Metro Facts - Metro 50th

Celebrating 50 Years of Metro

Tap a card to learn something special. Come back each month to unlock a new fact.

Metro keeps about 1.2 million cars off the road every day.

Lined up in a row, these cars would stretch from Washington, DC to Alaska.

Metro Rail is the second busiest rapid rail system in the United States.

It boasts 128 route miles and 98 stations, serving a growing metropolitan region of over 6 million people. In 2025, passengers took 150 million trips on trains, 120 million on buses, and over 800,000 on Metro Access.

More than 70% if the region’s 2.5 million jobs are within a half mile of a station or bus stop.

Over half of the region's businesses are, too. Making Metro a lifeline for the local economy.

Without Metro, your commute would take twice as long.

Without transit, driving on I-66, I-95, or New York Avenue would take twice as long, adding 20–30minutes to every trip.

Plans for Metro go back nearly 75 years.

In 1952, Congress passed, and President Truman signed, the National Planning Act mandating preparation of plans for moving people and goods in the region.