permanent as part of its FY 2018 budget.

The timing of the pilot coincides with the opening of MGM National Harbor hotel and casino, which is scheduled to be completed later this year.

The NH2 will be Metro’s only bus line connecting Alexandria and the Route 1 corridor to Prince George’s County. After leaving Huntington, the NH2 will stop at the King Street Metro station, cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and stop at the Oxon Hill Park-and-Ride, the MGM, and downtown National Harbor.

The NH2 will run seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Metro projects the annual operating cost to be $2.9 million. The Peterson Group, National Harbor’s developer, will contribute $500,000 annually to fund the line, and the Maryland Department of Transportation, the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County will be on the hook for the rest, according to details of the proposal.