Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Its fleet consists of 1,595 buses covering an area of 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²) in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.^[2] There are 269 bus routes serving 11,129 stops, including 2,554 bus shelters.^[2] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 103,438,600, or about 366,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

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Quick Facts Parent, Founded ...

WMATA Metrobus

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority BRT buses that are painted in the newer Local and Express paint schemes.
Parent	WMATA
Founded	February 4, 1973; 51 years ago (1973-02-04)[1]
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.. U.S.
Locale	Washington metropolitan area
Service area	Washington Metropolitan Area
Service type	Local, express, limited-stop, bus rapid transit
Routes	269[2]
Stops	11,129[2]
Fleet	1,595[2]
Daily ridership	366,500 (weekdays, Q4 2023)[3]
Annual ridership	103,438,600 (2023)[4]
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric Hybrid, CNG, Electric
Operator	WMATA
General manager	Randy Clarke
Website	wmata.com/bus

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Metrobus was founded on February 4, 1973, after acquiring DC Transit, Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company (WV&M), Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Transit Company (AB&W) and the Washington Marlboro and Annapolis Motor Lines (WM&A) to combine into Metrobus.^[1][5] During its founding, WMATA dropped transfer charges, extended senior citizen discounts region-wide and began fare reductions on routes formerly served by the different carriers at different rates. WMATA also unified a new bus livery with red, white and blue paint scheme and purchased 620 buses from AM General with the last buses being delivered in 1974.^[6] Today, Metrobus serves the nation's capital 24/7, with over 1,500 buses.

As of June 25, 2017^[update], the Metrobus fare structure is as follows for cash and SmarTrip:^[7]

• Local bus routes within the District of Columbia, Central Maryland and Northern Virginia: $2.00
• Express bus routes (17B, 17G, 17K, 17L, 17M, 18G, and 18P): $4.25
• (These routes are as of January 15, 2024 not running anymore but were the fares) Express Airport bus routes (5A and B30): $7.50

Discounts are available for senior citizens, people with disabilities and D.C. students.

Up to two children, per paying adult, under 5 years of age ride for free. Children at least 5 years of age pay adult fare.

All Metrobuses have SmarTrip card readers which automatically deduct the correct fare from a rider's SmarTrip card (including transfer credit).

Metrobus issued paper transfers until January 4, 2009. Transfers are now currently attainable only through SmarTrip cards.

On June 27, 2010, the transfer window was reduced from 3 hours to 2 hours.^[8]

All fares were free from mid-March 2020 to January 3, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] On December 6, 2022, the Council of the District of Columbia voted to abolish fares within city limits from July 1, 2023.^[10]

On July 4, 2018, WMATA awarded a 5-year contract to New Flyer for up to 694 buses, order consist of forty-foot CNG, forty-foot clean diesel, sixty-foot CNG, and sixty-foot diesel heavy-duty transit buses.^[11] These new buses will replace Metro's older New Flyer Low Floor buses, which were delivered between 2005 and 2007. Red/Silver painted buses will be used on local routes and Blue/Silver buses will be used on limited stop routes. These buses will have either Local or MetroExtra on the top of each side of the bus for easy identification.^[12]

In 2020, WMATA received $4.1 million in funding from the Federal Transit Administration for the purchase of electric buses and charging infrastructure. A Sierra Club report indicated that a pilot study with 14 electric buses was planned, and estimated that 50% electrification would reduce the WMATA fleet's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 58,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year.^[13]

There are 9 divisions (a.k.a. depots) in the Metrobus system.^[14]

Richmond Highway Express, a.k.a. "REX", is a Limited-Stop bus line that operates between King Street–Old Town station and Fort Belvoir along the Richmond Highway corridor in Fairfax County, Virginia. All REX runs take place on board on any local bus from Cinder Bed Division. REX began service on September 26, 2004, replacing parts of the now-former route 9A (which operated between Huntington and Pentagon stations until it was eliminated on June 26, 2016).^[26] The original REX bus fleet consisted of 12 now-retired 2000 Orion 06.501 (VI) buses wrapped (but not painted) in the blue-and-gold color scheme (2073–2084) before the aforementioned Orion 07.501 CNG buses arrived in 2006. The second REX fleet consisted of 12 now-retired 2006 Orion 07.501 (VII) CNG buses (2674–2685) painted in the blue-and-gold color scheme until they were all repainted between June and August 2014. The third REX fleet were consisted of 12 2010 New Flyer DE40LFA diesel-electric hybrid buses (6550–6561) painted in the blue-and-gold color scheme before being repainted from June 2018 back into the Red Local Scheme due to the units being rehabilitated. The fourth and most recent REX fleet consisted of 12 2008 New Flyer DE40LFA buses painted in the blue-and-gold color scheme. The entire REX fleet has been retired as of December 26, 2021; from that date onward, the REX route has been operated entirely with regular Metrobuses.

MetroExtra is a limited-stop Metrobus service, which operates on Metrobus lines that need extra service with faster trips. MetroExtra started service on March 19, 2007, with the 79 that operates between the Silver Spring and Archives stations on the 7th Street/Georgia Avenue corridor.^[27]

Metroway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service that began on August 24, 2014. The first phase is the Crystal City/Potomac Yard Transitway, which operates on Route 1 in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia.^[28] It is a 5-mile (8.0 km) corridor with 33 platforms and 20 stations located between Pentagon City and Braddock Road.^[29] The first 0.8 mile segment in Alexandria runs on a transit lane only. The Arlington County segment began construction in the summer of 2014 and opened April 17, 2016. Metroway originally operated between the Braddock Road and Crystal City stations and was expanded to Pentagon City in April 2016.^[30] Thirteen 2016 New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 CNG buses (2981–2993) operate with the blue-and-white Metroway livery. The original Metroway fleet consisted of thirteen 2014 NABI 42 BRT diesel-electric hybrid buses (8002–8014) until they were all repainted in December 2016. The Metroway service, which is operated by Metrobus' Four Mile Run bus division, features dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, real-time information, custom designed shelters and stations, as well as near-level boarding at station platforms. A Metroway fare costs the same as Metrobus, which is $2.00 (using cash & SmarTrip).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metrobus (Washington, D.C.).

• List of Metrobus routes (Washington, D.C.)
• Metrobus fleet (Washington, D.C.)
• Metro Transit Police Department