May I ask for some clarification on the Washington DC public transportation (WMATA) tariff structure?

There are some Metro Passes (http://www.wmata.com/riding/passes.cfm) but I am not sure if I understand their meaning right.

First of all: What means "regionwide"? Is this only in inner DC or are the suburbs (e.g. College Park, Baltimore) also included?


1. Metrobus passes: This is for busses only, right?

1a) Regional One Day Pass $3
Do I have free access to all "regionwide" busses? The only exeption is every time I use an express bus I have to pay an additional 1.75 $?

1b) Metrobus Weekly Pass $11
Same as above. Best if one is four days or more in the DC area?


2. Metrorail passes: This is for metro and bussses, right?

2a) 7-Day Short Trip Pass $22.00
This is only for short distances, right? Hence, if the jouney costs more than 2.20 one can exit the metro station and imediatelly re-enter in order to have free travel for a longer distance?

2b) If the express bus costs 3 $, one has to pay the difference which is 80 cents?

2c) 7-Day Fast Pass $32.50
Is this also valid for the Marc trains (or any other means of public transportation) between IAD-DC-Baltimore?


3. 4 days DC and one journey DC-Baltimore
If I understand the system correct, the best thing I can do is
- Buying a 7-day bus pass or a 7 day-metro pass
- Baltimore Camedan Marc station is included

PA: When I look-up the schedule from CONNECTICUT AVE NW & YUMA ST NW to BALTIMORE CAMDEN MARC STATION on the WMATA webistes, it says that the whole journey costs only 1.75 $ but on the Marc websites is says that the train from DC to Baltimore costs 7 $ :confused:

May I ask for some clarification on the Washington DC public transportation (WMATA) tariff structure?

There are some Metro Passes (http://www.wmata.com/riding/passes.cfm) but I am not sure if I understand their meaning right.

First of all: What means "regionwide"? Is this only in inner DC or are the suburbs (e.g. College Park, Baltimore) also included?

Metrobus does cover College Park. It does not cover Baltimore (which despite some claims to the contrary is an independent city in its own right, with its own subway, light rail, and bus systems.


1. Metrobus passes: This is for busses only, right?

1a) Regional One Day Pass $3
Do I have free access to all "regionwide" busses? The only exeption is every time I use an express bus I have to pay an additional 1.75 $?

1b) Metrobus Weekly Pass $11
Same as above. Best if one is four days or more in the DC area?


This is really dependent on how you plan to spend your time in the Washington area. You will not need to use the bus system downtown. You may need it to get to and from your hotels, depending on which hotels you ended up deciding to stay in. If the hotel has walk-to-Metrorail access, you probably won't use the bus at all that day. If the hotel does not, you might only use the bus twice, once out, once in. In addition, you can get a transfer from Metrorail (you must get it at the beginning of your trip when you enter the system) which will give you a discount on your return trip.




2. Metrorail passes: This is for metro and bussses, right?


No. These passes are only for Metrorail. The only joint passes are for elementary/high school students.



2a) 7-Day Short Trip Pass $22.00
This is only for short distances, right? Hence, if the jouney costs more than 2.20 one can exit the metro station and imediatelly re-enter in order to have free travel for a longer distance?


You could do this, however as trains run less frequently on weekends, nights, middle of the day. This would cost you a lot of time. Even when you are traveling on a budget, your time is worth more than the $10 extra for the Fast pass.

2b) If the express bus costs 3 $, one has to pay the difference which is 80 cents?


Express buses are primarily used by commuters and run only during rush hour. There aren't many of them and I doubt that you would be using them.

2c) 7-Day Fast Pass $32.50
Is this also valid for the Marc trains (or any other means of public transportation) between IAD-DC-Baltimore?

MARC is an independent system and is not covered by any of these passes. You will have to buy a separate ticket for the MARC train to Baltimore. Keep in mind, it only runs on weekdays. If you are traveling on a weekend, the cheapest (but incredibly time-consuming way would be to take the B30 metrobus from Greenbelt Metrorail Station to BWI and switch to the Baltimore light rail (separate fare) to downtown Baltimore.

3. 4 days DC and one journey DC-Baltimore
If I understand the system correct, the best thing I can do is
- Buying a 7-day bus pass or a 7 day-metro pass
- Baltimore Camedan Marc station is included

PA: When I look-up the schedule from CONNECTICUT AVE NW & YUMA ST NW to BALTIMORE CAMDEN MARC STATION on the WMATA webistes, it says that the whole journey costs only 1.75 $ but on the Marc websites is says that the train from DC to Baltimore costs 7 $ :confused:

I think the system is confused, not you. If I were traveling from Connecticut and Yuma to Baltimore, I would take the metro from Van Ness-UDC to Union station (covered on the Metrorail Pass) and then take the MARC train to Baltimore (7$) (assuming it was a weekday).

These WMATA passes do not cover MARC trains or any transportation in Baltimore.

Generally, Arlington County's www.commuterpage.com is more informative about regional transit than WMATA's website.

First of all: What means "regionwide"? Is this only in inner DC or are the suburbs (e.g. College Park, Baltimore) also included?The pass is for the "National Capital Region," which excludes Baltimore. The participating systems are Metrobus (WMATA), DASH (Alexandria), Ride-on (Montgomery County), Fairfax Connector (Fairfax County), CUE (Fairfax City), ART (Arlington County), OmniRide (Prince William County and Manassas), and The Bus (Prince George's County).

IMHO tourists should not bother with any public busses in DC except maybe the Georgetown or Adams-Morgan shuttles, or perhaps Metrobus X2 to the National Arboreteum.

IMHO tourists should not bother with any public busses in DC except maybe the Georgetown or Adams-Morgan shuttles, or perhaps Metrobus X2 to the National Arboreteum.

The thing is that I am forced to use the bus at least between IAD and L'enfant station and vice-versa. Hence, I must at least pay two times for the expensive express bus. Unless there is another possibility (by normal busses which cost only 1.25) to take a normal bus from IAD to the metro system?

The thing is that I am forced to use the bus at least between IAD and L'enfant station and vice-versa. Hence, I must at least pay two times for the expensive express bus. Unless there is another possibility (by normal busses which cost only 1.25) to take a normal bus from IAD to the metro system?

Take the IAD express bus. I don't think there's another local bus option - but if there is, it's not worth the time and because it may involve multiple carriers (Metro, northern Virginia providers) it could end up being as expensive.

Other than that, I think your hotel stays will allow you to take the metrorail (unless you go to Baltimore, and that's discussed above), so rely on single fares - although you should buy one farecard with all of the money you think you'll need for the trips versus buying a new farecard each time - or, maybe, a rail-only pass if you think that's going to be a better value (the likely answer is no).

Take the IAD express bus. I don't think there's another local bus option - but if there is, it's not worth the time and because it may involve multiple carriers (Metro, northern Virginia providers) it could end up being as expensive.

Other than that, I think your hotel stays will allow you to take the metrorail (unless you go to Baltimore, and that's discussed above), so rely on single fares - although you should buy one farecard with all of the money you think you'll need for the trips versus buying a new farecard each time - or, maybe, a rail-only pass if you think that's going to be a better value (the likely answer is no).

I understand your advice. My rough calculation is:

Metro Bus
Day 1: IAD-Hotel ~4.50 $ ~3.00 $
Day 2: Hotel switch ~ 2.50 $ ~ 1.25 $
Day 3: Hotel switch ~ 2.50 $ ~ 1.25 $
Day 3: Visit to DC ~ 5.00 $ ~ 2.50 $
Day 4: Hotel switch ~ 2.50 $ ~ 1.25 $
Day 5: Hotel-IAD ~ 4.50 $ ~ 3.00 $

Total single fares: ~ 21.50 ~ 12.00 $

--> Metro with limited use comes to almost the same as bus pass 11 $/short trip pass 22.00 $ :cool: Hence, the best is probably really the single-bus-fare-thing and for the DC-visit-day to buy a one-day-metro-card for 6.50 $

and for the DC-visit-day to buy a one-day-metro-card for 6.50 $

Please keep in mind that the Metrorail one day pass for $6.50 is only for travel AFTER 9:30 am on weekdays. It's good all day on weekends. (I don't think this was mentioned and my apologies if it was already covered).

Is there maybe someone who could give us a lift from DC to Baltimore either on Oct 9 or Oct 8?

In return, I would book you in a nice hotel in Baltimore (if I still have vacancy at the time you send me a PM).