Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority
add photos13 Reviews for Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority
82
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'10, '11
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"Clean, Safe and Convenient"
Let someone else do the driving, and skip all the hassles of traveling the city with the Metro. For a small fee, you can forget all about traffic, driving all over town to find a parking spot, and parking fees. There is no more congestion when you ride the Metro, and it can save you money you would otherwise waste on parking garages or meters. Contrary to the public belief that the Metro is dirty, crime-ridden, or otherwise dangerous, I can tell you that my first ride was nothing but smooth, convenient and trouble free. It can take you all over the city, and you won’t have to worry about a thing. Simply plot out your trip on the color-coded map and pay attention the stops and you are on your way. Strollers are welcome, and though you have to fold them up on the actual ride, the cars are usually roomy enough to accommodate them without any fuss.
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"Fantastic way to get around DC!"
You really do not want to be in downtown DC looking for a parking spot!! It is so incredibly easy to use the metro, even with your kids. We recently moved to just outside DC. I would caution that any children who will NOT be in strollers should be told about staying a certain amount back from the track area while waiting for the train. Also, the doors do open and close quickly. I recently got the courage to take my 2 on the metro by myself! It really was not a big deal. It might take a little bit of time to get your initial passes, but after that it should be smooth.
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"Fantastic way to get around DC!"
You really do not want to be in downtown DC looking for a parking spot!! It is so incredibly easy to use the metro, even with your kids. We recently moved to just outside DC. I would caution that any children who will NOT be in strollers should be told about staying a certain amount back from the track area while waiting for the train. Also, the doors do open and close quickly. I recently got the courage to take my 2 on the metro by myself! It really was not a big deal. It might take a little bit of time to get your initial passes, but after that it should be smooth.
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"Easy, clean"
We lived in DC for a summer with no car, we walked a lot but also metroed when going farther away. I love the DC metro - I think it's clean, pretty affordable, and safe (of course, we also lived in Cairo one summer, and while not safe or clean, each ride was about 20 cents.... which was awesome). Of course, we did live there the summer that a car crashed killing a few people, which was unfortunate, but from then on I only sat in the middle cars rather than the front or back, just in case.
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"Great mode of transportation"
Traffic and parking are terrible in Washington DC so when we were there to visit we rode the Metro. There were stops very close to just about everything (including our hotel) so it was super easy to get around. We also didn't want to have to worry about parking a car and paying for that so we bought day passes for the Metro.
It was very clean and I think that it helped that you aren't allowed to eat in the subway tunnels. There were MTA officers visible almost all of the time and the maps made it easy to find your way.
1 family found this helpful
"A cool subway..."
We enjoy the Metro and find it to be one of the neater and cleaner ones we have been on as compared to other big cities. Riding the Metro is the easiest way to get around and it is possible to do DC without a car at all. We have taken Amtrak into Union Station, a cab to our hotel (due to luggage) but after that we ride the Metro everywhere even with kids in tow. There is a route on the Metro that takes you out to the Mt. Vernon buses so it is even possible to go outside the city and still be comfortable without a car. My kids love the steep escalators of the DC metro and recently recognized the GWU stop in a movie based simply on the escalators. Like any public transportation, it is best to keep a hand on younger kids in the subway station as there is alot of action and always a chance for fingers to get trapped in the doors and moving parts of escalators.
Cool experiences for country kids like mine!
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"Every city should have a metro"
This is the absolute best way to get around the district. It is safe, easy, cheap and clean. I have no hesitations in riding metro with my family. Getting from one point to another couldn't be easier. I wish every city I visited had one. Saying that, there are areas to be careful of.. but as long as you know that you will be fine.
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"Easy to use and surprisingly fun"
We usually stay in Annapolis, MD when we travel to the DC area and we find the easiest way to get to DC is by the metro. We drive to the closest station from Annapolis and catch the metro to DC. The color lines and the metro map are easy to read and use. The cost is so worth it. My daughter looks forward to riding on the metro every time we visit. Be careful when getting off the metro, it can get really crowded along some stops and it could be hard to keep everyone in your group together. Watch rush times too, can get really busy, but not unbearable.
2 families found this helpful
"Hop around the city"
We stayed outside of DC when we went for our vacation and took the train into DC the 3 days we were there. We got daily passes so that we could hop the train at any point we wanted during the day. With so many stops we were able to get within a few blocks of anywhere we wanted to go. The map and color system was easy to figure out, even for those of us not accustomed to mass transit. We were a little surprised at how crowded it got, we tried to avoid commuting times, but we still had large crowds. Even with 3 kids in tow (8, 7, 5) we were able to hop the trains and travel around the city and surrounding areas.
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"Fast and inexpensive way to travel around DC"
The metro is the best way to get around DC. I recommend the weekly pass, if that fits into the timeframe of your visit. It's a lot easier than getting a ticket for each ride, or even just daily. I found that I rode the metro more than I anticipated, so it turned out to be a good deal. My travel companions, my aunt and 12 year old cousin, had to dig out change every time and realized the advantages of the pass too late for it to be economical. It took a few rides for me to figure out some of the signs and train lines, but I caught on quickly enough and didn't have any trouble. Rush hour can get extremely busy and crowded. We actually had a driver threaten to deboard the train because there were so many people on the train that the doors wouldn't close. Thankfully, enough people grudgingly squished together even more or got off the train so that didn't have to happen.
2 families found this helpful
"Metro is fast and easy"
I love how easy it is to ride the Metro in DC. We even let the kids plan our route, figure out what train we needed to get on, and what stop we would get off on. They were pros.
My teenager loved the fact that the Metro was exactly like it appeared in the Midtown Madness car race game for X-Box. In fact, he was a pro at finding his way around DC because of the game.
When traveling during peak times, set up a "get lost" plan in case you get separated on the train. I'm always afraid the doors will close before the last person boards. Of course it never happened to me, but I know of people it did happen to and they spent the entire day trying to reconnect.
Our plan in DC was, if not everyone got on the train, then those that did, would get off at the next stop and wait there - don't get on another train until we were all reconnected.
1 family found this helpful
"The only way to get around DC"
By far the least stressful and cheapest way to see DC. Its safe, fairly clean (its a big city) and runs frequently. Occasional delays occured - this most significant we experienced was during the recent tragic accident on the red line (obviously this was most unusual). Staff are really helpful but the ticket machines are fairly self explanatory. We suggest a week pass that allows you to ride unlimited times with the exception of rush hour(s). We also recommend you have a safety plan in place in case you are sepearted from your kids during especially if you plan to travel during rush hour when trains can be very crowded.
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"Seems silly, but true!"
It might seem silly that the Metro is on my list of things to do. If you are like me though and live in a city where there is no metro, it can be pure heaven for the little train lover in your family. Besides being one of the easiest ways to zip around Washington DC and the outskirts, the metro is big fun for kids. The little ones will love to watch the metro with its lights and loud sounds. The teens will put their earphones on and pretend to be one of the other cool commuters who live there. Just leave your guidebook in your pocket so you don't embarrass them! A day pass is about 8 dollars and will be your best bet for lots of traveling but if you just want to take a quick ride so your toddler can ride the "train," it will only cost a few bucks.
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