Washington, D.C. in four days the metro · The Metro in Washington, D.C. in four days
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The Metro in Washington, D.C. in four days
The Metro in Washington, D.C. in four days
Chances are that you will ride DC Metro, and knowing how it operates ahead of time can mean the difference between catching the train that just arrived in the station and having to wait another 15 minutes for the next train to arrive.
Depending on what type of pass you purchase (see the Washington, DC guide in the Get Around section) you will have one of two types of cards:
A plastic card that you simply touch on the special circle at the turnstile. The circle is illuminated and has the white and green "Smart Trip" logo printed on it. Sometimes, the reader will not read your card and a small LCD screen will tell you to swipe your card again. Try running it by the sensor at a slower speed.
A paper ticket with a dollar amount printed on it. Some turnstiles have slots on the front side facing you, some have slots on the top. It doesn't seem very consistent, so you'll have to pay attention. Sometimes you will insert the ticket into the slot and the ticket will emerge from another slot. Other times, the ticket will reemerge from the slot in which it was placed. The gate will not open until you retrieve your ticket.
As a rule, remember "walk left, stand right." You should stay on the left side of escalator if you want to walk up. If you plan to stand, stay out of the way of the walkers by standing on the right side. Some locals may become irritated and repeat the "walk left, stand right" rule verbally if you do not comply.
Food and drink are not allowed in the stations or on the trains. There have been instances reported where metro personnel will harshly punish violators.
Finding which exit to leave the station from is just as important as getting off at the correct stop. Many stations have several exits that can put you right next to where you want to go. Most exits are labeled according to which street they exit to. Check the station's neighborhood map to find out which exit to head to.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Washington, D.C. in four days
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Washington, D.C. in four days Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.