Metro Bus Tips Please (Washington: transfer, buses, safety)

[BrandNew]

Hi! I just moved to the DC area from a relatively rural area, so public transportation is a new thing for me. I am familiar with the Metro already, but I am curious about the Metro Bus system. I would really appreciate some answers to the following questions:

How packed are the buses during morning and evening commutes, especially between Bethesda and Silver Spring?
Do the buses stop picking up passengers if they are filled to capacity? And if so, how frequently does that occur?
How do you indicate that you want to get off the bus? Does the bus only stop at designated bus stops, or will it stop anywhere on its route?

These questions may seem silly, but as I said, coming from a rural area, I have no frame of reference. If you have other tips about safety, etiquette, or anything else, I would love to hear them.

Thank you!

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by BrandNew

How do you indicate that you want to get off the bus? Does the bus only stop at designated bus stops, or will it stop anywhere on its route?

When you want to get off at the next stop just pull on the cord along the windows, or push the button on some posts. To answer the other question, ev ery few blocks along routes (except express buses) there are little Metrobus signs. That's where the buses stop to pick up and drop off. The signs sometimes have the bus route numbers listed on them.

[nva79]

try posting this on the maryland thread. it is easy, you will get used to it very soon. good luck, have fun.

[skijmpr]

Something else you may want to look into, if you plan on riding Metrobus a lot, is getting a SmarTrip card, as it will expedite your boarding. SmarTrip uses RFID, so you just need to wave it over the detector (similar to those gas station cards) and off you go. It also works for Metrorail, and automatically handles transfers from rail to bus for you so you don't need to remember to get a transfer ticket.

[breakingfree]

Here are two sites that'll help you:

Metro - Homepage

http://www.hopstop.com/ (They have a section for Washington, DC area travel)