Wash Post reporter looking for a few ex-VRE riders

Why would you come looking here for "fed up" ex-riders? [TIC]

Dick Boyd needs to talk with you. He's got a good bit of rationale for building a case for slugging at the expense of VRE. Hope he comes up on the net, if not, you can search for him and send him a message.

Welcome to the last "free ride" in town!


NoSb

SOV because you can, HOV because you care!

Sable:

When I first started working in DC my schedule was like yours. So I took the Martz bus or drove in and picked up slugs in the AM. I finally convinced my employer to let me adjust my schedule to fit better into the slugging schedule.

From the lack of responses, it appears most ex-VRE riders don't read this web site.[V]
They must have found carpools, ride the bus, drive alone, or don't know about this website. Or maybe still ... there aren't any ex-VRE riders!

When I first moved to Stafford in late February, March and April 2004, I tried the VRE, using the Brooke station. I would catch the 6:21 train out of Brooke which was scheduled to arrive at Union Station at 7:38. When you get off the train at Union Station, you walk upstairs and there is a clock there. The clock almost always said 7:48 or 7:50, IF there had been no delays. By the time I walked to my office, I was signing in at 8:10 most days. An eight hour work day would be leaving work at 4:40 assuming a half hour lunch. I would catch the 5:15 return train scheduled to get back to Brooke by 6:31. I recall that most times, IF there were no delays, it would get back to Brooke at about 6:35-6:40.

So my total commute time was 2 hours into the office, and 2 hours back, or 4 hours a day. This did not include the time it took to drive to the train station, about 10 minutes each way.

VRE gives a free pass if your train is more than 30 minutes late. I got 4 of those in the 2 months or so of riding the train. The train was 5-10 minutes late more often than not. On one occasion, a bomb scare at Union station made me miss the train, it did not wait for us even though we were just a minute of two past the scheduled departure time and the train had also been held up because of the closure of the station.

The trains itself are not very well temperature controlled. In the winter, they were very cold. In the summer, they seem quite warm (I have taken the Manassas line a few times after I moved from Stafford). The trains also emit a strong odor from the engine that is discernible to the passengers and tends to make one fall asleep (I missed my stop one night because I fell asleep because of the fumes and had to take a taxicab back to my drop off point).

I would echo Spongebob's comments about the locations of the stations being incovenient for the commuting public. The Brooke Station was about 5 miles east of US 1, or about 6 miles east of I-95. I tried other stations, Quantico, Woodbridge, and Lorton and found I did not save any time driving to them because of their location way east of I-95 and the traffic delays common on Route 1.

The VRE was not cheap, and my transit subsidy did not even come close to helping me with the expense. Although this may have improved since then, I had difficulty on more than one occasion getting the machines to accept my credit card and printing my tickets.

The train stations are also very cold, and there is very limited shelter on them. I felt very cold while waiting for the trains to come and it got ridiculous when the trains were late and I was standing in the cold waiting for them.

There are many things VRE could do to improve service. VRE is not a subway and should not stop at Springfield or King street along the way. The trains need to be updated, and climate controlled such that a passenger does not sweat or freeze and cannot smell the train exhaust. The price is much too high for it.

I would note that the Manassas line does not seem to be plagued by the same ills as the Fredericksburg line although I have a much shorter ride on it now than when I lived in Stafford. But all in all, slugging is still the cheapest and quickest way for me to get to work.