Transportation in Washington, D.C.

The Washington area is served by the Washington Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). WMATA also operates Metrobus, a regional bus system serving D.C. and the closest immediate counties (described further below). The Washington Metro connects with both commuter rail and intercity rail systems at Union Station.

On February 27, 2016 the first line of the DC Streetcar was opened between Union Station and Oklahoma Ave/Benning Rd, running for most of its length along H Street. More lines are planned.

MARC provides service from Union Station to Baltimore and Perryville with intermediate stops, on both the Camden and Penn Lines. MARC's Brunswick Line provides service between Martinsburg, West Virginia with intermediate stops, and Union Station. A new spur of the Brunswick line also goes to Frederick, Maryland. All three lines of Maryland's MARC train system begin at Union Station in Washington where passengers can transfer to the Washington Metro's Red Line. Connections can also be made at New Carrollton, College Park, Greenbelt, Silver Spring, and Rockville stations.

Virginia Railway Express commuter trains provide service from Union Station to Fredericksburg and Manassas, Virginia on its Fredericksburg and Manassas Lines, respectively. VRE trains also stop at several Metro stations, including L'Enfant Plaza, Crystal City, King Street–Old Town, and Franconia-Springfield.

Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional provide service on the high speed Northeast Corridor from Washington's Union Station to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, as well as intermediate stops. In addition, the Vermonter provides service to St. Albans, Vermont via New York. The Palmetto provides service to Georgia, the Crescent provides service to New Orleans, and Amtrak's Silver Service trains provide service to Florida, all en route from New York. The Capitol Limited and Cardinal, the latter using a much longer and more southerly route via West Virginia and Virginia, provide rail service between Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Amtrak's nonstop service Auto Train to Sanford, Florida originates 30 minutes south of the city in Lorton, Virginia. Connections to the Washington Metro are offered at Union Station in Washington, New Carrollton station in Prince George's County, Rockville in Montgomery County, and King Street–Old Town, adjacent to Alexandria Union Station.

Metrorail's Yellow and Blue Lines serve Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Express bus service from L'Enfant Plaza and Rosslyn is provided to Washington Dulles International Airport.[5] Baltimore-Washington International Airport is served by express bus from Greenbelt[6] and by rail from Union Station by MARC and Amtrak. There is also a planned station for Washington Dulles International Airport on the Metrorail Silver Line.

DC Circulator is a downtown circulator bus system owned by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, with five routes connecting points of interest in the city center.

Articulated Metrobus in downtown DC.

DC Circulator bus in front of Union Station.

Metrobus is a bus service operated by Metro, consisting of 176 bus lines serving 12,301 stops, including 3,133 bus shelters and nearly every Washington Metro station. In fiscal year 2006, Metrobus provided 131 million trips, 39% of all Washington Metro trips.[7] It serves D.C. and the inner ring of suburban counties. The Maryland Department of Transportation and several privately operated companies provide bus service during weekday rush hours between D.C. and more distant counties such as Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Howard, and St. Mary's in Maryland; and Fredericksburg, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford in Virginia.

Higher education campuses in the area offer on-site and commuter transportation, such as the University of Maryland's Shuttle-UM.

Union Station is a stop for many intercity bus lines, including Megabus, BoltBus, Greyhound Lines, OurBus, Peter Pan Bus Lines, and BestBus.[8] A bus stop for the Chinatown bus lines is near Gallery Place–Chinatown station and the Capitol One Arena. The Greenbelt Metro station also has a bus line that commutes to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which connects Metro to the Baltimore area's MTA buses and light rail system. MTA Commuter Bus also serves limited parts of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. Local transit services such as Loudoun County Commuter Bus and private companies such as Martz Group provide commuter bus service to Virginia.[9]

OurBus offers intercity bus service to New York City, Philadelphia, Allentown, Binghamton, and Ithaca from Union Station. The company also serves the DC suburbs including Tysons, Rockville, Bethesda, and Columbia with direct service to New York City.[10]

Tripper Bus is a private commuter bus offering service from the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Arlington, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland to and from New York City.[11][12][13]

Vamoose Bus is a private bus line offering service from the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Lorton, Virginia; Arlington, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland to and from New York City.[11]

Washington Deluxe is an independent bus line offering express round trip service between the cities of New York and Washington, DC. The Washington, D.C. bus stops include Dupont Circle and Columbus Circle. The New York City stops include Penn Station Chinatown, and Brooklyn.[14][15][16][17]

In December 2001, Metro initiated a relationship with Flexcar, a private company which operates car sharing networks in several North American cities. A competitor, Zipcar, began service in the region and later merged with Flexcar on October 31, 2007.[19][20] With this service, cars are parked at major Metrorail stations and other convenient locations in the metropolitan area and made available for rental on an hourly basis, with the goal of reducing car dependency and congestion, improving the environment, and increasing transit ridership.[21]

In March 2012, Car2Go began offering service in D.C., initially providing 200 Smart cars for use everywhere within the District's city limits.[22] The international car sharing company, which offers one-way rentals charged by the minute, increased their vehicle fleet to 400 in 2013.[23] During its first year of operation, Car2Go paid the city more than $500,000 for rights to meter-free parking.[24] The service has seen initial success; from September 2012 to July 2013, membership tripled to 26,000 users.[23]

There is heavy vehicle congestion from the large percentage of the population who chooses to drive. This results in a parking problem. There have been various attempts by corporations to solve the city's parking problem as a Guinea pig location. There has been little success.[25] Parking restrictions are strictly enforced, and the complicated parking hours posted on signs can be confusing. Environmentalists question the free parking spaces given to thousands of Congressional employees, which discourages them from using public transportation.