Washington Metro announces service improvements to make travel more convenient

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) has announced that it is making changes that will make riding easier and more convenient for passengers as the region resumes school and leisure activities and returns to workplaces. From 5 September 2021, Metro will add more buses and trains into service, offer lower prices and extend Metrorail’s operating hours on weekends.

The changes, approved by Metro’s Board of Directors in June 2021, followed extensive public input about how riders plan to travel. The service and pricing improvements are designed to make Metro a more affordable, attractive way to travel and to meet customer needs by providing more services at all times of the day, not just during rush hour.

“This is a time of change for Metro and our customers, and it’s an opportunity to make our service work better for all riders, whether they take Metro to work, to the grocery store, to visit family or friends or to just get around town,” said Metro’s Board Chair, Paul C. Smedberg. “We are adding more rail and bus services, more hours and working with businesses and the community to ensure that the service will be there when riders need it.”

Among the service improvements, Metro will:

• Add more buses on the busiest lines to better serve customers throughout the day
• Reduce average wait times for buses during the day
• Restore more services that had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Provide free bus transfers between rail and discounted passes.

On Metrorail, more trains will run during off-peak hours, with average wait times ranging between two and seven minutes any time of day. Trains will also run for longer, closing later overnight on weekends and opening earlier on Sundays.

“As the region goes back to work and school, we will be ready with service that is convenient any time of the day and offers the flexibility that riders need,” said Metro’s General Manager, Paul J. Wiedefeld. “We are also making Metro the best way to travel on weekends, with less wait times for trains and just $2 for a one-way trip anywhere on the rail system.”  

The service improvements will bring overall bus and rail service to near pre-pandemic levels, providing 97 per cent of pre-COVID-19 service levels on Metrobus and 91 per cent on Metrorail.  On some bus routes and off-peak on rail, service will be even better than it had been before the pandemic.