Metroway

The Pentagon City–Potomac Yard Line, designated Route A1X (previously known as Metroway until 2025), is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as part of its Metrobus system. The A1X operates in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It opened on August 24, 2014, and was the first bus rapid transit line to open in Virginia and in the Washington metropolitan area.^[3] On June 29, 2025, Metroway was renamed as route A1X during WMATA's Better Bus Redesign.

Route

The service runs from its northern end at the Pentagon City south through Crystal City and Potomac Yard before ending at the Braddock Road Metrorail station. The service runs along a bus-only roadway along Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) in Alexandria between Potomac and East Glebe stations, as well as a busway in Arlington. The remainder of the service runs on mixed-traffic roadways.^[4]

Connections

As a WMATA Metrobus service, the A1X is integrated within the regional transit network, and is subject to the same fares and transfer rules as any other local Metrobus service. The , , , and stations offer service for the Metrorail Yellow and Blue lines.^[4] As it parallels the Yellow and Blue lines between Pentagon City and Braddock Road, it can be used as an alternative to Metrorail during service outages on Metrorail.^[5]

The Crystal City VRE station is a short distance (0.1 mile; 160 meters) away from the 18th & Crystal station.

The A1X provides connections to the Mount Vernon Trail at the 18th & Crystal station, and the Four Mile Run Trail at the South Glebe station. Capital Bikeshare stations exist at or near several A1X stations.^[4]

Expansions

Metroway has been expanded since its opening in 2014, both in number of stations and length of route. Two new stations opened in Arlington, both in April 2016. Fayette station in Alexandria opened in 2017.^[6]

On April 17, 2016, the 33rd & Crystal and Pentagon City stations opened, bringing the total number of operating stations to 15. At the same time, a dedicated transit lane and a peak period transit lane opened in Arlington.^[6][7] While the Fayette and 33rd & Crystal stations are infill stations along the existing route, the addition of the Pentagon City station extended the route north, which changed the northern terminus from Crystal City to Pentagon City. The 33rd & Crystal stop offers two-way service, while Pentagon City, the new northern terminus, is southbound-only.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board wants to extend the dedicated transitway in Crystal City North to the Pentagon City Metro station.^[8]

Beginning May 25, 2019, as a result of the Blue and Yellow Lines being shut down south of National Airport for the summer, new stops were added on Potomac Avenue at East Glebe Road near the Kaiser Permanente and the National Institute for the Blind (NIB) Headquarters.^[9]

As part of the Amazon HQ2 project, plans were made in 2019 to extend the dedicated transitway to the section between Crystal City and Pentagon City, and add new stops at 12th & Clark Street, 12th & Elm Street, 12th & Hayes Street, and Army-Navy Drive.^[10] Construction began in April 2022, with completion expected in April 2023.^[11]

Changes

As part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign beginning on June 29, 2025, the Metroway was renamed into the A1X, discontinuing the Metroway branding. The route remained the same from the former Metroway counterpart.^[12]

Stations

There are 17 stations on the route. Twelve of the stations offer two-way service; three of the stations—18th & Crystal, 23rd & Crystal, and Fayette—are northbound-only; and two other stations—26th & Clark and 23rd & Clark—are southbound-only.^[4]

Stations vary depending on location and jurisdiction, though all stations consist of side platforms and sidewalk-level bus stops. <section begin=mw1-table/>

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See also

• GRTC Pulse, a bus rapid transit system in Richmond, Virginia
• National Landing—a new cross-jurisdictional neighborhood that will house the Amazon HQ2 and Virginia Tech Innovation Center.

References

1. ^ "Metrobus FY2025 Annual Line Performance Report". wmata.com. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
2. ^ "Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway Project". City of Alexandria. Archived May 12, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
3. ^ Lazo, Luz (August 23, 2014). "Metroway, the region's first bus rapid transit, to debut in Northern Virginia". The Washington Post. Archived December 18, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
4. ^ "Route | Metroway". Metroway. MetrowayVA.com. Archived December 18, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
5. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz (March 4, 2017). "For Metro riders in Virginia, one last dance with SafeTrack — if all goes to plan". Washington Post. Archived March 21, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
6. ^ Smith, Max (April 17, 2016). "New bus-only lanes open along Jefferson Davis Highway". WTOP.com. WTOP. Archived July 16, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
7. ^ "Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway - Projects & Planning". Arlington County Government. Archived April 14, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
8. ^ "Trains, buses, new lanes for cars and bikes—highlights from the 2016 CLRP Amendment". National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
9. ^ "Metrobus Service Changes Beginning Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, June 23, 2019". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Archived May 14, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
10. ^ Chaffin, Gordon (2018-12-12). "Bus Rapid Transit Expanding in NOVA Thanks to Amazon". DC Commute Times. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
11. ^ Blitz, Matt (April 6, 2022). "Construction starting on the Transitway extension to Pentagon City". ARLNow. Archived April 6, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
12. ^ "Metro Board of Directors approves Better Bus Network Redesign, new bus routes to start next summer". WMATA. Retrieved 23 January 2025.

External links

• Official website