D.C. Metro to increase service levels this month on four lines

Beginning Monday, Red Line trains will operate every six minutes until 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, an improvement of two minutes during off-peak times and a frequency that matches current rush-hour service on the line. From 9:30 p.m. to close, trains will run every 10 minutes.

On weekends, Red Line trains will continue to operate every eight minutes until 9:30 p.m., when frequencies will slow to every 10 minutes, Metro said.

The boosts in frequency come as transit workers are returning more 7000-series rail cars to service. The model makes up 60 percent of Metro’s rail cars and was suspended in October 2021 after a federal derailment investigation uncovered a wheel defect. The agency was allowed to return the cars in phases last summer under a plan that requires regular wheel inspections.

“Ridership continues to set records on rail and bus, and we’re excited to deliver service improvements that will save our customers time and money at all times, every day of the week,” Metro General Manger Randy Clarke said in a statement.

Elsewhere in the system, beginning June 26, service on the Blue and Silver lines will increase each day, operating every 12 minutes from opening until 9:30 p.m., and every 15 minutes afterward. Trains on the lines are currently running every 12 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during off-peak periods.

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Service on the Orange Line also will improve on June 26 to every 10 minutes until 9:30 p.m., and every 15 minutes afterward. Service on the line is currently running every 12 minutes during weekday peak hours and 15 minutes during off-peak hours.

On the same day, Metro said it will roll out its planned fare changes that will remove higher prices during peak travel times. After the change, Metrorail will charge customers at the same rate all day based on distance traveled. No changes will be made to pricing after 9:30 p.m., when a flat fare is set at $2 per trip.

Metro Lift, a new program that will mean half-price fares for low-income riders, also will start later this month. Riders must qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program to get the discount, Metro said.

By the end of the month, Metro officials say the agency will have launched 10 service improvements since last summer, raising frequencies to levels that haven’t been seen since before the pandemic. The service boosts coincide with Metro putting 58 percent more trains back into service on weekdays compared to the number available last July, according to the transit agency.

Metrobus frequencies also will increase on June 25 along 68 routes, transit officials said, giving riders 6 percent more service than last summer. Transit officials said the increase will mean more frequent bus service than before the pandemic.

Transit officials said the rise in service is coinciding with ridership increases on Metrobus. On June 1, the bus system tallied 377,000 rides, the most in a day since the pandemic began.

For more information on the increases and discounts, go to Metro’s website at www.wmata.com.