MetroExtra

MetroExtra

Company type	Transit service
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	2007
Founder	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
Headquarters	Washington, D.C. , United States
Area served	Washington metropolitan area
Products	Limited-stop bus service
Owner	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

MetroExtra was a limited-stop transit service managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), aimed at delivering quicker journeys on selected Metrobus routes. The network consisted of six lines, with only a pair providing daily operations.

History

The MetroExtra service commenced in 2007 with the introduction of an express variant of the Georgia Avenue-7th Street Line, route 79, which targeted major stops along the local route to enhance travel times.

In 2008, WMATA collaborated with the District Department of Transportation to analyze the heavily used 16th Street corridor, which averaged 16,000 weekday passengers and ranked as the third busiest Metrobus corridor. The study recommended establishing route S3 by truncating routes S1, S2, and S4, alongside launching a limited-stop route S9. These two routes emerged as the most frequented within the MetroExtra system.

Route 16Y started operating on September 29, 2002, marking Downtown Washington's first bus route since 1983; it was incorporated into the MetroExtra branding in 2012 together with route 16F. After the discontinuation of route 16X in 2018, 16Y remained the sole MetroExtra line serving Virginia.

In 2015, WMATA proposed adding MetroExtra route Q9 to augment the Veirs Mill Road Line, running solely within Montgomery County, Maryland, between Rockville and Wheaton stations.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all MetroExtra lines except Route 79 were suspended starting March 18, 2020, including weekend service on Route 79. Full operations resumed for Routes 59, 79, S9, and X9 on August 23, 2020; Routes 16Y and K9 returned on September 5, 2021. Routes 37, 39, A9, G9, and J4 were permanently discontinued.

The MetroExtra brand was retired on June 29, 2025, as part of WMATA's Better Bus Redesign Network initiative. Former MetroExtra routes were either rebranded as Express (59, 79, K9, S9, X9), converted to local services (16Y), or eliminated entirely.

Fleet

At its inception, MetroExtra utilized a dedicated fleet characterized by a blue livery adorned with MetroExtra insignia.

Image	Manufacturer and model	Year built	Length	Fleet (Quantity)	Fuel type	Notes
	New Flyer Industries C40LF	2002	40 ft (12 m)	2464 (1 unit)	CNG	Repainted in 2010. Retired by 2015.
	DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses Orion VII (07.501) (semi-low floor)	2005-2006	40 ft (12 m)	2528, 2563, 2603, 2616, 2626-2629, 2636, 2640-2641, 2643-2644, 2646-2647, 2650-2651, 2655, 2663, 2665, 2668, 2670-2671, 2677-2685 (32 units)		Majority repainted in MetroExtra colors between 2010-2014. Phased out between 2019-2020.
	New Flyer Industries DE40LFR	2006	40 ft (12 m)	6040 (1 unit)	Diesel-electric hybrid	Repainted in 2012 following accident. Retired in 2021.
	New Flyer DE40LFA	2009	42 ft (13 m)	6413–6461 (49 units)		Most units retired from service between 2022-2025.
		2010	42 ft (13 m)	6462–6472 (11 units)		Repainted into MetroExtra livery in 2018.
	New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40	2011	40 ft (12 m)	7086–7100 (15 units)		Units numbered 7086-7090 repainted in MetroExtra colors in 2014; reverted to local paint scheme in 2020. Units numbered 7091-7100 delivered originally in MetroExtra livery; repainted to local colors in 2020. These represented the final buses delivered with MetroExtra branding.

Routes

MetroExtra services correspond with the local Metrobus system's numbering scheme, generally featuring route numbers that conclude with a 9.

• In Washington, D.C., routes are designated either by two digits (such as 59, 79) or a letter followed by the number 9 (e.g., S9, X9).
• Within Montgomery County, MD, route identifiers consist of a letter paired with the number 9 (like K9, S9, Q9).
• Although MetroExtra routes extend into Prince George's County, MD, the majority operate primarily within Montgomery County or Washington, D.C., resulting in no routes using a letter plus two numbers format (for instance, F12).
• In Northern Virginia, route numbers feature one or two digits followed by a letter; however, only a single MetroExtra route serves this area and it does not end in 9 (16Y).

Route	Endpoints			Streets covered	Service details	Divisions	Local equivalent
59 14th Street Line	Takoma station	↔	Federal Triangle station	14th Street		Bladensburg	52, 54
79 Georgia Avenue-7th Street Line	Silver Spring station	↔	Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter	Georgia Avenue 7th Street	Operates daily	Montgomery	70
16Y Columbia Pike Line	Barcroft	↔	McPherson Square station	Columbia Pike Arlington Boulevard K Street		Four Mile Run	16A, 16C, 16E 16M 3Y
K9 New Hampshire Avenue-Maryland Line	Fort Totten station	↔	FDA	New Hampshire Avenue		Montgomery	K6
S9 16th Street Line	Silver Spring station	↔	McPherson Square station	16th Street	Runs daily		S2 D31
X9 Benning Road-H Street Line	Capitol Heights station	↔	Gallery Place-Chinatown	Minnesota Avenue Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue Benning Road H Street	Midday trips end at Minnesota Avenue station	Southern Avenue	X2 V2, V4

Former routes

The following routes have been discontinued but once operated along important corridors, with most of their local services now provided by other lines.

Route	Endpoints			Streets covered	Service remarks	Divisions	Local equivalent
16F, 16X Columbia Pike Line	Culmore	↔	Federal Triangle station	Columbia Pike		* Four Mile Run	16B, 16S
37 Wisconsin Avenue Line	Friendship Heights station	↔	Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter	Wisconsin Avenue Massachusetts Avenue		* Montgomery	31, 33
39 Pennsylvania Avenue Line	Naylor Road station	↔	Potomac Park	Pennsylvania Avenue		* Shepherd Parkway	32, 36 F14
A9 Anacostia-Livingston Line	Livingston	↔	McPherson Square station	* Martin Luther King Jr Avenue			A6, A7, A8
G9 Rhode Island Avenue Line	Mount Rainier Terminal	↔		Rhode Island Avenue		* Bladensburg	G8 83, 86
J4 Bethesda-Silver Spring Line	Bethesda station	↔	College Park-U of Md	* University Boulevard East-West Highway		* Montgomery	J1, J2
W9 Anacostia-Fort Drum Line	L'Enfant Plaza station	↔	Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building	* South Capitol Street		* Shepherd Parkway	A4