Metro Safety Fri/Sat nights? 12am-3am (crimes, home)
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I was wondering if any of you have taken the Metro late night after midnight on Friday & Saturday nights? If so do you feel safe doing it? Are the trains relatively crowded? Would you recommend traveling on the system after a night out on the town?
For the most part, it's safe. The red, blue, and yellow lines are generally the safest. The orange line west of the RFK stop is also safe, but east of that into PG county can be a bit questionable. Green line is generally safe from greenbelt to navy yard, but towards suitland in PG country can be unsafe because it goes through some bad neighborhoods. If you avoid the green line going south past chinatown, you should be ok.
I agree with DCnative about areas in PG being questionable, several years ago I was with a friend late one night who had parked his car out in Largo Town Center on the blue line, a large group of rough looking individuals got on just outside the DC limits and needless to say I was very happy to get off of that train without incident...
In general, the Metro system is incredibly safe everywhere at all hours. But between midnight and 3:00 am, you do have more people on board who have consumed between some and too much alcohol, and <DCNative> raises a valid point in suggesting that it depends on where you are in the system. If you were on the Green or Orange lines east of the city, that would be different from being on the Blue or Orange Lines west of the city just because of the difference in demographics between the east and west sides of the city. All in all, it might be the case that it would be safer at those hours to be on the train than it would be to get off wherever you were. There are security cameras watching all of every station, there are intercom boxes on all the platforms and in every train car, there are more police riding the trains at riskier hours, and the stations themselves were all designed not to provide any avenues for a quick getaway. If you're a crook, it makes much more sense to lurk around Metro station exits than to be anywhere in the system, so while your aboard, any added risk will arise mostly from the fact that people who have been drinking tend to make poorer decisions than people who have not.
I ride the metro home almost every Friday and Saturday, sometimes alone, at around 3am and it is VERY safe, never had a problem. Mostly young drunk college kids and couples getting home.
Within the Metro system I think its about as safe as you can be in a big city. I'd pay more attention to the neighborhoods around where you enter and exit the system.
Some of the statements about the green line are stupid at best. "Don't ride the green line past Chinatown." Yeah L'Enfant Plaza is really rough. You can get beat up anywhere - Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, U street. DC is like any other city, keep your wits about you and you'll be fine on the Metro.
Some of the statements about the green line are stupid at best. "Don't ride the green line past Chinatown." Yeah L'Enfant Plaza is really rough.
Real nice. for the record, L'enfant is fine, I meant more out towards suitland.
Frankly, your comment was very rude and I'm glad I'm leaving DC probably for good. You can have the city all to yourself. Your screen name says it all.
Recently, a guy was beaten up on the orange line somewhere between Federal Center and Smithsonian. It was late (2:30am or so). He was in the car and outnumbered six to one. So the comments regarding the Orange Line headed for PG County should be heeded.
I just looked it up on Metro's web site. On an annual basis they have 1 1/2 to 2 crimes per million passengers. Only slightly higher than your chances of being hit by lightning.
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