As a major tourist destination, the District is host to over 100,000 tour buses every year, an average of almost 300 per day. Currently, only a limited number of areas are available for tour buses to load and unload passengers or park, and buses are restricted to a three minute idling time limit, which includes loading/unloading passengers. These conditions and regulations create difficulties for tour bus operators. As a result, tour buses tend to stop or park on neighborhood streets and circle the blocks near the tourist loading areas to avoid exceeding the limits on idling times. Many tour bus operators remain in the District only long enough to take tourists to major attractions and then leave, resulting in loss of revenues as tourists shop, dine and spend the night in suburban jurisdictions. There is a need to identify clearly defined parking areas and loading zones for tour buses. 418.1
Policy T-3.5.1: Tour Bus Facilities
Develop carefully planned parking areas, loading zones, and dedicated routes for tour buses and commuter buses to prevent tour and commuter bus parking in residential neighborhoods. Enforce and apply fines and penalties when tour and commuter bus parking and route regulations are violated.
Action T-3.5.A: Tour Bus Management Initiative
Implement the recommendations of the DDOT Tour Bus Management Initiative, prepared to ameliorate long-standing problems associated with tour bus parking, roaming, and idling around the city's major visitor attractions. 418.3
High quality and carefully designed wayfinding signs can help orient tourists, Metro riders, and others so they can easily find their intended destinations.
The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9 a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10, r. 10-A418