After months of delays and missed deadlines, the streetcar finally began running on schedule along H Street NE today. Not with passengers, of course—-there’s no timeline for when that’ll happen, although the District Department of Transportation is aiming for sometime before year’s end, possibly November—-nor without some hiccups. But with streetcars actually traveling from stop to stop, it’s actually starting to feel like this thing may actually start moving real live humans someday.

The question is how many humans will choose to ride a streetcar that’ll operate in mixed traffic, stopped indefinitely whenever someone double parks, and largely duplicates the existing X2 bus line (which extends all the way downtown, rather than just to a bridge near Union Station). And you know what could entice a lot more people to make that choice? This:

“No determination has been made on that,” says DDOT spokesman Reggie Sanders. “We’re looking at every option right now.”

So it’s a possibility? “Nothing’s been ruled out,” Sanders responds, “but I wouldn’t say it’s a possibility.”

A nonconfirmation nondenial as inscrutable as the streetcar’s timeframe itself. What DDOT lacks in prognostication it more than makes up for in obfuscation. This round’s yours, Sanders.

Photo via DDOT