The Georgetown University Office of Transportation Management (OTM) announced a new Georgetown University Transportation Shuttles route in a Jan. 22 email.

The new Capitol Campus Loop will stop at multiple Metro stops, including Union Station and Judiciary Square, local points of interest like Trader Joe’s and other neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The two pilot routes launched Jan. 22 and service the northwest and northeast quadrants of the District, with bases at the Law Center and 55 H St. NW residence hall and, depending on the day and route, up to five cycles of buses will run each weekday evening between 5 and 11 p.m.

“This service, which is being launched as a pilot for the Spring 2024 semester, is free for all faculty, staff, and students,” the Jan. 22 email reads. “GU IDs must be presented to board the bus.”

This new loop comes after OTM consolidated several downtown routes into a Capitol Campus route at the start of the Spring 2024 semester, streamlining connections between the Hilltop, the Law Center and other academic and residential buildings in downtown D.C.

Nate Findlay (CAS ’27) said although he regularly enjoys trips to Trader Joe’s and Union Station, time constraints have made it difficult to get to each location as often as he’d like.

With the new route announcement, Findlay said he is looking forward to saving time while heading to the grocery store or the Metro.

“This is really going to help me because although I really liked taking the walk to get there, I had a hard time scheduling it into my already really really busy schedule,” Findlay wrote to The Hoya. “So now I’ll be able to go more often.”

Dylan Shapiro (CAS ’26), who is living at the Capitol Campus as part of the Capitol Applied Learning Labs (CALL) program this semester, said he thinks the new bus routes will not impact his day-to-day routine in the short term, as they run on a more irregular basis than the current downtown loop but take the same amount of commuting time. 

“Since the CALL gives you a free bus pass and I commute back and forth three to four times a week, there’s not really any reason for me to use the new GUTS bus route,” Shapiro told The Hoya. “These routes are running so infrequently that it makes it almost impossible to actually use.”

OTM said they are collecting community feedback on the new Capitol Campus Loop before deciding their future plans.

“At the end of the semester we will assess the program, including gathering feedback from our community, and determine how to move forward,” the email reads.

Shapiro said the new routes could strengthen the Georgetown community’s connection with other neighborhoods of the city in the long term.

“I think that if they’re done correctly, the routes can help connect Georgetown more easily to the downtown area. It could make logistics easier for students who are studying primarily on Main Campus, but only come to the CALL once a week since they won’t have to memorize public transportation maps,” Shapiro said. 

“In theory, the new routes could put a stop to the phenomenon of the Georgetown bubble,” Shapiro added.

Meghan McGorty (CAS ’26), who interned on Capitol Hill last semester and frequently utilized the GUTS bus system, said she hopes the new loop will make transportation beyond the Hilltop more efficient. 

“As someone who commuted to the Capitol last semester, I found it very difficult to navigate the GUTS bus and Metro. It also took a really long time, and time is limited,” McGorty said.

McGorty said she thinks the route will also optimize transportation by connecting CALL students looking to do their grocery shopping in the NoMa neighborhood with Trader Joe’s.

“Georgetown students are big Trader Joe’s fans. I was just there yesterday getting groceries for a recruitment event for my entire sorority. It will make grocery shopping so much more convenient,” McGorty said.