http://bit.ly/metrobus1 shows you the real time location of their WMATA busses.

Just punch in the bus stop number or select a route.

bit.ly/metrobus1 will show you the real time location of any WMATA MetroBus. Just punch in the bus stop ID, or select the route.

To respond to a comment and to facilitate a broader discussion of service reliability.

Thanks for the link to Nextbus web site, Patrick--I think it is great and I use it extensively. However, most people don't have access to the web when they are out and about, Nextbus information is highly unreliable for a variety of reasons (radios out being seem to be a frequent cause), and it doesn't excuse the fact that any particular bus is off schedule. This issue raises the question: what is the standard which buses are expected to meet? What is the actual system performance? A senior level WMATA official told me recently that they have this information but they refuse to release it to the public. Why? Because they don't want to admit to the public to know how bad it is. My response is that the public already knows that the service is bad and that, for the sake of transparency and in the interest of improving performance, the performance information should be released.

How frustrating. I would have expected that they hide this info for bogus "security reasons". I guess you spoke to the a person who gave you the truth.

Provided that the transponders work, would there not be a way for us, lowly WMATA customers, to make our own reliability report? This wont make the bus run on time, but at least we would know if one route, or time of day, is notoriously unreliable.

Yes -- why do Metro Buses run so far off their schedules, while the County Buses (ART & Fairfax Connector) run right on schedule?
They are traveling in the same traffic, with the same public, the same weather, so how are the County buses able to be on time almost all of the time, while Metro Bus you can never tell when it will show up, no matter which route you choose.
And as I waited in the boiling sun today at noon for a bus at Tyson's Center Mall (there was no shade), I called "Next Bus," was on hold for 6 mns. and then when someone came on the line to help me, we were disconnected. I wasted half of my remaining minutes for this pointless effort to learn how long I would have to wait.
Fortunately, the 23A to Crystal City was on time, and arrived within 15 mins. of my call to Next Bus. I was grateful, but this is a rare instance when a Metro Bus is on time.
We need to invest public infrastructure dollars to build a much more efficient and well-run bus system. It is essential for economic growth, as well as for the planet.

It doesn't seem there's anything else to do here - the original poster has been given info about Next bus.

Closed