Metro Pulse

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

About this app

Metro Pulse helps you stay informed before you go and while you’re on the move. On bus or rail, across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, you can check real time arrivals, plan trips, save your favorites, chat with us, and get service updates — all in one easy to use app.

Metro Pulse brings together the tools you told us you wanted most. From live arrival information to personalized trip planning, Metro Pulse is built to support your daily commute, weekend plans, and everything in between.

Real Time Arrivals

With accurate, real time data, Metro Pulse shows you when your train or bus is coming, and whether there are any delays or service changes that could affect your trip, so you can make informed decisions and adjust your travel plans on the fly.

Explore Nearby Service

Use the Explore tab to view Metro service near your current location or anywhere you drop a pin on the map.

Save Your Favorites

Favorites give you quick access to the lines, routes, stations, stops, and places you use most.

• Favorite a rail line or bus route to preview arrivals at nearby stations or stops
• Favorite a specific station or stop to see upcoming arrivals anytime

Plan and Customize Your Trip

Plan helps you find the best way to get from point A to point B using bus, rail, or both.

• Compare multiple route options
• View fare estimates and total travel time
• Choose when you want to leave — now or later
• Customize your preferences, including travel modes, walking distance, and elevator only routing for accessibility

Combined AI and Live agent Powered Chat

Need help fast? Metro Pulse includes AI powered chat to answer questions about arrivals, delays, service changes, and more. If you need additional assistance, you can connect directly with a Metro customer service representative. Whether you’re troubleshooting a trip or reporting an issue, help is always available.

Service Alerts

Stay informed with alerts for delays, service changes, cancellations, track work, and emergencies. Metro Pulse keeps you updated so you can adjust your plans and avoid surprises.

Designed for Metro Riders

Built for riders across the DMV and redesigned with your feedback, Metro Pulse gives you the information you need when you need it — helping you move through the region with less stress and more confidence.
Metro Pulse keeps your trip on track — before, during, and after your ride.

Ratings and reviews

So the times don't always load accurately when you open the app. You can bookmark favorites, but there's no setting to make them the default thing you see (nor can I find a way to just access my favorites). Also it seems like a bunch of basic functions (e.g. alerts, preferences, etc.) require you to set up a full account. Why?

Unfortunately, even after the much-anticipated "app redesign", it's still a buggy and unusable mess. Layout is unintuitive and doesn't help you get to where you want to go. Tons of lag when scrolling through the list of stations and departures on the homepage. This will probably be the last time I try using Metro Pulse. If you're seeing this, save yourself the effort and just try the Transit app - it's leagues better than Metro Pulse!

The app is visually pleasing and has some nice functionality but they couldn't make it any harder to look up basic info like when the next train is coming at a certain stop that is not based on your location. It takes a needless amount of steps and good fortune to look up something so simple. And the favorites function seems to be for decoration only. This app has unused potential.

What’s new

Streamlined user experience based on customer feedback
Next generation chat experience with interactive AI services and Live agent support
Multi-lingual support for English and Spanish speakers
Improved accessibility and various bug fixes