Following a series of incidents in which teenagers threw rocks at buses, Metro said last month it wanted to end night service to two areas of Ward 8 where the rock-throwing had taken place.

Not if Vince Gray has anything to say about it.

Speaking at a press conference following his announcement of a five-year economic development strategy, the mayor said he was strongly against cutting service to the W6 and W8 buses.

“I’m unalterably opposed to that,” Gray said.

Gray then called on Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, who said his office has not seen a pattern of danger to warrant any service changes.

“There was no pattern. There were four random acts,” he said. “We just have not seen the great numbers that have been reported.”

Quander said there were four incidents this calendar year, no two in the same place, and four in the last calendar year.

“It’s my understanding that there were more incidents on the U Street corridor than in all of Southeast,” he said.

Photo by Lydia DePillis