Washington, D.C. operates six Metro lines covering 98 stations across 129 miles of track. The system opened in 1976 and carries approximately 626,000 passengers on an average weekday. Trains run from 5 AM on weekdays and 7 AM on weekends, closing at 11:30 PM Sunday through Thursday and 1 AM Friday and Saturday. Base fare starts at $2.00 during off-peak hours and $2.25 during peak hours, with distance-based pricing that can reach $6.00 for the longest trips. A single SmarTrip card costs $2.00 and must be purchased to ride, as paper tickets are no longer available. The card holds value that riders add in advance. Peak hours are 5 AM to 9:30 AM and 3 PM to 7 PM on weekdays.
The Metro map shows color-coded lines: Red, Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow, and Green. The Red Line runs from Shady Grove in Maryland through downtown to Glenmont, hitting major stops at Metro Center, Gallery Place, and Union Station. The Orange and Silver lines share track through the core, splitting east and west to serve Virginia suburbs and Dulles International Airport. The Blue and Yellow lines cross the Potomac to Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery before diverging. Transfers happen at multi-line stations including Metro Center, L'Enfant Plaza, and Gallery Place-Chinatown. Weekend and evening service runs every 12 to 15 minutes per line, doubling wait times compared to the 6-minute rush hour frequency.
Metrobus operates 269 routes across 1,500 square miles with a fleet of approximately 1,500 buses. Base fare is $2.00, matching off-peak rail. The DC Circulator runs six fixed routes connecting major tourist areas and transit hubs for $1.00 per ride. The Georgetown-Union Station route operates every 10 minutes during the day because Georgetown has no Metro station. Payment on buses accepts SmarTrip cards or exact cash. Bills are not accepted and drivers do not make change.
Capital Bikeshare maintains 700 stations and 5,400 bikes across the city. A single ride costs $2.00 for 30 minutes, charged to a credit card at the station kiosk. Rides exceeding 30 minutes incur overage fees of $2.00 per additional 30 minutes. Day passes at $8.00 allow unlimited 30-minute trips within 24 hours. Docking stations are spaced approximately three blocks apart in central neighborhoods. The system records over 3.5 million trips annually. Bikes must be returned to any station; leaving one locked on a street incurs a $1,200 replacement fee.
Taxis use zone-based pricing within the District and meter-based pricing for trips outside city limits. Zones range from $8.00 for short central trips to $19.00 for cross-city travel, with surcharges for additional passengers, large luggage, and peak hours. Ride-hailing services operate without zone restrictions and price dynamically. A trip from Union Station to Georgetown typically costs $12.00 to $18.00 depending on time and service. Both taxis and ride-hailing vehicles can use bus-only lanes on select streets during rush hours.
The National Mall spans approximately 2 miles from the Lincoln Memorial to the United States Capitol. Walking this distance takes 40 minutes at average pace. The Smithsonian museums line both sides of the Mall, with entrances rarely more than 10 minutes apart on foot. The DC Circulator National Mall route connects 18 stops between Union Station and the Lincoln Memorial for $1.00, operating every 10 minutes from 7 AM to 8 PM daily. The route stops at each Smithsonian building, the Washington Monument, and major memorials.
Parking in central Washington costs $2.00 to $3.00 per hour at meters with two-hour maximums. Garage rates run $15.00 to $40.00 for the day depending on location. The Metro provides 54 parking facilities at suburban stations with daily rates from $4.50 to $6.50, though spaces fill by 7:30 AM on weekdays. Street parking is prohibited during posted rush hours on major corridors, with tow-away enforcement.
Union Station serves as the central hub for Amtrak, MARC commuter rail, and Virginia Railway Express. Amtrak connects to Philadelphia in 105 minutes, New York City in 195 minutes, and Boston in 435 minutes on the Northeast Regional service. The faster Acela reduces New York travel to 165 minutes. MARC's Penn Line runs to Baltimore's Penn Station in 40 minutes with 32 weekday trains. VRE operates south to Fredericksburg and west to Manassas, carrying approximately 19,000 riders on weekdays across two lines and 18 stations.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport sits three miles south of downtown with direct Metro access via the Blue and Yellow lines. The 15-minute rail trip costs $2.25 to $2.75 depending on origin station. Dulles International Airport lies 26 miles west in Virginia, connected by the Silver Line since November 2022. The rail journey takes approximately 55 minutes from downtown Metro Center and costs $6.00. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is 32 miles northeast, requiring a combination of Amtrak or MARC to Baltimore plus a light rail connection, totaling 70 to 90 minutes.
Water taxis operate on the Potomac River from April through October, connecting Georgetown, the Wharf, Old Town Alexandria, and National Harbor. Single trips cost $10.00 to $14.00 depending on distance. The boats run hourly during midday and every 30 minutes during evening hours on weekends. The route passes Reagan National Airport, the Pentagon, and multiple riverside parks but serves recreational rather than commuter purposes.
The DC Streetcar operates a single 2.2-mile route along H Street and Benning Road in Northeast Washington with eight stations. The line opened in 2016 and runs every 15 minutes from 6 AM to midnight daily at no charge. The streetcar does not connect to Metro stations but serves neighborhoods east of Union Station. Plans for expansion have been proposed but not funded.
Bike lanes cover approximately 100 miles of city streets, marked by green paint and separated by plastic bollards or parked cars on major corridors. Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House is closed to private vehicles and heavily used by cyclists. The Mount Vernon Trail runs 18 miles along the Virginia side of the Potomac from Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon, offering car-free riding with connections to the city via Memorial Bridge and 14th Street Bridge.
Walking dominates short trips in central neighborhoods where Metro station spacing exceeds half a mile. The L'Enfant Plan from 1791 created diagonal avenues overlaying a grid, producing traffic circles at major intersections. These circles—Dupont, Logan, Washington, Thomas—function as pedestrian barriers, requiring attention to crosswalk signals. Sidewalks are continuous and maintained, though construction zones periodically force pedestrian detours.
The Metro's elevator and escalator system experiences frequent outages. As of recent reporting, approximately 10 percent of elevators are out of service at any given time. Riders requiring step-free access should check WMATA's real-time elevator status online before traveling. Most stations have elevators, but single-elevator stations become inaccessible during outages. Union Station, Metro Center, and Gallery Place have multiple elevators providing redundancy.
Bus routes operate 24 hours on select corridors including Georgia Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue. Night service runs every 30 to 60 minutes. The N2, N4, and N6 lines maintain all-night frequency. Metro rail does not run overnight, creating a gap for workers with early morning or late night schedules.
Tourist bus services operate hop-on hop-off routes covering monuments, museums, and Arlington Cemetery with recorded narration in multiple languages. Day passes cost $40.00 to $55.00 depending on operator and season. These buses stop every 20 to 30 minutes at designated points. The routes duplicate paths easily walked or covered by the $1.00 Circulator, making them unnecessary for travelers comfortable with public transit.