When I moved to the D.C. metro area in 2014 (I can’t believe it’s only been 4 years!) I was like a lost puppy. I’d never taken an Uber, I couldn’t make any sense of the Metro system, and going out to eat was more daunting than it ever should’ve been.

Fast forward to 2018 and I have a suite of apps on my phone that help me not only navigate the city, but also get work done, save some money, and have a good time. I almost never go more than a few days without opening these apps, and they never fail to make my life easier. 

Apps to Help You Get Around

Photo courtesy of BusTrackDC

Getting around D.C. can be a huge pain, especially if you don’t know how to use the Metro. Once you’ve figured it out, though, it’s good to have an app for train and bus arrivals. DC Metro and Bus offers arrival predictions based on WMATA GPS systems on buses and trains. I personally take the bus every morning, and use BusTrackDC which has a simple, map-based interface for MetroBus and the Circulator. 

Transit, is a heavy-hitting app that brings together info on train systems, bus systems, bike shares, and even maps out walking routes if you need to get your steps in. You can also use the app to get estimated arrival times for Uber or book a car with Car2Go. I’d recommend trying out a few transit apps to find which works best for you.

If you’d rather drive, Waze is the best app for navigating around D.C. This app crowdsources information on traffic, accidents, and the very common street closures D.C. experiences. Once you get to your destination, an essential app for parking is Park Mobile, which lets you list your car information and pay for parking on your phone, rather than having spare quarters laying around.

Apps to Help You Dine

Photo courtesy of OpenTable

There’s no doubt that dining in D.C. can be a challenge. You have to settle on a place to eat and then hope for the best as far as finding a table goes. However, there’s a handful of apps that can help you make some decisions. In addition to the old stand-by, Yelp, other apps can help make your night out easy.

NoWait is your best friend on a busy Saturday night. Restaurant wait times are listed, and you can even get in line digitally from home. As long as you make it to the restaurant by the time your name is called, you won’t have to wait in line at all. OpenTable lets you make reservations as soon as the night before, which can be extremely helpful for those late Saturdays that end with plans for brunch the next day.

Food Truck Fiesta is another great resource. This app uses Twitter to pinpoint where different food trucks are serving up grub around the city. If you aren’t interested in huffing it to Farragut Square just to be disappointed that your favorite truck isn’t there, Food Truck Fiesta lets you do your research ahead of time.

Apps to Help You Work 

Photo courtesy of OPM Alert

There comes a time in every District dweller’s life where you can’t make it through a single Uber ride without checking your email. I personally have found more than a few apps I use daily to get my work done. 

First is Google’s suite of apps. I use this for things as simple as shared Christmas lists with family, and as complicated as maintaining my freelance business. Microsoft Teams along with other Microsoft products have become popular over the years as well. Whatever software your company uses, there’s a high chance an accompanying app is available for it.

One app that surprised me with its usefulness is OPM Alert. Many folks follow the government when it comes to office closures for major events or bad weather. For those that do, this app makes it clear when offices are closed and will even send an early morning push notification so you just have to check your alerts, hit snooze, and get back to bed.