Riding with Metro Access

Here’s how to use Metro Access, and what to expect during your ride. 

Booking your ride

You can book your ride online, or over the phone.

To book a ride online, log into Metro Access, then select Book Trip under the left panel. If this is your first time using the web portal, you’ll have to enroll with your Metro Access ID, eight-digit date of birth, and a valid email address.

Log in to book a ride now (Metro Access ID holders only)

To book by phone, call 301-562-5360, press 2 for trip status, and press 2 to speak with a customer service representative (TTY 301-588-7535). Customer service representatives are available whenever Metro Access services are operating.

You can use Metro Access to travel between any two points in the Metro service area that are each within 3/4 mile of Metro Rail or Metro Bus, during the same hours that those services are operating. If you’re not sure whether your trip is eligible for Metro Access, you can call and ask a Metro Access customer service representative.

Your fare is twice the fare of the equivalent Metro Rail or Metro Bus trip, up to $4.50. For instance, if the equivalent Metro Bus trip is $2.25, you will pay $4.50. Whether you book online or by phone, you can choose to prepay for your ride using EZ-Pay, or you can pay the driver the exact fare in cash. Drivers can’t make change.

Learn how to pay for Metro Access

Changing or canceling your trip

If your plans change, you can change or cancel your trip either online or by phone. You can cancel up to two hours before your scheduled trip time, but please cancel as soon as you know you won’t need to travel, so your Metro Access driver will be available for another rider. If your trip was paid by EZ-Pay and you cancel at least two hours in advance, you won’t be charged.

Starting your trip

Please be ready for your driver at the time they are scheduled to arrive. You can ask Metro Access to give you an automated call from Metro Access when your driver is arriving, but a call is not guaranteed.

You should be waiting for your driver near the front (outside) door of your house or building. They will knock on the door and identify themselves as “Metro Access.” They can’t enter your private home or business, except to step just inside the entrance, with your permission, to guide you or your wheelchair out the door.

Drivers will be in uniform with their ID card visible. If you need to verify your driver’s identity, please contact Metro Access at 301-562-5360 and select option 2 to speak with a dispatcher (TTY: 301-588-7535).

Before you board, show the driver your Metro Access ID and confirm your destination.

If you are not traveling in a wheelchair, you need to be able to walk by yourself from the door of your home (or your starting point) to the door of the Metro Access vehicle. Your driver can’t provide you with physical support, but they will walk alongside you and alert you to hazards. For your safety, be sure to follow the driver’s instructions.

If you are in a wheelchair, the driver will transfer you onto and off the vehicle, and secure your wheelchair in the vehicle. If you are in a conventional (non-electric) wheelchair, the driver can push your wheelchair a short distance to and from the vehicle, provided that there is a clear path.

Your driver can also help you carry packages up to 40 pounds. 

During your trip

If you need services or support during your trip, you should bring a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) or companion on your trip. They can ride with you for free, but you need to notify Metro Access that someone will be traveling with you when you book your trip.

For example, bring a PCA or companion if you need any of these kinds of assistance during your trip:

• Help adjusting your clothing, your position in a wheelchair, or your medical equipment, or help with a service animal
• Physical support to help you walk to and from the Metro Access vehicle, or up and down steps or curbs
• Someone to wait with you at the destination or ride along with you in the Metro Access vehicle if you can’t be left unattended
• Help unlocking or opening the door at your destination
• Help operating, adjusting, or repairing your electric wheelchair or other electric mobility device

To stay safe during your trip:

• Keep your mobility aids and personal devices in good working order, and make sure they can operate without the driver’s help. 
• If your trip goes to or from your home, make sure before you travel that your ramps, sidewalks, and walkways are clear of obstructions.
• When entering the vehicle on foot, use the handrail for support.

Metro Access is a shared-ride service, so your driver may make intermediate stops to pick up or drop off other passengers. They cannot make any personal stops for you during your trip; they can only drop you off at the destination you specified when you booked your ride. 

While you are in or near a Metro Access vehicle, you may be recorded on camera, for the safety and security of our passengers and drivers.

When you arrive

When you arrive, the driver will walk alongside you to the door of your destination, and carry any packages you brought with you. They can push your wheelchair a short distance. Remember, they can’t physically support you as you walk or go up or down steps, unlock or open the door, or wait with you at your destination. So if you need to, be sure to bring a companion.

Subscription rides

If you take a particular trip frequently — for example, you go to the Silver Spring Senior Center every Tuesday at noon, and head home at 3:00 p.m. — you can sign up for a subscription ride. If you do, you will automatically be picked up at the same times every week. There is no extra cost for scheduling a subscription ride; you just pay the regular Metro Access fare.

Subscription rides are automatically cancelled on federal holidays, so if you need to travel on a holiday, you will have to book a special trip.

If you are a subscription rider paying by EZ-Pay, your account needs to have sufficient funds for each subscription trip 8 days before the trip.