Data Stories: WMATA and VRE in Focus

Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation sent this bulletin at 10/15/2025 10:00 AM EDT

Welcome to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Data Stories, and thank you for signing up! This monthly series aims to find the narrative in data DRPT collects and uses, highlighting Virginia’s rail and transit community. This month, Data Stories is putting the spotlight on some of Northern Virginia’s standout transit agencies: The Washington Metro (WMATA/Metro) and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE).

Last month, Data Stories reviewed Virginia’s total public transportation ridership during FY 2025. Two of Virginia’s transit providers got called out in particular in that Data Story: WMATA and VRE. All 40 of Virginia’s transit providers deserve their own Data Story, but these two transit providers earn theirs today. WMATA (its full name is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, also called the Washington Metro or Metro) and VRE both provide unique transit services not seen elsewhere in Virginia, and both had an outstanding fiscal year 2025.

WMATA

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro) is the multi-jurisdictional transit authority that operates public transportation services in Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. WMATA provides transit through its Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess (paratransit) services.

In terms of scale of operations and annual ridership levels, WMATA is the largest provider of public transportation in Virginia and is among the largest in the entire United States. WMATA’s ridership in Virginia accounts for over 57% of all public transit trips in the Commonwealth, moving hundreds of thousands of Virginians every day. WMATA’s ridership has rebounded rapidly since 2021, with ridership growth in double digits each year. To illustrate this growth and ridership, the graphic below compares WMATA Virginia’s ridership, broken down by service type:

WMATA Virginia ridership includes trips on WMATA’s services that either began or ended in Virginia and does not include trips that were either exclusively in DC or Maryland.

WMATA is so large that if MetroBus were its own independent public transportation agency, it would be Virginia’s second largest in terms of ridership. MetroBus alone transported just under 15.0 million people in Virginia in FY 2025, ahead of large Virginia transit agencies like GRTC (12.1 million), Fairfax Connector (9.7 million), or Hampton Roads Transit (9.4 million).

However, that figure only reflects WMATA ridership within Virginia. WMATA’s systemwide ridership (including trips in D.C. and Maryland) is substantially higher. The graph below shows the scale of WMATA’s systemwide ridership:

For one last comparison, the busiest airport in terms of total passengers in the world (according to some sources) is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In calendar year 2024, Atlanta International Airport had over 108 million passengers. During FY 2025, WMATA transported the same number of people in just the first five months of that fiscal year.

VRE: Ridership Jumps

Next, we turn to the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), the only commuter rail in Virginia. VRE’s services bring long-distance commuters from Northern Virginia suburbs to Washington D.C. and points between via its two routes along the I-66 corridor to Manassas and I-95 corridor past Fredericksburg. VRE’s commuter trains provide safe and reliable transportation for commuters, while also offering a viable alternative to driving and helping to reduce congestion on Virginia’s busiest roads and highways.

VRE largely supports the conventional 9-5 commuter by running most of its trains north towards Washington D.C. in the morning, and most of its trains running south towards D.C. suburbs in the evening. Currently, VRE only operates Monday through Friday, though VRE plans to begin weekend service in the future. As in-person office work has returned, VRE’s ridership has rapidly rebounded from lows in 2021. The chart below shows VRE’s ridership rising over the past five fiscal years:

During FY 2025, VRE ridership had the biggest increase post-pandemic. This includes ridership nearly doubling between February and April 2025 as more workers began commuting most days of the week. The chart below shows VRE’s ridership month by month during FY 2025:

Vital Community Connections

WMATA and VRE stand out in Virginia’s transit community. While all 40 of Virginia’s transit providers are important, providing vital transportation options for their constituents, reducing congestion, and benefitting the environment, WMATA and VRE are unique. WMATA stands out as the single largest transit provider in Virginia, and the sole operator of heavy rail (Metrorail). VRE stands out as the only commuter rail in Virginia, and merits extra discussion because of its ongoing and upcoming projects to improve commuter rail service and reduce congestion along some of Virginia’s busiest roads and highways.

DRPT’s mission is to connect and improve the quality of life for all Virginians with innovative transportation solutions. Our vision is a connected Commonwealth with an integrated multimodal network that serves every person, every business, and every need. DRPT’s Six-Year Improvement Program provides funding for rail and public transportation initiatives across the Commonwealth, enabling Virginia’s rail and public transportation network to thrive. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up to get Data Stories directly in your inbox! Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

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