Business groups that helped win Metro funding launch campaign to improve region’s bus service

The alliance of business and nonprofit groups that successfully lobbied for last year’s historic Metro funding agreement wants to use its clout to dramatically improve the Washington region’s bus system.

The benefits would be considerable, advocates say, especially for the region’s lower-income residents, who disproportionately rely on buses for transportation.

The MetroNow coalition says it wants to speed bus trips and increase reliability to 90 percent on-schedule by 2025, compared with 60 percent today. It would do so via a ninefold increase in dedicated bus lanes throughout the region and reprogrammed traffic signals to give buses priority over cars.