Metro profile

The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) was created by an interstate compact in 1967 to plan, develop, build, finance and operate a balanced regional transportation system in the national capital area. The Authority began building its rail system in 1969, acquired four regional bus systems in 1973, and began operating the first phase of Metrorail in 1976.

Today, Metrorail serves 86 stations and has 106 miles of track. A fleet of 1,050 rail cars provides service from 5 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday, and 7 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.

Metrobus serves the nation's capital 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week with 1,500 buses. Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.4 million within a 1,500 square mile jurisdiction.

Metro's paratransit service, MetroAccess, begin in 1994. It provides about 1.5 million trips per year. The MetroAccess provider is MV Transportation.