As of September 2026, the DC Metro is running normally on all six lines. The biggest recent disruption, a nine-week Red Line shutdown between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights, ended September 7, when Bethesda, Medical Center, and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations reopened on time and on budget.
In brief
As of September 2026, the DC Metro is running normally on all six lines. The biggest disruption of the year, a nine-week Red Line shutdown between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights, ended September 7, when Bethesda, Medical Center, and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations reopened on time and on budget. Ridership is climbing, fares shifted in February 2026, and the Purple Line connection at Bethesda is taking shape underground.
Red Line: fully back after a summer shutdown
Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center, and Bethesda stations along the Red Line reopened following months of work that ended on time and within budget. The shutdown ran from July 6 through September 6, 2026, with trains not operating between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights.
During the shutdown, Metro moved more than 1.2 million riders on free shuttle buses operating along Maryland Route 355, also known as Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue, between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights.
The work accomplished two major things. At Grosvenor-Strathmore, crews rehabilitated the platform, replacing tiles and adding new lighting, passenger information displays, shelters, and benches. At Bethesda, crews built a new 6,000-square-foot mezzanine that will eventually connect Metro riders with Maryland's Purple Line, including two new escalators, two elevators, faregates, and a station manager kiosk.
Metro said the construction work, which also included replacing the elevated railway between Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center, was completed on time and within the budget allocated for the project. Construction on the Bethesda mezzanine, including the bridge to the elevator banks, will continue behind protective barriers over the next 18 months without requiring additional station closures.
System-wide numbers right now
Metro runs six lines serving 98 stations across 129 miles of track, with a fleet of 1,242 railcars. Weekday ridership in Q1 2026 averaged 545,900 trips per day on rail. Trains run every 4 to 10 minutes during peak hours and every 6 to 15 minutes off-peak.
Across rail and bus combined, WMATA carried about 889,900 trips per weekday as of the first quarter of 2026. Rail ridership is trending upward: compared to March 2025, Metrorail ridership increased 4 percent overall, with a 6 percent jump on Sundays.
Fares in 2026
Weekday Metrorail fares range from $2.25 to $6.75 based on distance. Late night and weekend fares run $2.25 to $2.50. Metrobus fares are the same no matter where you go or when you ride, with the only exceptions being four express routes: F19, F28, F81, and F83. Regular Metrobus routes cost a flat $2.25; those four express routes cost $4.80.
WMATA offers reduced fares for seniors (65+) and persons with disabilities. There is no general student or military discount. Metro Lift offers 50 percent discounted fares to SNAP recipients in the DC region; eligible riders must enroll through their local SNAP office to get a reduced-fare SmarTrip card.
To ride Metrorail, tap your SmarTrip or contactless payment at the faregates at both the start and end of your trip. The current fare tariff took effect February 23, 2026.
What's coming: the Purple Line connection
At Bethesda, crews built a new mezzanine structure in preparation for the Maryland Transit Administration's Purple Line, slated to begin service in late 2027. At Grosvenor-Strathmore, customers now find a completely rehabilitated station platform and amenities.
The Purple Line's 16-mile route will connect 21 stations across Prince George's and Montgomery counties. Riders will be able to transfer to and from Metro at Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton.
One more project to watch: a new entrance is being added to the northwest corner of 18th Street South and Crystal Drive at Crystal City Metro Rail station, with work running from July 2026 through May 2027.
Checking real-time alerts
For live service alerts and planned delays on any line, go directly to wmata.com/service/status. WMATA also publishes monthly ridership snapshots at its Open Data Hub. For fare calculations, wmata.com/fares has the authoritative numbers.
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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.
