DC METRO-safe @ night?
 

Is riding the METRO safe at night, especially for a woman traveling alone?

The definitive answer: it depends. How late at night? Between which stops? I've taken it at 9 or slightly later from nice neighborhood to nice neighborhood, and it was fine. Around ten or so, I change to cabs.

In general, the Metro system itself is very safe, it's some of the surrounding neighborhoods that I would be more concerned with. In the station you can always wait by the manned kiosk until your train arrives so you won't feel isolated.

I ride the metro constantly and have ridden it at all hours. My metro ride home is particularly long since I go from downtown all the way to Shady Grove at the end of the Red Line. Never have I felt in danger or that I was in an unsafe situation. The key is to use common sense and to be aware of your surroundings at all time. Make sure you are never on a car by yourself. As Joe mentioned, you can always wait by one of the kiosks.

It's almost always completely safe inside the Metro and for greater security, sit near one of the emergency call buttons in the train. It's really the walk to or from the Metro that can be more dicey, depending upon the neighborhood.

I agree that metro is safe at night. I ride it every day and occasionally late at night and have never had a problem. All the stations have security cameras inside them now and crime is exceedingly rare. You will find occasional panhandlers in the stations or on the cars but I have never found them to be harrassing or anything like that. But I also agree that while you don't really need to worry about security on the metro, you do need to worry about it in some of the neighborhoods at night where the stations are located. It all depends where you're going to and leaving from.

From what I'm hearing, all the responses come from women who are "city smart" as I am. However, we don't know where Chris is coming from. If she is coming from a major city where she is used to watching out for herself, the Metro will be fine until about 10 pm.(yes, the danger is in the neighborhood rather than on the Metro.) If not, she should switch to taxis. She needs to protect herself.

Ditto what Kam writes. I rode the metro at night and walked back to my hostel in a crappy area, but then, I grew up in a hood, so I know what to look for and what to avoid. If you are not used to carrying your keys between your fingers, or are not comfortable with walking on the street instead of sidewalks, take a cab.