Public Transportation (WMATA) - FAQs
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 185
Public Transportation (WMATA) - FAQs
May I ask for some clarification on the Washington DC public transportation (WMATA) tariff structure?
There are some Metro Passes 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 $
There are some Metro Passes 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 $
Last edited by Lech; Aug 8, 2006 at 3:33 am
#2
Join Date: May 2004
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Posts: 8,215
Originally Posted by Lech
May I ask for some clarification on the Washington DC public transportation (WMATA) tariff structure?
There are some Metro Passes 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?
There are some Metro Passes 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?
Originally Posted by Lech
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?
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.
Originally Posted by Lech
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.
Originally Posted by Lech
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.
Originally Posted by Lech
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.
Originally Posted by Lech
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?
Is this also valid for the Marc trains (or any other means of public transportation) between IAD-DC-Baltimore?
Originally Posted by Lech
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 $
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 $
These WMATA passes do not cover MARC trains or any transportation in Baltimore.
#3
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Washington, DC USA
Programs: UA; Amtrak
Posts: 2,002
Generally, Arlington County's www.commuterpage.com is more informative about regional transit than WMATA's website.
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.
Originally Posted by Lech
First of all: What means "regionwide"? Is this only in inner DC or are the suburbs (e.g. College Park, Baltimore) also included?
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.
#4
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 185
Originally Posted by choster
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.
#5
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: DC
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Posts: 1,163
Originally Posted by Lech
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?
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).
#6
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Posts: 185
Originally Posted by Mr. July
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).
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).
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 $ 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 $
Last edited by Lech; Aug 9, 2006 at 11:14 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Originally Posted by Lech
and for the DC-visit-day to buy a one-day-metro-card for 6.50 $