Before you pop that champagne to ring in 2025, there are some holiday closures to keep in mind around the D.C. region on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Here’s what you need to know.
- Drinking on New Year’s Eve? How to get a free ride home in the DC area
- Fresh Start 5K race kicks off on New Year’s Day in DC
- Toast the new year with these Champagne substitutes
Travel and transit
Metrorail will run until 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, giving riders an extra two hours to get home. Riders travel for free after 8 p.m. on Metrorail or Metro buses. You won’t need a SmarTrip card to take the free rides.
On New Year’s Day, trains and buses will run on a reduced Sunday schedule from 7 a.m. to midnight.
In Virginia, VRE will run on a reduced schedule on New Year’s Eve. The trains won’t run on New Year’s Day.
The Fairfax Connector will operate like normal on New Year’s Eve, but the buses will run on Sunday service for New Year’s Day.
On New Year’s Day, ART buses will run on a reduced schedule. ART 41, 42, 45, 51, 55 and 87 are offering service on Sunday schedules. All other routes won’t operate.
DMV locations are closed for the holiday.
In Maryland, MARC will operate on a reduced schedule on all three lines on New Year’s Eve. Some Penn Line trains will operate to help travelers heading to BWI Marshall Airport. No service will be offered on New Year’s Day.
TheBus in Prince George’s County will not offer rides on New Year’s Day.
MDOT’s Motor Vehicle Administration is closed on New Year’s Day.
Drivers should be aware roads that typically have reversible lanes on weekdays will stick with two-way traffic Wednesday. Some of the roads impacted include Rock Creek Parkway and Canal Road.
HOV rules don’t apply on some roadways in the D.C. region. The HOV requirements still apply on Route 50 and Interstate 270 in Maryland.
In Virginia, drivers hoping to use the express lanes in the Interstate 95 corridor, Interstate 66 and on the Beltway in Virginia still need to meet the requirement of three or more people to ride for free.
Trash pickup
In D.C., trash collections scheduled for Wednesday will slide to Thursday, Jan. 2.
Trash pickup in Fairfax County, Virginia, will go on as normal. But the recycling and disposal centers at I-66 Transfer Station and the I-95 Landfill Complex will close at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and remain closed New Year’s Day.
In Arlington, trash will not be collected New Year’s Day. The schedule shifts by a day for all routes.
In Prince George’s County, Maryland, trash pickup will slide to one day later in the week.
In Montgomery County, there’s no trash and recycling collection on Wednesday. Pickups the rest of the week slide by one day. The Shady Grove Transfer Station and Recycling Center will close early at 3 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and stay closed on Jan. 1.
Other local closures
On Wednesday, Jan. 1:
- Post offices are closed.
- Local schools are closed.
- Public libraries are closed.
- Most banks are closed. Contact your bank branch for more details.
- Monday, Jan. 1 is a county government holiday in many jurisdictions in the D.C. area, including:
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
