Transportation in Washington D.C.
Overlooking the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, Washington DC spills over into the two neighbouring states of Maryland and Virginia.Washington is deceptively large. Most of the big-ticket attractions cluster around the Mall in the centre. Downtown is all about the city's raison d'être. In the west, office and residential buildings begin to rub shoulders in Foggy Bottom (named after the mist rising from the Potomac), while historic Georgetown is one of the city's swankiest neighbourhoods. North of the city centre is relaxed Dupont Circle. Further north, Adams Morgan is about as much fun as you can have in DC, although the Shaw/U Street neighbourhood ranks a close second.
Read more about transport from and to the airport
MetroRail
The five colour-coded lines of the MetroRail system bend through the city, providing an easy, inexpensive way of getting around. It's an efficient system and many of the stations share the same sense of oversized monumentalism that characterises the city at large. Stations open at 5am Monday-Friday, 7am weekends, and close at midnight Sunday-Thursday and 3am Friday and Saturday.
Taxi
Washington has more than 6,000 cabs so hailing one is rarely a problem. Cabs in suburban Maryland and Virginia are metered, but since 1931 cab fares in DC have been zoned. This has advantages and disadvantages: you don't pay for time spent locked in traffic and you can go a surprisingly long way in one zone for the minimum charge. On the downside a short trip that crosses zone boundaries can be relatively expensive. There are additional peak hour, group and baggage charges.
MetroBus
DC's extensive MetroBus network is largely designed to ferry commuters in and out of downtown. Use the local bus service for areas like Georgetown, where the nearest MetroRail station is in the next neighbourhood. There's a flat fare system for tickets as well as a cheap single day pass.
DC Circulator
The Circulator provides additional bus service to areas of town likely frequented by business and leisure travellers, and to neighbourhoods not well served by Metrorail or Metrobus. There's a flat fare for tickets as well as a cheap single day pass.
Foot
DC is surprisingly large, but also surprisingly walkable. As the majority of the must-see attractions flank the Mall you can see the best of the city on foot. Downtown, the west and north are all navigable on foot but some neighbourhoods in the city's southeast are best avoided.
Car
Although driving conditions in town are generally fine, peak hour traffic in and out of DC can be intolerable. Inexperienced drivers may find the larger roundabouts, such as Dupont Circle, and the mishmash of crisscrossing streets tricky to navigate. Finding a place to park on the street is a lottery with draconian parking infringement regulations, and private and hotel parking is expensive. It's best to avoid driving if you can.
Rent your car
Washington DC is looped by the Capital Belway, which connects with several interstates, highways and freeways into the city. Most neighbourhoods are laid out on a grid system with avenues leading diagonally across them. It’s a good idea to take a GPS or good road map and avoid peak-time congestion.
Transportation Tips
Fares on the Metrobus demand exact change. Fares on the MetroRail depend on the number of stops you travel. There's a minimum and maximum charge, and prices are higher at peak times in the morning and afternoon and after 2am on days when the MetroRail operates that late. Most suburban MetroRail stations have adjoining fee-paying car parks.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) website
