Current routes
The list of Metrobus routes has been split by region: List of Metrobus routes in Washington, D.C. List of Metrobus routes in Maryland List of Metrobus routes in Virginia
Numbering As a part of the BetterBus system improvement plan, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) created new routes under a new route naming convention based on the locations the buses primarily serve and their service type:
Buses running primarily in the District of Columbia use the first letters C and D where C represents a bus running a crosstown route and D represents a bus serving downtown. Buses running primarily in Arlington County and the City of Alexandria use the first letter A. Buses running primarily in Fairfax County use the first letter F. Buses running primarily in Prince George's County use the first letter P. Buses running primarily in Montgomery County use the first letter M.
If a bus is running a limited-stop (i.e. "express") service, it is denoted by the final letter X.
Original Numbering System
From 1973 until June 29, 2025, Metrobus routes followed the rules below: Metrobus routes in Washington, D.C., have either a two digit number (31, 42, 64, etc.) or a letter followed by a number (A2, S2, X8, etc.). Metrobus routes in Montgomery County, MD, have a letter followed by a number (C4, Q4, Z6, etc.). Metrobus routes in Prince George's County, MD, have a letter followed by two numbers (F12, J12, P12, etc.). Metrobus routes in Northern Virginia have one or two numbers followed by a letter (1A, 16C, 29N, etc.).
Odd-numbered routes are typically part-time variants of even-numbered routes. At one time, odd numbered routes were express routes, but that distinction has been abandoned. Most Maryland and Washington, D.C., routes are grouped by their first digit. When this system was laid out in 1936, the following clustering was used: CategoryRoute numbersStreetcars 10 Columbia Line 20 Cabin John Line 30 Pennsylvania Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue Line 40 Mount Pleasant Line 50 Fourteenth Street Line 60 11th Street, Upshur Street and New Hampshire Avenue Line 70 Seventh Street and Georgia Avenue Line 80 College Park and North Capitol Street Line 90 U Street Line and East Capitol Street LineBuses in D.C. & Maryland A Anacostia, Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Martin Luther King Jr. Highway (Maryland) B Bladensburg Road, Annapolis Road, Bowie C Branch Avenue, Central Avenue, University Blvd, Maryland D Northwest, Suitland E Northwest, Northeast, Crosstown F East–West Highway, New Carrollton G Northwest, Brookland, Greenbelt H St. Barnabas Road, Branch Avenue, Brookland, Columbia Road, Irving Street J Silver Spring, Bethesda, Forestville, District Heights K Forestville, New Hampshire Avenue Maryland L Connecticut Avenue, Landover Road M Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest N Massachusetts Avenue, National Harbor P Anacostia, North Capitol Street, District Heights, Suitland, Oxon Hill Q Veirs Mill Road, Maryland R Riggs Road, Kenilworth Ave, Queens Chapel Road S 16th Street Lines T Annapolis Road, Rhode Island Ave NE, River Road, Falls Road U Minnesota Avenue, Sheriff Road V Minnesota Avenue, Capitol Heights, Suitland, District Heights, Oxon Hill W Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Oxon Hill, Indian Head X Benning Road–H Street Line Y Georgia Avenue, Maryland Z US 29, MarylandBuses in Virginia 1 Arlington Blvd, Wilson Blvd 2 Langston Blvd, Washington Blvd 3 Annandale, Langston Blvd 4 Arlington Blvd 7 Landmark, Shirlington, Alexandria 8 Fairlington, Foxchase, Seminary Valley 10 Alexandria, Ballston, Crystal City, Pentagon 11 Mount Vernon 15 Chain Bridge Road 16 Columbia Pike 17 King Park, Pentagon 18 Burke, Orange Hunt, Springfield 21 Crystal City, Shirlington, Landmark, Pentagon 22 Ballston, Fairlington, Pentagon, Shirlington 23 Crystal City, McLean, Shirlington 25 Ballston, Mark Center 26 Annandale, Culmore 28 Falls Church, Leesburg Pike, Skyline City, Alexandria, Pentagon 29 Annandale, Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, Pentagon 38 Ballston, Farragut Square, Georgetown MWY Alexandria, Pentagon City, Crystal City, Richmond Hwy, Potomac Yard REX Richmond Highway
Divisions Division NameLocationRoutes ServedCity SectionAndrews Federal Center (A)7541 Andrews Federal Campus Drive, Suitland, MD 20746C35, C57, C63, D10, D1X, D20, D2X, P66, P87, P90, P93, P94, P96Southeast D.C., Southern Prince George's County, MarylandBladensburg (B)2251 26th Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20018-1405C33, C41, C61, C71, C75, C77, C81, D24, D30, D32, D34, D36, D44, D5X, D74, M60, P15, P16Late nights: D20, D50 Northeast and Southeast Washington D.C.Cinder Bed Road (C)7901 Cinder Bed Rd, Lorton, VA 22135F19, F1X, F20, F23, F24, F26, F29, F50, F81, F83 Fairfax County, VirginiaFour Mile Run (F)3501 South Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22202A1X, A11, A12, A25, A27, A28, A29, A40, A49, A58, A66, A70, A71, A76, A90, F28, F44, F60, F61, F62, F85 Northern VirginiaLandover (L)3433 Pennsy Drive, Landover, MD 20785P10, P12, P14, P1X, P20, P21, P24, P30, P31, P32, P33, P35, P40, P41, P42, P60, P61, P62, P63, P72, P73 Northern, Central, and Southern portions of Prince George's County, MarylandMontgomery (M)5400 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD 20852C87, D40, D4X, D60, D6X, M12, M20, M22, M42, M44, M52, M54, M6X, M70, M82Late nights: D80 Montgomery County, MarylandShepherd Parkway (S)2 DC Village Lane SW, Washington, D.C. 20032C11, C13, C15, C17, C21, C23, C25, C26, C27, C29, C31, C33, C37, C43, C51, C53, C55, D20, D50, P97Late nights: D10 Southeast & Southwest D.C. & the southern portion of Prince George's County, MarylandWestern (W)5230 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Friendship Heights, Washington, D.C. 20015C83, C85, C91, D50, D70, D72, D80, D82, D90, D94, D96Weekdays: D5X Northwest D.C.
References Metrobus timetables, accessed October 2017.
Notes