No need to tap your Metro card on New Year’s Eve; beginning at 8 p.m., service on trains and buses will be free.

Jordan Pascale / DCist/WAMU

Metro announced that all trips on rail and bus will be free after 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. The agency also extended all service until 2 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1.

The decision to make service free appears to be a first. Service is typically extended on New Year’s Eve, except in 2020 because officials were encouraging people to stay home.

Metro’s Board of Directors asked General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke to provide free trips and extend hours on New Year’s Eve, which is the most dangerous holiday of the year for drunk driving. In a statement, Metro Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg encouraged locals to take advantage of the offer, so 2023 starts with fewer road accidents and fatalities. He and Clarke said Metro is the safest way to travel on New Year’s Eve.

“Eliminating costs and extending services are easy steps we can take to give people the power to choose Metro as their safe way to enjoy all the region has to offer,” said Clarke in a statement.

The number of alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities in the D.C. region decreased  by 10% between 2020 and 2021, or 95 to 85, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program says the decrease marks the lowest recorded for the region in a half-decade.

However, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments reports that regional alcohol- and drug-related traffic injuries (as opposed to fatalities) increased by 17% in 2021, and crashes related to driver intoxication also increased by 14%. Regional arrests for either driving under the influence or while impaired also increased by roughly 4% between 2020 and 2021.

Roughly 25% of the region’s total traffic fatalities in 2021 were due to drivers being alcohol and/or drug-impaired, per the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

So far there have been 33 traffic fatalities this year in D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department. That’s a 15% decline from last year, which marked the deadliest year on the roads since 2007.  Experts told DCist/WAMU that increased speeding, distracted driving, and decreased seat belt use were among the contributing factors.

Locals will also likely have the option of rideshare on New Year’s Eve. Uber usually offers promotions. The Washington Regional Alcohol Program also typically offers discounted Lyft rides, which started in 2019.

But Metro will undoubtedly be the cheapest option. Riders do not have to tap their SmarTrip card on bus or rail after 8 p.m. on Dec. 31. Normal fares return Jan. 1 beginning at 4 a.m. for bus service and 7 a.m. for rail.

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