Metro to expand service, cut prices

A Metrobus in Seven Corners.

When workplaces and entertainment venues ramp up this fall, transit riders might find it easier to take Metro.

Metro is adding more trains and buses, reducing prices, and extending operating hours, beginning Sept. 5. The changes will bring overall bus and rail service to near pre-pandemic levels.

Here are some of the key changes: 

• Bus transfers will be free for connections between rail and bus, except for express bus routes.
• Rail fares on weekends will be reduced from the current distance-based fare to a flat $2 for a one-way trip.
• Seven-day regional bus passes will be reduced by 20 percent to $12 ($6 for seniors and disabled customers).
• More buses will run on 36 of the most popular Metrobus routes between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. seven days a week. 
• Ten Metrobus routes will have service restored or expanded, including 16A serving Annandale and 16C serving Bailey’s Crossroads. 
• Buses on more than 40 other routes will run more frequently. 
• Metrorail will stay open until 1 a.m. instead of midnight on Friday and Saturday and will open at 7 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. on Sunday.  
• Wait times for Metrorail will be reduced. Customers can expect to wait no more than three to six minutes for a train on weekdays at any station served by multiple lines and on the Red Line, all day until 9:30 p.m.
• On weekends, trains will run every five to eight minutes at stations served by multiple lines and every 10 minutes on the Red Line.
• After 9:30 p.m., trains will run every 5 to 8 minutes at stations served by multiple lines and every 10 minutes on the Red Line.
• Metro will offer a discount of up to 50 percent on selected unlimited pass products between Sept. 16 and Oct. 15.