RAILFAN GUIDES of the U.S.
Todd's Railfan Guide to
WASHINGTON DC
Transit In And Around DC
In General
Maps (as needed)
MetroRail/DC Metro
Area Bus Services
MetroBus
MetroBus Bus Yards
RideOn (MD)
DC Circulator
MTA Commuter Bus (MD)
Omni Ride (NOVA)
Floobydust
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
Location / Name:
Washington DC
What's Here:
MetroRail (the DC Metro/WMATA)
the DC Streetcar
MetroBus (WMATA)
MTA Maryland Commuter Bus
RideOn Bus (Montgomery County)
Greyhound
Data:
GPS Coordinates: as needed
Phone A/C: if needed
ZIP: if needed
Access by train/transit:
As noted
The Scoop:
This page will quickly go over the available transit options for Washington DC and the surrounding areas. As noted above, there are plenty of them, although at the moment, only two of them are rail options: the DC Metro and the DC Streetcar.
The WMATA has a comprehensive page of ALL of the transit companies that service Washington DC and supplement the Metrobus system:
Regional transportation services in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
http://www.wmata.com
http://www.dccirculator.com
http://rideonbus.com or, 240-777-7433
https://www.wmata.com/service/status/details/Paul-Sarbanes-Transit-Center.cfm
https://www.wmata.com/schedules/maps/#main-content
https://railfanguides.us/md/purpleline/index.htm
https://www.wmata.com/service/bus/
For detailed DC Metro info, please check my other pages here
Metrobus provides more than 400,000 trips each weekday serving 11,500 bus stops in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Metrobus is the sixth busiest bus agency in the United States, with a fleet of more than 1,500 buses operating on 325 routes. Metrobus has 11 transit centers.
One of 100 CNG busses delivered in 2016Regional Transit Centers
Herndon Monroe Park & RideThe Herndon Monroe Park & Ride is located at 12530 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, VA. Metrobus route 5A services the park and ride.
Joe Alexander Franconia-Springfield Transit Center
The Joe Alexander Franconia-Springfield Transit Center is located at 6880 Frontier Drive, Springfield, VA. Metrobus routes TAGS, S80 and S91 service the park and ride.
Montgomery Mall Transit Center
The Montgomery Mall Transit Center is located at the intersection of Democracy Boulevard and Westlake Drive, Bethesda, MD. Metrobus routes J2 and J3 service the transit center.
Mark Center Transit Center
The Mark Center Transit Center is located at the intersection of Seminary Road and N Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA. Metrobus routes 7A, 7F, 7M, 7W and 7X service the transit center.
Paul S Sarbanes Transit Center
The Paul S Sarbanes Transit Center is located on Colesville Road between Wayne Avenue and East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD. Metrobus routes 70, 79, F4, J1, J2, J3, J4, Q1, Q2, Q4, S2, S4, S9, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8 and Z11 service the transit center.
Pentagon Transit Center
The Pentagon Transit Center is located at 2 Rotary Road, Arlington, VA. Metrobus routes 7A, 7C, 7F, 7P, 7M, 7W, 7X, 7Y, 8S, 8W, 8Z, 10A, 10E, 16A, 16B, 16E, 16J, 16L, 16X, 17A, 17B, 17F, 17G, 17H, 17K, 17L, 17M, 18G, 18H, 18J, 18P, 21A, 21D, 22A, 22C, 22F, 28F, 28G, 29C, 29G and 29W service the transit center.
Seven Corners Transit Center
The Seven Corners Transit Center is adjacent to the Seven Corners Shopping Center at Leesburg Pike and Arlington Boulevard, Seven Corners, VA. Metrobus routes 1A, 3A (weekends only), 4A, 4B, 26A and 28A service the transit center.
Shirlington Transit Center
The Shirlington Transit Center is located at 2975 S Quincy Street, Arlington, VA. Metrobus routes 7A, 7C, 7F, 7Y, 10B, 22A, 22C, 23A, 23B and 23T service the transit center.
Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center
The Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center is located at 7900 New Hampshire Avenue, Hyattsville, MD. Metrobus routes C2, C4, F8, J4, K6 and K9 service the transit center.
White Oak Transit Center
The White Oak Transit Center is located at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Lockwood Drive, Silver Spring, MD. Metrobus routes K6, Z6 and Z8 service the transit center.
Silver Spring -- Sarbanes Transit Center
Shepherd Parkway
WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) (Metro), local and federal officials opened the new Shepherd Parkway Metrobus Division, a modern, spacious and environmentally-friendly bus facility in Southwest Washington, D.C. The new yard is located on the east side of 295 as it zips past the Naval Research Labs, it was easy to find with the sewage treatment fields in the picture!
The state-of-the-art facility sits on 16 acres of land with space for up to 250 buses. Initially, it will house 114 Metrobuses that operate on 50 routes mainly in Southeast and Southwest Washington, D.C., providing better bus service for thousands of customers in the District of Columbia.
The Shepherd Parkway facility consists of a maintenance and administration building, maintenance bays for repairs, inspections and servicing, bus wash, fueling station, and parking and storage for up to 250 buses. A compressed natural gas fueling station will be added next spring. Approximately 400 employees will work at the new Shepherd Parkway Metrobus Division.
Shepherd Parkway will be Metro’s first building with US Green Building Council LEED Silver certification. While in its initial stages, Metro committed to incorporating features to reduce energy and water consumption from the design and construction phases through to the ways the facility will be operated and maintained. Of note, Shepherd Parkway features a storm water filtration system, white roof, drought-tolerant landscaping, low-flow plumbing fixtures and lighting system with occupancy sensors. Additional environmentally-friendly attributes include being within ¼-mile walking distance from a bus stop, bicycle parking and priority parking spaces for fuel efficient vehicles.
“Better maintenance on our vehicles, improved employee working conditions and improved operating efficiency equals better service to the thousands of people who ride Metrobuses in Southwest and Southeast Washington every day,” said Metro GM and CEO Richard Sarles.
Shepherd Parkway replaces the former Southeastern Metrobus Division, which was more than 70 years old when it closed in March 2008 because of its proximity to Nationals Park. Metro broke ground on the $97 million facility in September 2009, using proceeds from the sale of the former Southeastern Metrobus garage and funds from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More info here
A RideOn bus at the transit center behind Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg
A RideOn bus shelter on Frederick Ave/MD 355
A couple of RideOn busses on Frederick Avenue
The Circulator provides an alternative to the busses of the MetroBus. The busses seem to be a little cleaner, and they service almost every tourist attraction in Washington DC. Fare is usually a dollar, but during certain events, rides are free on some of the routes - a day pass may be had for three bucks..
There are currently (2019) six routes:
-- Dupont Circle-Georgetown-Rosslyn
-- Georgetown-Union Station
-- Woodley Park-Adams Morgan-McPherson Square Metro
-- Congress Heights – Union Station
-- Eastern Market – L’Enfant Plaza
-- National Mall
Circulator bus #2110 in the Union Station parking garage
The MTA out of Baltimore operates a number of regional busses bringing commuters in from the suburban Baltimore area to work in Washington. Most of the busses for this service are of the 8 wheel type Greyhound uses rather than the more common 6 wheel intracity style. There are 36 routes listed on the page below, and it looks like 23 of them go to Washington DC. It doesn't appear from the schedules that any of the busses travel between Baltimore and DC, probably because that service is provided by the MARC Commuter trains.
For schedules, visit: https://www.mta.maryland.gov/schedule?type=commuter-bus
Locations where the busses stop in Washington are marked with signage similar to that of regular bus stops.
The one shown below is in front of Union Station.
Example of the info shown for route 305-Columbia/Silver Spring/DC:
A couple of variations targeted for specific markets.....
2002 MCI D4500 (Diesel) #128-C in the scrap yard, August 9th, 2018, photo by MJofLakeland1
http://omniride.com/
OmniRide is the operating name for the mobility services offered by the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). OmniRide’s goal is to provide safe, reliable and flexible transportation options while helping to reduce congestion and pollution in one of the region's fastest growing areas. OmniRide’s headquarters are in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 25 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. In FY 2018, OmniRide had more than 150 buses in its active fleet and made more than 2.5 million passenger trips. OmniRide affiliated carpools and vanpools made an additional 1.5 million passenger trips in FY18. OmniRide operates Express and Local bus services in neighborhoods surrounded by the busy I-95 and I-66 corridors. Looking at their schedules, it looks like they have 8 routes that go into Washington D.C.
Disclaimers:
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted. Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
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NEW NOV26/2019
Last Modified
29-Nov-2019