Metro adds new Alexandria-Metro Center link, updates service on 50 Metrobus routes

Published: 12/08/2025

Beginning Monday, Dec. 15, customers seeking to travel from Alexandria to downtown Washington, D.C., can ride the new A29 Metrobus route. 

Route A29 offers transfer-free weekday, rush hour service between Van Dorn St station, Beauregard St, Mark Center, Southern Towers, Shirlington, and Metro Center via the I-395 Express Lanes. Buses will run every 24 minutes from Northern Virginia to Washington, D.C., only in the morning, and every 24 minutes from Washington, D.C. to Northern Virginia only in the afternoon. The new route is funded through the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s I-395/95 Commuter Choice grant program.

Additional Metrobus Service Changes

Changes to 50 additional Metrobus routes will begin Sunday, Dec. 14, as Metro continues to improve reliability, reduce crowding, strengthen connections, and respond to customer and operator feedback since the June network launch.

Highlights include:

  • In the D.C., improving connectivity to Washington Hospital Center and the VA Hospital campus bus circle from neighborhoods to the west and the Green Line by extending Route C63 to Georgia Av-Petworth, and adding service along Martin Luther King, Jr. Av SE on Route C11 in response to customer feedback; and
  • In Maryland, shifting routes M42 and M44 to Plum Orchard Dr to better serve Adventist White Oak Medical Center and shopping destinations, and improve connections with other bus routes.

Metro will make schedule and other changes to improve service for customers on the following routes:

  • DC: C11, C15, C17, C25, C26, C27, C35, C37, C53, C63, C77, C83, C87, D1X, D32, D34, D40, D4X, D60, D70, D74, D90, D94, D96
  • Maryland: M22, M42, M44, M52, M60, M70, M82, P1X, P15, P16, P35, P62, P66, P72, P93
  • Virginia: A11, A12, A1X, A25, A40, A66, A71, F20, F28, F60, F61

Better reliability for the C53

Metro will implement headway management - a different strategy to managing bus service compared to operating on a schedule. We expect this to improve bus reliability on the C53 route in the District. In addition, we will use other tools, including cameras and new computer systems, which will help ensure buses arrive more consistently and reduce gaps and bunching to improve customer experience.

Once we assess the effectiveness of headway management, this approach to managing bus service will be coming to additional Metrobus routes in 2026.

Customer Service Information

Visit wmata.com/tripplanner for new schedule information and visit wmata.com/bus to view route specific changes. 

Customers can also: 

  • Sign up for MetroAlerts to receive service updates via text or email. 
  • Call 202-GO-METRO (202-466-3876, TTY 202-962-2033): Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Automated information is available 24/7.

About Metro 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), known as Metro, is the region’s leading public transportation provider, serving a population of approximately four million people across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia within a 2,054-square-mile jurisdiction. With a network of six rail lines, 98 stations, 125 bus routes, and a door-to-door paratransit service, Metro is the second busiest transit system in the United States with a $5 billion operating and capital budget. Since 2022, Metro has completed multiple transit-oriented development projects that have brought $15 million in tax revenue to the region from housing, office, and retail space in our community. Safety and security are core values at Metro. Over 30,000 cameras monitor the system, and Metro is currently at an 8-year crime low with fare evasion down 82%. In 2025, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named Metro the Transit Agency of the Year in recognition of industry-leading ridership growth, record high customer satisfaction, a newly redesigned Bus network, expanded rail service, and improved customer experience. 

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