Metro prepared for winter weather, will communicate impacts to bus service in a new way

Published: 12/04/2025

From Facilities and Maintenance to Operations, Metro is ready to keep customers moving through the first wintery mix of the season. While Metro is tracking winter weather for Friday morning, it is not expected to have major impacts on service.

Since implementing a new bus network in June, Metro has also been assessing how to communicate service changes during winter weather events. 

Customers can now visit WMATA.com/Snow for constant, up-to-the-minute updates on the status of all bus routes and maps of bus detours. Each route listed will show Regular Service, Snow Detour, or Temporarily Suspended. Customers are encouraged to bookmark the site for future reference.

This aligns with a change in the way Metro is approaching bus service restoration during and after a winter storm.

In prior years, Metro had four service levels (Light, Moderate, Severe, and Lifeline) which required a set number of routes to be passable before restoring service at the next level. Since some streets clear faster than others, Metro will now move to restore service route-by-route on cleared streets as soon as possible, instead of at those set service levels.

“We want to put buses back on the road as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Metro Chief Operations Officer Leroy Jones. “Our new snow service restoration plan allows for greater flexibility and responsiveness to local road conditions and better service for customers.”

While Metro discourages non-essential travel during heavy snowstorms for safety reasons, we know bus and rail are a lifeline service for essential workers and more. Metrorail continues to run normally unless there is approximately eight inches of snow or more in one storm.

Winter travel tips

  • Travel only if necessary as snow and ice may create hazardous conditions, delays, and increased wait time.
  • Before you start your trip, visit WMATA.com/Snow to find out if Metro is serving your area so you do not get stranded after leaving home. Download the MetroPulse app for real-time bus arrivals.
  • Dress warmly. You may be outside longer than normal.
  • If snow is blocking the curb, wait on the sidewalk. Do not wait in the street for the bus.
  • Use extreme caution when walking on exposed surfaces, including parking lots and station platforms. Never run for a bus or train.
  • Report any unsafe conditions to a Metro employee, or call 202-GO-METRO, or report it online. 

Metro equipment ready this winter 

  • 23,000 bags of de-icer for treating sidewalks and platforms
  • 116 snow brushes
  • 114 tractors
  • 96 snow blowers
  • 85 trucks with plows
  • 18 larger trucks
  • 9 salt domes with 300+ tons of bulk salt

Metro snow clearing responsibilities

Metro clears snow on rail platforms at above ground stations and the 600 bus shelters in our station areas, as well as Metro-owned bus loops, like the Pentagon Transit Center, Silver Spring Transit Center, Calvert St (Duke Ellington Bridge) Bus Loop, Colorado Av Bus Loop, and the Chevy Chase Bus Loop.

Local jurisdictions and private businesses clear the nearly 9,000 bus stops in the region. Local jurisdictions are usually responsible for public streets and any transit centers owned by that jurisdiction. If your bus stop on a public road is not clear, please contact your local jurisdiction or Metro to make sure issues get resolved with our partners.

Finally, if the bus stop or shelter is on private property, such as a hospital campus, shopping center, mall, or business park, please contact the property owner with questions about snow clearing.

Customer Service information

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