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What was trending for public transit in 2025?

From predictions for this past year to bus and rail trends, Mass Transit magazine’s special reports depicted how the transit industry responded to the ups and downs throughout the year.
Megan Perrero, December 31, 2025, Mass Transit Magazine

VRE board backs funding agreement for Woodbridge station platform extension

The action authorizes VRE to seek approval from its governing commissions to execute a Capital Project Funding Addendum with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, thereby enabling the project to proceed to planning, environmental review, and design.
Uriah Kiser, December 31, 2025, Potomac Local News

Yellow Line extends service further into D.C. and Maryland

Metro riders in Alexandria can now take “one-seat, no-transfer rides to places like Columbia Heights, U Street, Shaw, Hyattsville, College Park, and more,” WMATA wrote in a press release. 
Katie Taranto, December 31, 2025, ALXNow

Proposed sales tax could help fund public transit in Northern Virginia

Metro is going to need some more funding, and now in Northern Virginia, there’s talk about a sales tax going to the transit agency to help the trains and buses run.
Adam Tuss, January 1, 2026, NBC4 Washington

Metro offers free late-night rides, as Fairfax County offices close for New Year's

Fares will be free for both train and bus riders from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., thanks to a partnership between the transit agency and the brewing company Molson Coors, before service is reduced to a weekend late night schedule and a Sunday schedule, respectively, on New Year’s Day.
Angela Woolsey, December 31, 2025, FFXNow

Maryland is home to the longest single span escalator in the western hemisphere

DC Metro has the most escalators (and elevators) of any transit system in North America with a total of 674. Metro’s longest escalator is at the Wheaton station right here in Montgomery County. 
December 31, 2025, The MoCo Show

FXBGO! overhauls Stafford County bus routes: what changed and who it affects

Fredericksburg Regional Transit (FXBGO!) rolled out a significant redesign of its Stafford County bus network, replacing the former “D-routes” with a new numbered system and reshaping how riders travel between neighborhoods, shopping centers, government buildings, and downtown Fredericksburg.
December 30, 2025, Potomac Local News

VDOT open house to discuss proposed upgrades to S. Van Dorn Street at Alexandria border

The study provides Fairfax County with VDOT-endorsed choices for roadway improvements for the area of S. Van Dorn Street between Telegraph Road and the Alexandria city limits, as well as three-quarters of a mile of Franconia Road between Grovedale Drive and S. Van Dorn Street.
James Cullum, December 30, 2025, ALXNow

Construction on Green Line concludes tonight, Yellow Line extends to Greenbelt Dec. 31

Winter work wraps up in time for customers to ring in the new year and celebrate every other Yellow Line train traveling to Greenbelt which begins at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
December 30, 2025, WMATA

No-show buses, long waits: Will GPS finally help D.C.'s disabled students?

This month, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the agency required by federal law to transport students with disabilities from home to school and back again, said it had agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million contract with Tyler Technologies to create a GPS system that will allow parents to track their students and automatically notify them about schedule changes. 
Jonathan Edwards, December 31, 2025, The Washington Post

Bus shelter replacement work to begin January 2026

Starting January 5, Shady Grove East Metrorail Station will begin work to replace the old bus shelters for new ones that will “continue to protect customers from the weather while incorporating enhanced safety features,” says the transit authority. 
Cristina Caicedo Smit, December 29, 2025, Montgomery Community Media

Metro changes on the way for 2026

2026 is going to bring some big changes when it comes to Metro — and one of them involves two heavily used lines in the system. 
Adam Tuss, December 29, 2025, NBC4 Washington

The biggest public transit news of 2025

Throughout the year, we cover thousands of news items, ranging from new bus orders and service launches to budget updates and technology deployments. But what resonates the most with our readers? 
Megan Perrero, December 26, 2025, Mass Transit Magazine

Transit officials make the case for new $400M-plus funding plans

Each of those initiatives, which NVTC has endorsed, calls for hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Metro, VRE, and other transit options that serve Fairfax County and the rest of Northern Virginia.
Michael Balderston, December 24, 2025, Fairfax Times

GGWash Picks 2025: The District's transportation system taxes everyone's time

District leaders and employees should view reducing the transportation time tax on all road users as a north star when making decisions that affect our transportation systems.
Karthik Balasubramanian/Kai Hall, December 24, 2025, Greater Greater Washington

Commutes are shifting as companies ramp up office returns

While supercommuting — defined as 90-plus minutes each way — is not yet the norm, the number of Americans who make that trek increased 45% from 2010 to 2019, and post-Covid trends show that percentage is growing, with Washington, D.C., leading the charge.
Joanne Drilling, December 26, 2025, Washington Business Journal

Federal funding shifts cloud Virginia's transportation plans for 2026

In November, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, touted an almost $70 million release of federal grant funding to improve Virginia’s bus and rail systems. Part of that package includes $8.6 million to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation system to replace aging vehicles. 
Ian Stewart, December 26, 2025, Virginia Mercury

2025's Biggest transportation wins

New York City’s congestion pricing program, which is chugging along despite the Trump administration’s efforts to kill it, has dramatically reduced traffic and improved air quality in its first few months. The program is also raising significant revenue for public transit and could serve as a catalyst for more U.S. cities.
Diana Ionescu, December 23, 2025, Planetizen

DMV holiday travelers packing up to hit the road, airways

As of Monday night, there were around 95 delays at Reagan National Airport (DCA), but there were no major issues seen at the airport. Lots of travelers are happy to head home for the holidays as the roadways become busier the closer to Christmas.
Daniel Hamburg, December 22, 2025, DC News Now

DC region ranks in the top 20 for traffic congestion worldwide

Two area highways also ranked among the study’s top 25 busiest corridors. Listed at No. 21 was a stretch of Interstate 495 between Clermount Avenue in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the Interstate 295 interchange. Travelers driving during the 4 p.m. peak hour would lose about 64 hours to traffic congestion.
José Umaña, December 23, 2025, WTOP

Supporting transit = Supporting biking

Without decisive action in 2026, Metro faces a looming funding gap—and local bus systems, VRE, and other services may also struggle. That affects all of us, including the growing number of people who ride bikes to Metro or rely on buses to complete their trips.
December 22, 2025, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling

Pedestrian and bike path could add $1 billion to new Bay Bridge's cost

The proposal to add a shared-use path to the bridge is a generally popular idea with Marylanders, but the added cost could leave it vulnerable to the chopping block amid skyrocketing nationwide construction costs.
Daniel Zawodny, December 18, 2025, Baltimore Banner

Virginia's antebellum rail network was built to connect the state's hinterland to its own ports

While Maryland’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad main line, stretched inland from the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line, the earliest railroads in Virginia were built along or downstream of the Fall Line to connect ports.
DW Rowlands, December 22, 2025, Greater Greater Washington

When it comes to US transportation, 2025 had some wins, too

Already vulnerable due to escalating costs and a post-Covid dip in ridership, transit agencies have also had to deal with the USDOT secretary’s dubious claims about endangered riders and threats about pulling financial support.
David Zipper, December 22, 2025, Bloomberg

Next Stop: The Trump Train

Metro is the transportation backbone of the nation’s capital, yet it operates without the stability expected of a system serving the federal government. Unlike most major transit systems, Metro has no dedicated funding source. Instead, it relies on annual contributions from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, along with fares and intermittent federal support. 
Uriah Kiser, December 21, 2025, Potomac Local News

Busy holiday travel week expected across DMV airports and highways

People who travel by train and car for the holidays sometimes wait a little longer to leave compared to people who fly, so this week will be very busy for both.
Tom Roussey, December 22, 2025, ABC7 News

Construction work on second entrance at Crystal City station will require weekend closures in 2026

On three of those weekends, track maintenance work will extend to Potomac Yard/VT and include Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station closures. During this time, crews will do lifecycle renewal of Metro’s infrastructure including track and signaling components. 
December 19, 2025, WMATA

Amtrak schedule changes reshape D.C.–Virginia trips

Amtrak has issued a modified timetable in response to a major construction project on the D.C.-Virginia border. The Long Bridge construction project is expected to run from 2026 to 2030 and, while work is active, the bridge will be closed to trains during the same midday window each day—details also reflected in VPRA’s service-change announcement.
December 21, 2025, Railway Supply

VDOT lifts lane closures to ease holiday travel across Virginia

“VDOT will be suspending many highway work zones and lifting temporary lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia from noon on Wednesday, Dec. 24, until noon on Friday, Dec. 26, as well as from noon on Wednesday, Dec. 31, until noon on Friday, Jan. 2,” Virginia Department of Transportation announced.
December 19, 2025, Potomac Local News