It’s not just cars that will have a hard time moving through DC leading up to Inauguration Day. Public transit and micromobility services are also modifying access in response to heightened security measures. Our recommendation: Plan ahead or just stay home. Here’s a guide to the transit quagmire you can anticipate this week:
Road Closures
Don’t even try driving a car through downtown. The city and Secret Service have closed down streets extending from the Lincoln Memorial to the Supreme Court, and from K Street to the National Mall. Check out our complete guide to street shutdowns here.
Metro
Eleven Metro stations will close from Friday, January 15 until Thursday, January 21. Those stations are:
- Farragut North
- Judiciary Square
- Union Station
- Archives
- Arlington Cemetery
- Farragut West
- McPherson Square
- Federal Center SW
- Capitol South
- Smithsonian
- Federal Triangle
Metro Center and Gallery Place—central points of transfer between different lines—will shutter on Saturday, January 16 and reopen on Thursday, January 21.
Metrobus will operate on a Saturday schedule during Inauguration Day. Expect detours as buses maneuver around road closures.
Capital Bikeshare
The city’s biking service has closed stations around Capitol Hill, the National Mall, and Union Station. No reopening date has been announced.
Scooters
Lime, Lyft, Spin, and Helbiz (formerly Skip) will disable scooters downtown, suspending service between K Street NW and Independence Avenue, and 19th Street NW and 2nd Street NE/2nd Street SE.
MARC
Maryland’s commuter rail will shutter service on the Penn, Camden, and Brunswick lines—which all run through Union Station—from Sunday, January 17 to Wednesday, January 20. All railways will reopen the morning of Thursday, January 21.
DC Circulator
The National Mall route will remain closed until Monday, January 25. Meanwhile, four routes will modify their pathways, skipping over select stops depending on road closures.
The Woodley Park route is adapting to avoid the downtown area through January 21. Stops that will be skipped until after Inauguration Day include 13th Street NW at K Street NW, 14th Street NW at I Street NW, and 14th Street NW and K Street NW.
The Congress Heights–Union Station route will also be dropping stops off its typical path, including 8th Street SE at East Capitol Street SE and Massachusetts Avenue SE at Columbus Circle SE.
The Eastern Market–L’Enfant Plaza route will ride past the stops at 7th Street SW and D Street SW (L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station), 7th Street SW and Maine Avenue SW, and 7th Street SW and I Street SW. Normal service will pick up again at M Street SW.
The Georgetown–Union Station route is integrating a shuttle service through Thursday, January 21. Starting at 34th Street NW and Wisconsin Avenue NW, the shuttle will go to Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 24th Street NW.
DC Streetcar
Streetcar service is currently shut down for the inauguration. No reopening date has been announced.
DC Public Library
All DCPL locations will be closed on Tuesday, January 19 and Wednesday, January 20.
Arlington National Cemetery
The cemetery will be closed to the public on Wednesday, January 20. Following the swearing-in ceremony, the Bidens and Harris-Emhoffs will be joined by the attending former Presidents and first ladies to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
