DC commuter options

Whats the best way (cost, time, ease) you have found in and out of downtown? (Assuming 40 trips a month)

Dulles North Bus
Pros: $200 a month, 50 minutes, no driving (take a nap)
Cons: Takes 15-20 minutes to drive from Broadlands to Dulles North via Waxpool unless you take Greenway which is $1.85 each way (fastoll). Bus may not stop near your job in DC. 1-15 minute (or more) walk to job.

Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride
Pros: Parking-free, Bus-$15, Metro $100 (Metro Center), Bus to WFC is ~20 minutes and Metro is 25 minutes to Metro Center.
Cons: 20-25 minutes to drive to and park in garage (depending on time of day and traffic). May have to stand on bus to/from West Falls Church Metro. Waiting time on platform (outdoors) at Metro and bus stop.

HOV2
Pros: Some people have free parking provided by their employer(otherwise figure about $200 a month for parking), ~65 minutes (depending on you jobs location in DC and traffic). Gas & maintenance (costs vary depending on how many times you drive your vehicle and your vehicles MPG). Tolls $94 (based on Fastoll). No outdoor waiting, driving your car (sometimes)
Cons: Driving into DC, managing/coordinating schedules of riders

Solo Hybrid in HOV lanes
Pros: Some people have free parking provided by their employer regarless of type of vehicle (otherwise figure about $200 a month for parking), ~65 minutes (depending on you jobs location in DC and traffic). ~$65-80 in gas & maintenance (costs vary depending efficency of your vehicle). $1500-2000k federal tax credit on new Hybrid car purchases.

Cons: Exemption for CF (clean fuel) vehicles like Hybrids in HOV lanes will end July 2006 (or sooner if HOV lobby against CF exemptions succeeds). A new CF car costs 20-28k.

I'm sure there are other options but these are the ones we are considering. Currently the Dulles North bus is our preferred option. It would be better if the bus would stop in Ashburn at exit 5 or 6. Then Ashburn bus commuters wouldn't clog Waxpool or pay a full toll for 2-3 exits on the Greenway.

 

Buy a $500,000 condo in Arlington. Take metro to work or drive in the city.

-Teak

 

Whaaatt!![:0], And leave my wonderful, well built, home in Broadlands! [] Blasphemy, I say. And you sir, how dare you call yourself... whatever you call yourself. Neh, I shall continue to weather the onslaught of commuters.[B)]

 

Buy a plane and fly from Leesburg to Reagan. Take metro.

Or buy water jet ski or boat and ride the potomac river into DC. Dock in Georgetown.

Someone should invent a small personal size blimp and fly people to DC, right over the traffic.

-Teak

 

Several thoughts...

(1) What lots give free parking for HOV2 or Hybrids? Is that a government employee deal? I know of no private lots near my office (15th and K) that give such a break! [?]

(2) The private plane option to Reagan National is not possible, at least until "general aviation" is restored. It was terminated after 9/11/01. The air security restrictions over most of downtown also rules out a blimp! (Ever notice that traffic choppers don't fly near the monumental core of the city?) [V]

(3) Boating the Potomac from here to Georgetown? Only if you can safely navigate Great Falls ... And not even the best jumping fish could likely get back upstream! []

After one year of slogging it from Broadlands to downtown DC solo (my hours are not predictable enough for carpooling), I think the best solution is to try alternative hours... the Toll Road is much better after 9:30 AM and again after 7PM than at normal rush hours. Or, just call in sick! [xx(]

HAPPY COMMUTING EVERYONE!

 

What we need is a slug line formed for the Ashburn area. I drive to DC daily and pass all the slugs going South (95) every night at the GSA bldg in SW. It would be nice to pick up a slug and drop them at one of the lots or locations in Ashburn. That way, if I have to work late, I don't necessarily have carpoolers depending on me. But I could always get a slug and use the HOV lanes.

 

We have decided to take advantage of the CF (Hybrid car) exemption for HOV lane use. We bought a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. Really neat car with some nice features. Drives and rides WAY better than our old Taurus. My wife has cut her commute time to/from DC from 1:15 to 50 minutes door to door. Plus the Civic gets twice the gas mileage of the Taurus. With her irregular commuting schedule and a lack of slug lines to/from Ashburn, the Hybrid was the best way to save time, and gas. BTW we got it for $50 over invoice @ Leesburg Honda. Ask for Don, he gave us the best car buying experience we have ever had.

 

I can vouch for the Hybrid. I just turned 11K on mine (bought it in June) and I still get 50mpg consistently.
Commute is not a problem since I drive in the off hours anyways, but it has been a reliable car and I really like the ultra low emissions. Now I can't figure out why the DOT Secretary wants to end the HOV restriction since he claims it is not an inherently low emission vehicle. I think he needs a new job!

 

I have noticed alot of Slugs oppose the CF exemption for HOV lanes. (www.slug-lines.com) They believe that CF cars like the Civic Hybrid are clogging up the HOV lanes and reducing the time savings. True, time savings is a benefit for HOV users but one of the Feds main goal of HOV was to reduce the pollution caused by commuting vehicles. HOV rules have been changed from HOV 4 to 3 to 2 over time. So now a 15 MPG truck or large SUV with 2 passengers can use HOV lanes. Most of these vehicles are twice as long as many hybrids and get a third the economy and generate 3 times as much emissions. They clog the HOV lanes just as much if not more so than CF cars. Plus their heavily tinted windows make it difficult for law enforcement to detect the # of passengers.

So instead of eliminating the CF exemption in July 2006, HOV usage should be limited by the MPG of the vehicle: 0-15 MPG HOV4, 15-30 MPG HOV3, 30-45 MPG HOV2, 45-60 MPG CF HOV1. The spirit of this policy would be to level the commuter car choice playing field with a graduated incentive based upon the EPA highway MPG of the vehicle.

 

Thats a good idea, but who's going to enforce it? A cop sitting there in rush hour would have to:

1. identify the vehicle
2. count the number of occupants
3. cross reference the car make w/ his reference material to see how many MPG it gets
4. determine which HOV-MPG policy the vehicle and it's occupants fall into
5. take the appropriate action

...all of this while hundreds of cars pass you each hour. It's not a practical approach. How about banning any car that gets under 17mpg city?

 

Not if we implant a chip into each car and person and track them from satellites!

 

What a great idea - are you a Republican? You should send a memo to Ashcroft, I'm sure he'd jump all over it!

 

Current law enforcement methods are not reducing the number of HOV lane violators. In fact, citations are down even though HOV volume has increased. Enforcement of existing HOV laws has proven to be a challenge to law enforcement stretched thin with homeland security threats. Seems that when their is money to be made (or loss if you believe Greenway operators), technology provides a solution. Most of us who use the toll roads have a FASTOLL transponders to reduce time spent @ toll booths. There are companies working on developing HOV enforcement technologies http://www.transfo.com/enforce.htm

I'm sure it would cost less to implement HOV enforcement than to build new lanes or allocate more law enforcement resources. In fact, police HOV law enforcement activities actually adds to traffic delays due to rubbernecking. Current HOV lanes are not designed to allow troopers to safely conduct enforcement activities.

 

we were considering a hybrid car but when they are out of warranty or at high miles, how much will it cost to replace the batteries?? I wish the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat diesels could be HOV exempt.

Doesn't the HOV hybrid exemption end in June of '04 or was it renewed until '06?

 

Are you kidding? This sounds more like a Democrat thing. Taking care of the peeeeople.

 

Some cars are already being tracked. Some cars even have blackboxes like those recorders on planes. Alot of drivers don't know it and some dealerships are clueless about it. It's rumored some car rentals places use GPS to see if you like driving like Jimmie Johnson or Dale Jr (Nascar). I wouldn't blame them if I was renting a $100K mercedes or exotic. I'm sure they'll want to know where their car is at all times.

-Teak

 

Hybrid exemption has been extended to July 2006. Its a good possibility that the SLUG lobby will have killed the exemption by then. Even if we loose the HOV exemption we'll probably keep our Civic anyway. Its averaging nearly 42MPG after 4k combined DC stop and go and Toll Road miles. It runs fine on regular and with gas prices predicted to exceed $2 a gallon this summer, I'm glad we drive cars with economical 4 cylinder engines. The warranty on the batteries is 7 or so years. By then we'll be ready to trade it in on some other Hybrid or perhaps a GX (Liquified Gas). I too wish that the efficient VW TDI (diesel) engines were exempt as well. But the exemption is for Clean Fuel (CF) not Hi MPG. Ironically, some of the hybrid SUV's due out in the next year (Highlander, Escape, RX330) may get less MPG than TDI but may qualify as CF. I have a 1.8T Passat and this year its available with the TDI engine.