Transportation, Parking, and Street Closures

Please take extra care to plan your route to Howard for Commencement ceremonies. For safety and capacity management, normal traffic patterns and parking lot availability will be adjusted during Commencement Week.

Public Transportation

As traffic congestion and limited parking are expected, public transportation use is highly recommended. Participants may access campus from relatively nearby Metro stations on the Yellow and Green Lines.

Plan your trip on the Metro

Shuttles to Metro Stations and Howard Center Parking Lot

You can take a shuttle from a Metro station to Howard’s Main Campus during Commencement Week. On Monday, May 2–Friday, May 9, shuttles can be accessed from the Shaw/Howard University Metro Station and the U Street Metro Station. On Saturday, May 9, shuttles can only be accessed from the Shaw/Howard Metro Station.

You can download the Transloc live shuttle tracking app which will help you track shuttle times and locations on Howard University’s Transportation Services website. 

Download the Shuttle App

Monday, May 2 – Friday, May 8 of Commencement Week

From Monday – Friday, Howard shuttles will run on the North Campus Route from the Shaw/Howard University Metro Station to the Campus Store/Howard Center Parking Lot and Main Campus. Howard shuttles will also run on the South Campus Route from the U Street Metro Station to Main Campus (South Campus Route).

Saturday, May 9, 2026 (Main Commencement Ceremony)

On Saturday, May 9, Metro accessible Howard shuttles will only run from the Shaw/Howard Metro Station to Main Campus (North Campus Route).

  • Morning schedule (6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.)
  • Afternoon schedule (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.)

Stops: 

  • Shaw/Howard University Metro Station
  • Howard University Bookstore (Howard Center Parking Lot
  • Corner of Georgia Avenue and Fairmont Street (School of Business)

Shuttles to Student Apartments (Saturday, May 9, 2026)

On Saturday, May 9, Howard shuttles will continue to run to student apartments.

Operating routes: 

  • Mazza Route
  • WISH Route 
  • The Lanes Apartments Route

Parking

Driving and parking are not suggested. Using the Metro or rideshare is the best way to travel to the campus, as parking is very limited and traffic will be heavy because of street closures. For more information on paid parking, visit the RunParking website.