The Mysterious 98 Bus

Did anyone know this fucking bus existed??

I was hauling ass to one of those new wine bars to pop up in the city to meet a friend for a much needed after "work" drink, when I decided that there was no way in hell I was going to make it without some kind of motor vehicle assistance. Seeing as I had only $40 dollars to withdraw from my account, a cab was totally out of the question. It was raining, I was wearing dam cute shoes, my hair would be ruined in a matter of minutes, so my only option was to run over to U street and see if I could catch one of those buses I think heads straight out all the way to, like, North Capital.

When I get to the bus stop, I realize I'm a dime short for the new fair hike! I can either walk away defeated, the way I usually do when I don't want to ask people for money or beg to get on the bus, or I could beg to get on the bus for a dime short. The rain is wet. I decide to beg.

Then suddenly a small bus without any header, any bus number, and without the typical full-and-sweaty bus look of the typical U Street kind pulls up and lets me in. Something is odd, I think. I ask the driver if he heads across U Street. Yes, he says. For 25 cents. I'm thinking, I'm already ten cents short, and now there's some 25 cent surcharge? No... 25 cents is the fare, he says. That's all.

After some investigation, I learn this is the 98 bus, the Adams Morgan-U Street link, which has been running since at least last spring and covers the span of Adams Morgan from the Woodly Park station through U Street to 9th Street NW. FOR A QUARTER. So basically, I could hit all the good spots to get my drink on without a cab for A QUARTER. And I got a transfer.

Which is good, because it turns out that I was at the OTHER wine bar, not the one where my friend sat waiting for 30 minutes while I sat and got drunk waiting for her. Good thing I could hop on the link and head in the other direction.