Inauguration Day is Friday and Washington, D.C., will be packed with hundreds of thousands of visitors here for the event, the parties, the protests or all of the above. Unless you're one of those in a police-escorted limo, how to get around D.C. is going to be a very important question. We put together a roundup of all the things you need to know for getting yourself around during the weekend's events.
Metro - You may have already started to notice more than the usual number of confused people at Metro stations as people arrive for the Inauguration. There's going to be a lot more of them before the weekend is over, which is part of why WMATA has a special Inauguration guide online. Trains start running at 4 a.m. on Friday and will run like it's rush hour all day, including in price, until 9 p.m., closing at midnight. The Mt. Vernon Square, Smithsonian, Archives, Federal Triangle and Pentagon stations will all be closed on Inauguration Day. On Saturday, Metro will open at 5 a.m. and have a special boosted Saturday schedule, with trains every four to six minutes downtown.
Bus - The bus system on Friday will run on a Saturday schedule. There will be a few extra busses run on some routes, but there will also be a lot of delays because of the detours the busses will need to make. Four of the six Circulator routes will shut down, with only the Woodley Park-McPherson Square and Potomac Ave-Barracks Row routes operating but on a restricted schedule.
Streetcar - The H Street Streetcar will keep operating along its whole route, with extended hours starting at 4 a.m. on Friday and ending at 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Driving and Parking - The streets are going to be a mess of road closures and other restrictions. The District has put out all of the details, but the interactive map below might be more helpful. Unless you really need to be in your own car, you might be better off finding alternative ways around. Even in the best case scenario, traffic will be awful and parking will be worse.
Taxis - Taxis will still be running, but expect there to be enough traffic for fares to jump. On Friday, you'll be unlikely to hail a cab from the street, but there will be four taxi stands operating. Taxis will be at the Kennedy Center, near the Convention Center, near L’Enfant Plaza and on East Capitol Street NE by Eastern Senior High School.
Capital Bikeshare - Capital Bikeshare has put out its plans for the Inauguration security adjustments, which include shutting down any bikeshare stations in the security zone. There will be bike corral services set up though at 17th and K Street NW and at 4th and E Street SW on Friday, as well as a bike valet for personal bikes for those going to watch the Inauguration at 16th and I Street NW. On Saturday, there will be a bike corral at 4th and E Street SW.
Uber - Uber has set up a whole special microsite for the weekend, with real-time updates as things change. The site offers its own aggregation of information on how to get around, based in part on its coordination with official agencies about the weekend's events. The app itself has been adjusted to take into account all the road closures and to make sure you don't get matched with a driver that isn't able to reach you. Notably, there's no mention of potential caps on surge pricing, so keep an eye on that price.
Lyft - Lyft's plans for the weekend are broadly similar to Uber in terms of warning about the blackout zones and suggesting meetup spots for drivers. There's also no mention of surge pricing for Lyft either, so definitely check the estimated price before you confirm your trip.
Via - Via will be running normally, but will be limited to certain areas of operation like other ride-sharing program.
The District put together a handy map of almost all the transportation options available in one place as you can see below. It even includes social media connections so you can see what people are posting and taking photos of at the different points around the city. Regardless of your plans, be safe during what promises to be a truly wild weekend.
