You pay for DC Metro using a SmarTrip card, the SmarTrip app on your phone, or, since 2025, by tapping any contactless credit or debit card directly at the faregate. Rail fares run $2.25 to $6.75 depending on distance. Metrobus is a flat $2.25. Kids 4 and under ride free.
In brief
You pay for DC Metro using a SmarTrip card, the SmarTrip app on your phone, or, since 2025, by tapping any contactless credit or debit card directly at the faregate. Rail fares run $2.25 to $6.75 depending on distance and time of day. Metrobus is a flat $2.25. Children 4 and under ride free with a fare-paying adult.
The basics: three ways to pay
SmarTrip card. This is the traditional method and still the most flexible. SmarTrip is a reloadable product used to pay Metrorail, Metrobus, and regional transit partner fares, as well as parking at Metro facilities. The card costs $2 and comes with $8 in stored fare value for a total purchase price of $10. You tap it on the reader when you enter a station and again when you exit.
SmarTrip on your phone. System upgrades since 2020 have allowed users to add their SmarTrip cards to Apple Pay and Google Wallet. The SmarTrip app is available for both Android and iPhone. Hold your phone or watch over the faregate sensor and you're through.
Tap. Ride. Go. This is the newest option. Contactless credit and debit cards have been accepted on SmarTrip readers on the Washington Metro and Metrobus since 2025, branded as "Tap. Ride. Go." Metro accepts American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa. One important rule: the same payment card used to enter a Metrorail system must be tapped at exit to ensure accuracy of the fare charged.
What fares actually cost
Metrorail charges by distance. Metrorail fares range from $2.25 to $6.75 on weekdays depending on distance traveled. Fares during late night (after 9:30 p.m.) and weekend service range from $2.25 to $2.50 depending on distance traveled. Those fares took effect June 30, 2024 after WMATA's board approved a 12.5% increase as part of its FY2025 budget.
Metrobus is simpler. Metrobus fares are $2.25. Express bus fares are $4.80. You can also pay with cash, using exact change. No change is given on buses.
Up to two children age 4 and younger can ride free with each fare-paying adult. Children age 5 and older pay the regular fare and need their own payment method.
DC students who attend public, private, charter, or parochial schools can ride Metro Rail and Metro Bus for free through the DC Kids Ride Free program.
Passes worth knowing about
Metro offers a range of daily, weekly, and monthly unlimited passes. The 1-Day Unlimited Pass runs $13.50 and covers both rail and bus. It activates the first time the card is tapped and expires at the end of the operating day. A 7-Day Pass costs $57.50 and a 28-Day Pass costs $230, both loadable onto an existing SmarTrip card at Metro stations or online.
Reduced fare programs like MetroLift and senior discounts are 50% off regular fares. Metro Bus to Metro Bus transfers are free and unlimited within a 2-hour period. Metro Bus to Metro Rail or Metro Rail to Metro Bus transfers give a $2.25 discount within a 2-hour period.
Where to get a SmarTrip card
Use a fare vending machine at any Metro Rail station, or visit any commuter store or retail outlet. Online, plastic SmarTrip cards are automatically registered and mailed within 5 business days; credit and debit card payments only.
Once you have a card, you can add stored value anytime, or set up Auto Reload so that value will automatically be added when you're running low.
SmarTrip works on many DC-area transit systems beyond Metro, including DASH, Ride On, Fairfax Connector, ART, CUE, Loudoun County Transit, OmniRide, TheBus, DC Circulator, and Maryland Transit Administration local bus and light rail. SmarTrip can also pay for parking at Metro parking lots.
If you lose a registered card, the balance can be transferred to another card. That alone is a good reason to register online at smarttrip.wmata.com rather than use the card anonymously.
Washington DC Magazine is an independent digital publication covering politics, culture, business, and lifestyle in the nation's capital. We publish original reporting, analysis, and curated coverage from across the DMV region — Washington, DC; Northern Virginia; and suburban Maryland.
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Last updated: May 22, 2026
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Last updated: May 22, 2026
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Last updated: May 22, 2026
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
