DC Metro Fares Explained & WMATA Q&A
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- Rob explains how the DC Metro fare system works and answers some of the questions that you have asked. Leave a comment on this video if you have a question you’d like Rob to answer in a future video!
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Questions answered in this video:
0:55 How do I know how much I’m going to pay?
2:25 Should I buy a pass or pay per ride?
3:22 Should I buy a SmarTrip card online before my trip?
4:27 How do I know which side of the station to catch my train?
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So I'm leaving on a trip to Washington DC tomorrow. I spent the last 3 or 4 days basically watching at least 75% of your videos and I must say they've been extremely helpful! A city based trip hacks TH-cam channel is ingenious! It would be nice of every major city I visited had a TH-cam channel like this. Anyways your very informative videos is extremely appreciated by me! Thanks again!
Nice. Have fun!
Rob,
Your videos are super informative, and helped us out immensely on our recent trip to D.C....
p.s.. we are the ones that ran into you, during one of your nighttime tours, at the Washington Monument...!!
Thanks, Kevin! I was giving a tour that night, otherwise would have loved to chat.
I've lived here a year and never understood the peak/non-peak pay differences. Now I get it lol
Nice! Now you can avoid peak fares and maybe save a little money.
My wife and I were in town a few years ago and we road the Metro for the first time. We bought the unlimited pass because we wanted to be covered in case we missed a stop or took the wrong train.
Omg I’m going on Friday to dc this very helpful thank you
Enjoy your trip!
Wish I would have found you earlier! Very useful information,. Thank you
Happy to help.
Thank you Rob !
Happy to help!
Another tip to find out which train to catch is to look at the dot matrix display. Each station has at least two, one on each side of the platform. They list what line, destination, and how many cars the next train has. For example, if you’re leaving Union Station, and want to get to Gallery Place, look for the board with “Shady Grove” written on it. This helps when trains are single tracked at some stations during construction (and is a total pain when it happens).
Single tracking is pretty awful. Thanks for the tip.
No problem :)
Again thanks for awesome video with captions for the Deaf!
Glad you found it helpful.
Note that they don't send SmartTrip cards to addresses outside the US, so you can't order online if you're visiting from another country. And watch out- the station ticket machines only take low value coins; they don't accept the one dollar coins for example (they do take one dollar bills).
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY IT TAKES TWO HOURS TO GO FROM 18 St NW and Columbia Rd taking the 42 or 43 to the Kennedy center. If all this BUSES will go under Dupont circle instead of going on top. It will not only save time for the route but it will easy the traffic specially during rush hour. Please trafic enginners take notice. Also if they will trace the route straight thru G St going to Kennedy center it will save time and energy. I hope they will do some changes on this route
I’ve purchased a monthly pass on last month, which suppose to work from 1st April, 2023 to 30th April, 2023. But since first of April, whenever I am trying to use my SmarTrip card each of the time it’s deducting balance from my stored value. Please guide me….
Thanking you with hope.
Wonder how much I'm gonna pay riding the metro from Ashburn (where I live) to downtown D.C. When phase 2 opens
Good question! It will likely depend on whether they keep the current maximum fares in place or raise them even further by the time it opens.
if i were to buy an unlimited pass for $60, would i be able to use that on the metro and the bus??
your videos have helped so much, i’m off to DC (from the UK) by myself next week and you’ve helped me not to worry!
Nope. Rail only. Make sure to do the math to make sure the $60 pass is a good deal based on where you plan on traveling and how frequently.
DC don’t have day pass?
Rob-
I have a question concerning senior citizen discount on the metro. My grandmother is 86 years old and she's going to DC with me next month. Is there some type of discount that seniors get and how can she get this discount? Please answer me when you can.
Thank you,
Olivia
Your grandmother can purchase a Senior SmarTrip at Metro Center station www.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/senior.cfm
Great videos! Im visiting Baltimore and spending a couple of days in DC before flying out.. If I was to catch a train to DC from Baltimore, can I buy a smartrip card from Baltimore, load it and use it the same while in DC or is there a better option?
I'm going to check out your tours now, hope to see you in person!
Yes! You can buy a CharmCard in Baltimore and use it in DC when you visit. CharmCards and SmarTrips are interchangeable. It's a good hack if you're planning to visit both cities.
Thanks Rob, can I use this CharmCard to travel on MARC train?
mattbekgibbs charmcards and smartrip cards are not permitted to use as payment on Marc commuter rail.
No, but you can buy MARC tickets at any Amtrak machine or ticket window. Very easy.
@@benjaminoconnor1687 I will be doing that when I drive to North Linthicum to catch the Light rail to Camden Yards to see the O's game Saturday Night.
Coming from Manassas to Washington DC, where is the best place to park and ride the Metro.
Duraid AlJailawi there is a commuter train that leaves from Manassas called VRE, but it’s schedule is very much designed for commuters, it’s called VRE. The closest metro station would be Vienna. If you park at metro make sure you pay for parking with a smartrip card, they charge double if you just use credit card.
Hey Rob,
I will be traveling from College Park UMD to Gallery pl Chinatown Station every day for the next three months, mostly in the peak hours.
Do you suggest me to take an unlimited metro pass?
What is the price for an unlimited metro pass for one month?
Is there any other cost-effective way to travel?
Check out Select Pass www.wmata.com/fares/selectpass/ if you are going to use Metro every working day then you essentially get any weekend or extra rides free. If there are some days you won't be commuting then it might not be a good deal.
I loaded up my smarttrip online. The value has not been added to my card its been 2 days when i tried to reload it for the firs time. I tap it already in the bus and in the metro. What should i do to have the value added to my card?
Online reloads aren't instant. It's frustrating. Reloading at the station machines is instant.
Love your videos, but I will say it's Mick-Clayn (McLean) and Wheelie (Wiehle).
I think somebody gave me some bad advice when I was trying to research the pronunciation of Wiehle. Sorry about that.
All good!
Should I get a week long pass if I’m staying in Alexandria for 7 days but going downtown every day?
It could be worth it in this scenario.
Okay, I have a question about fares. We (family of 4; 2 adults, 2 kids) have tours all throughout our vacation (8/20 - 8/24) We will be coming in from New Carrollton Station to Union station everyday. We are unsure of which option for fares we should do. We didn't get to pick the tours times and many are during the "peak hours." What should we get? I really appreciate any help, thanks.
New Carrollton to Union Station is $4.40 per person each way during peak hours, so $8.80 per day. If you did it for 5 days that would be $44 total. This MIGHT be a situation where the 7-Day Short Trip Pass could be useful, especially if some of the rides will be during off-peak or you plan on using Metro for rides other than in/out every day. In addition to loading the pass onto your SmarTrip you will need to load additional money to cover your peak fares. It's not the most intuitive, I know. www.wmata.com/fares/farecard-options.cfm
@@TripHacksDC Your advice was so useful. We added on $10 for each card(4) since parking was $5 a day at New Carrollton. Thank you!
Cool. Hope you had a good trip!
With the 1-Day unlimited SmarTrip card, three questions:
1. To confirm that the 1-Day card works on the Circulator?
2. Do I have to load additional money for peak fares? I see that it says unlimited base fare for the 1-Day card, that means non-peak fare? So if I had a peak trip, the card would cover the non-peak and I'd have to have credit on the card for the additional peak fare? (Example: Base fare $2.00, peak $3.80; the card would cover the $2.00 and I'd need to have $1.80 in additional credit available?)
3. If I go with a regular card and just put money in it, and I travel peak, it just deducts whatever the full fare is?
1. No. Circulator is not included on the passes.
2. No. The 1-day pass will cover peak or non-peak.
3. Yes.
Thank you for the fast response!
I think the circulator is free now
Minor correction, peak fares are in effect as soon as the station opens on weekdays, which is "5 AM" (actual time varies by station), and not 5:30. It's impossible to enter a station earlier than AM peak fares.
Can I buy a short trip pass at the machine in the station?
Yes. Just remember that the "pass" is loaded on to your SmarTrip card. It's not a separate physical product.
Why does metrorail not have a flat fare (meaning no matter what time it is and how far someone goes, every one pays a standard fare)?
Great question! Metro was designed as a hybrid subway and commuter rail (you can see how geographically huge it is here: goo.gl/Hsd93r). On a commuter rail system you typically expect to pay a higher fare the farther you are traveling. A flat fare would definitely be easier and simpler to understand, but it would also mean fares on short trips would likely go up, so there are some disadvantages as well.
Trip Hacks DC Love it being explained like that. The system acts like a commuter rail outside of the city, and a subway system with close stops within the city.
@@TripHacksDC Isn't there a monthly pass for unlimited rides on bus and metro?
There's SelectPass which is really more for locals than visitors. www.wmata.com/fares/SelectPass.cfm
If price depends on the distance, what happens if I pay for a short distance ride and I stay longer on the subway to travel a long distance?
Your card is charged the amount of the ride at the end of the trip.
@@TripHacksDC So do you need to swipe it again when you exit? Then I guess the time your in the station measures the price?
What are the fares for students who are attending universities in the DC area?
You should ask if your university participates in the U-Pass program. wmata.com/fares/u-pass/
Thank you!
I still feel like DC's metro fare system is too complicated. I'm from NYC; up there it's a flat fee no matter where you go. Definitely eliminates confusion!
NYC is easier for visitors to understand. Ours is (mostly) less expensive for visitors. Pros and cons.
nyc metro needs some serious help but boy do i appreciate it after visiting dc. it makes no sense, why no standard fare? why cant i be scanned in by someone else when only im in the city for a day? why is it like the new jersey turnpike where you pay per stop...so many questions it could be so simple. hardly any maps inside the train cars and the "maps" dont show you whats above ground. nyc wins subways even if they are the pits of the underworld
Hey Rob, does the Metro run 24 hours a day?
Nope. Check out the full set of hours here: www.wmata.com/service/rail/
Cool, thanks!
What are peak hours
Opening until 9:30 am and between 3 pm and 7 pm on weekdays.
Has WMATA consider operating the metrorail system 24-hours-per-day/7-days-per-week?
It's been considered but very unlikely to ever happen. WMATA says they need overnight hours for maintenance.
😂😂😂😂😂
McLean, VA is not pronounced like "Mr. Clean", it's actually pronounced McLane, and has been forever. I've heard other people pronounce it wrongly too, probably this mispronunciation is becoming the norm.
Is there a 3 day pass???
So does the day pass cover lines like the Circulator?
Passes do not work on Circulator.
@@TripHacksDC thx!
How much is a monthly unlimited pass?
Metro only offers a monthly SelectPass which is priced based on your usual trip price. I don't recommend it for visitors due to its complexity. www.wmata.com/fares/SelectPass.cfm
I actually will be staying there for two months and commuting everyday.
Check out Select Pass. You'll need to figure out where you're commuting to and from, how much that would normally cost, then purchase the SelectPass that makes the most sense for your needs.