Daylight Saving Time Means an Hour Less of Metro, an Extra Hour at Bars

Sunday morning marks the annual nuisance of having to set all your timepieces forward by one hour as daylight saving time begins. But for Washingtonians spending their Saturday nights carousing at the bars, the time shift also brings an important notice about public transit.

“At 2 AM, Sunday, March 9, all clocks will be moved ahead one hour. When that happens, it will become 3 AM EDT (new time) and the Metrorail system will close,” Metro advises its customers. In other words, the last trains of the night will leave before 2 AM. 

So you might have to figure out a different way to get home if your Saturday night rager runs long. But it’s not all bad. Although Metro is losing an hour, the District allows bars to stay open until 4 AM on Sunday morning. And this year marks the first time when the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is not charging establishments a $200 fee to stay open an extra hour.

Metro also generously reminds its customers that they will get an “extra hour” of service in November when the clock reverts to standard time and 2 AM becomes 1 AM. That’s little comfort this weekend, but at least last call at the bar will be after last call for Metro.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.