Washington is a one-card town. WMATA runs the trains and most buses across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and the same SmarTrip card or contactless tap works everywhere — Metrorail, Metrobus, and even most of the smaller county bus systems around the edges of the region.
The basics
Metrorail is the backbone: six color-coded lines (Red, Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow, Green) converging through downtown on a hub-and-spoke system. It’s a proper subway — faregates at every station, no honor system.
Around that:
- Metrobus covers the rest, with an extensive network across the whole region.
- Smaller local systems — Arlington Transit (ART), DASH in Alexandria (which is entirely fare-free), Fairfax Connector, Montgomery County’s Ride On, and others — cover their own jurisdictions and feed into Metrorail stations. All of them take SmarTrip.
- MARC (Maryland) and VRE (Virginia) are weekday-focused commuter rail lines out of Union Station, mostly used by suburban commuters rather than visitors.
One thing not to look for: the DC Streetcar on H Street permanently stopped running on March 31, 2026, after a decade in service. If you see it mentioned in an older guide, it’s gone — Metrobus’s D20 route covers that corridor now.
How to pay
You’ve got two easy options, and no need to plan ahead:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone (Apple Pay / Google Pay) right at the faregate (rail) or farebox (bus). This is WMATA’s “Tap. Ride. Go.” program — no signup, no card to buy, and it charges the standard fare directly. Use the same card or phone every time to get transfer discounts.
- Get a SmarTrip card — buy one at any station’s fare vending machine (cash or card), a mobile wallet, or the SmarTrip app — then tap it the same way. You’ll need one if you want a reduced fare, a multi-day pass, or SmartBenefits.
Cash only works on buses, and you’ll need exact change — Metrorail faregates don’t take cash at all (though the fare vending machines inside stations do, for loading a SmarTrip card).
Tap in and tap out on Metrorail — your fare is calculated by distance, so the exit tap matters as much as the entry one.
Fares
Metrorail fares are distance-based; Metrobus is a flat rate:
| Rail (per trip) | Bus (per trip) | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday, 5am–9:30pm | $2.25–$6.75 | $2.25 (express routes: $4.80) |
| Nights & weekends | $2.25–$2.50 | $2.25 |
| Senior (65+) / disability | $1.10–$3.35 | $1.10 |
A few things worth knowing:
- Transfers: bus-to-bus is free within 2 hours; transferring from bus to rail knocks $2.25 off, but only if you tap the same SmarTrip card or contactless card/phone both times.
- Kids: up to two children age 4 and under ride free with each paying adult.
- Multi-day passes are worth it if you’re riding a lot: a 1-Day Unlimited Pass is $13.50, a 7-Day Unlimited Pass is $60.75, and a cheaper 7-Day Short Trip Pass ($40.50) covers rail trips up to $4.50 — go further and the difference comes out of stored value on the same card. Monthly passes run $72–$216 depending on your typical fare distance.
There’s no automatic fare-capping the way some systems work — passes are bought up front, not triggered by tapping.
Getting from the airport
DC is served by two main airports, and they work quite differently.
Reagan National (DCA) is the easy one — it’s a normal stop on Metrorail’s Blue and Yellow Lines, not a special airport train.
- Terminal 2 connects straight to the station via two enclosed pedestrian bridges; from Terminal 1, take the Airport Shuttle bus over to Terminal 2 first.
- Cost: standard Metrorail fare, $2.25–$6.75 depending on where you’re headed.
- Hours: on weekdays, Yellow Line service starts around 5:11am and ends around 11:46pm; Blue Line runs from about 5:39am to 12:30am. Weekend service starts later (around 6am).
Dulles (IAD) is on the Silver Line, which reaches the airport itself now.
- It’s about a 5-minute walk from the terminal to the station, on an indoor moving walkway.
- Cost: same distance-based scale — a ride to Metro Center is $6.75 at peak, $2.25–$2.50 nights and weekends.
- Hours: Monday–Thursday 5am–midnight, Friday 5am–2am, Saturday 6am–2am, Sunday 6am–midnight.
If you’re flying into BWI instead, it’s a longer trip: Metrorail’s Red Line to Union Station, then a MARC commuter train (separate ticket) out to BWI Rail Station, then a short airport shuttle.
Apps to download
- SmarTrip — the official app for buying fares and putting a virtual SmarTrip card in your phone’s wallet.
- DC Metro and Bus — a well-reviewed third-party app for real-time train and bus arrivals.
- Google Maps or Apple Maps — solid for trip planning, with live WMATA data built in.
When it runs
Metrorail generally runs 5am–midnight Sunday through Thursday, and stays open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights; weekend service starts around 6am. There’s no 24-hour service — plan your last ride accordingly.
Frequency varies by line and time of day, running most often during weekday rush hours and less often at night and on weekends — check the trip planner at wmata.com or an app like DC Metro and Bus for live train times.
Right now through September 6, 2026, part of the Red Line is shut for construction — see the alert above if you’re headed through Maryland’s northern suburbs.
Accessibility
Every Metrorail station is step-free, with elevators from street to mezzanine and mezzanine to platform. Metrobus fleets kneel and deploy ramps. MetroAccess is WMATA’s shared-ride, door-to-door paratransit service for riders whose disability prevents them from using regular bus or rail — it requires an application certified by a healthcare provider.
Etiquette & local quirks
- No eating, drinking, or smoking anywhere in the system — trains, buses, or stations. Metro Transit Police actively cite people for it, so don’t assume it’s an unenforced rule.
- Escalator manners matter here: stand right, walk left. DC riders take this seriously.
- Tap in and tap out on Metrorail every time, even if you’re not sure of the exact fare — the faregate calculates it from your entry and exit taps.
- DASH in Alexandria is completely fare-free — no tap needed at all if you’re down there.
Good to know
- Fare enforcement is real and active: Metro Transit Police have been running a visible crackdown on fare evasion in 2026. The fine is $50 in DC (civil, not criminal), and up to $100 in Maryland or Virginia (where it’s a criminal citation).
- The DC Circulator bus, which used to run tourist-corridor routes, permanently shut down at the end of 2024 — Metrobus absorbed its routes.
- The DC Streetcar on H Street is also gone as of March 31, 2026 (see “The basics” above).