Posts about Commuting

Last year at this time, I commuted by car 22 miles each way from Glover Park to Fort Belvoir. My three-day-a-week compressed shift schedule took me along the Key Bridge, Route 110, Route 395 and Route 95. There was rarely any traffic driving outbound for most of my oddly timed shifts, but on my return trip when shifts ended at breakfast or dinner time, I participated in and contributed to congestion on both Route 110 and the Key Bridge.

My work at Fort Belvoir consisted of three, one-year mobilizations by the Army Reserve. Some time ago, the temporary need for my expertise and labor started to wind down. I started my job search with a basic requirement to work inside the Beltway. Ideally, I wanted a position in downtown DC or Arlington where I could at least bicycle to work once in a while. At the time, riding a bicycle to and from work everyday was only a dream.

When the pieces fell into place and I accepted a challenging position in Arlington along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, I wasted no time breaking the news to my wife: with this change, at the very least, the car would become a last resort for my commute. In fact, I decided that the bus and Metro would play second fiddle to my leg-powered two wheeler.

My wife's concerns mounted as she peppered me with questions of safety and "What if?" scenarios at the dinner table. I had a number of concerns of my own. Luckily, the bicycle community in and around DC was integral in making me a smart, safe and road-ready bicyclist.

The initial inspiration for trying my hand at bicycle commuting came from a blog, of all places. With great admiration and awe, I started reading Brian McEntee's Tales From The Sharrows and following @SharrowsDC for his tidbits on Twitter. He didn't portray his daily rides as always easy or relaxing. Brian identified problems, some caused by others and some by him, and how he overcame them. I figuratively took notes as I plotted changing my commuting method.

I took my remaining questions to Gil Nissey at the free bike clinic he provides to patrons of the Glover Park-Burleith Farmers' Market. Beyond basic bike maintenance, I needed to know what it was like to rely on a bike for work everyday. Gil put my concerns to rest with one simple fact.

In a soft voice, and without an ounce of bragging, Gil stated that he had biked to work during every day of Snowmageddon except for one. I think that at least 10 times I asked him to recount his technique and equipment so that my novice mind could digest it all.

I obtained free printed bike maps from the District Department of Transportation and Arlington County. I also spent considerable time with Google Transit working through bicycle and WMATA routes. I needed to know all my options.

For better or worse, one of my shift rotations would begin earlier in the morning than Metro buses started to run. That meant that the bike would serve as my only choice for transportation to work during those times. I also mapped out several different routes because I knew that some of my rides would occur along side commuting traffic and some during the darkness of night.

On the DC side, it was a no-brainer straight route from Glover Park to the Key Bridge through Burleith and Georgetown. In Arlington, I selected two routes mostly based on bike accessibility, hills and scenery. Going to work, I take the Custis Trail uphill, pass through some neighborhood streets parallel to Wilson Boulevard and finish on the Fairfax Drive bike lanes. Coming home, I return on the Fairfax Drive bike lanes and turn onto the Clarendon Boulevard bike lanes.

After several rides, I had more questions than answers. I consulted the Washington Area Bike Forum to work through what I did not know about biking etiquette, traffic laws and rain gear. This supplemented what I had learned last year in WABA's Confident City Cycling part 2 course.

To address my wife's numerous "What if?" scenarios, I signed up for Capital Bikeshare and the free Guaranteed Ride Home program. I also carry a WMATA SmarTrip card and taxi fare. I have taken my bike on Metrorail a few times when I have had to run more distant errands after work.

I religiously track each trip with the free My Tracks app. This has enabled me to reliably predict the end-to-end time for my entire routine. Depending on weather, time of day and route, I know how long the bike ride should take give or take a couple minutes. I add in sufficient time to put on and take off all my gear.

For winter biking, I have up to seven thin layers for my upper body laid out and ready to go to compensate for the exact temperature. I also purchased inexpensive rain gear and a back fender for wet days. I'm close to purchasing studded bike tires to help me safely traverse winter hazards.

We have retained my car for now, which I still need for my monthly Army Reserve service. Its motorized four wheels remain as backup transportation, though the vehicle now sits unused most days. And, as my biking experience continues to broaden, with every workday, I can swap stories, good and bad, with the bike commuters in Glover Park who continue to encourage me with their many years of biking to and from work.

This transition into the world of bicycle commuters was a combination of luck, research, inspiration and encouragement. My small payback so far has been to coordinate a bike and pedestrian safety program at our local elementary school.

I'm almost beyond being a newbie among bicycle commuters. My gratitude towards the bicycle and transportation community grows with every pedal.

When District residents hold DC jobs, only 36.1% of them commute by car. But when non-DC residents hold DC jobs, 61.3% of them commute by car, according to 2009 American Community Survey data.

As a result, a whopping 81% of those commuting by car to DC jobs are non-DC residents.

Are city leaders doing anything to prioritize DC residents' access to DC jobs? No. The Transition Report of the Economic Development Committee for then Mayor-Elect Gray, led by Chamber of Commerce head Barbara Lang and former George Washington University president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, had this recommendation:

Reduce the amount of time people spend driving into and out of the city. The District would stand to retain and attract more businesses that demand ease of access and improvements to quality of life by easing traffic congestion.

Why do we shoot ourselves in the foot like this? It's one thing to complain about taxation without representation, but when we spend our own locally raised tax money primarily to promote employment to those living in the suburbs, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

It's time to end the old, ineffective approaches to fighting unemployment - more roads and more corporate tax holidays. They don't work anymore. A major campaign to economically integrate our city is needed to reverse the decades-long trend that resulted in ever larger roads shuttling a larger percentage of DC's jobholders in and out of the District.

The jobs that could employ a large portion of DC's jobless are there, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sector, which is the second fastest growing sector in DC, adding 10,700 District jobs from 2001 to 2011. Educational and health services, the fastest growing sector, added 26,500 jobs in the same period. The new University of the District of Columbia Community College is furiously training residents for these growing health careers.

Existing job growth is sufficient to provide opportunities for DC's 34,600 unemployed, 8,824 of whom live in Ward 8 where 1 in 4 workers is jobless. Companies that would not locate in the District because the CEO doesn't like driving from Potomac to DC are rarely part of these two sectors, and are thus not needed to address our unemployment crisis.

Furthermore, the surging creative class in the District, whose spending is largely responsible for the growing service sectors, are attracted by public transit and public spaces. That's why their employers, like LivingSocial, are compelled to stay in the District.

We clearly don't need to spend locally-raised tax money to buy more jobs, particularly when 72% of the jobs will go to suburban residents and the jobs city residents need are here and growing. We must make it easier for DC residents than non-DC residents to access jobs in the city, while providing targeted training when needed for expanding job areas in DC.

And the local policies that promote employment for suburban residents over those who live in DC don't end there. DC has an 18% tax on parking garages, but with a loophole so large you could drive an SUV with Virginia plates through it. Garages that provide free parking to employees rather than contracting through a commercial garage are somehow exempt from this DC tax.

This self-defeating deference to suburban commuters is found in the design of streets across the city. My residential street (33rd Street in Georgetown) is primarily used by Virginians crossing the Key Bridge to get to jobs in Upper Northwest. Two of the most iconic streets in our city, M and Wisconsin in Georgetown, have become car sewers for suburban commuters during rush hour. Unsurprisingly, most jobs in Georgetown, including the large percentage of leisure and hospitality positions, are held by Virginians.

Why do we allow this? Let's replace a lane on each side of M and Wisconsin with a dedicated transit lane or widened sidewalks, and push to get streetcar service into Georgetown to help DC residents access Georgetown jobs. Let's cut off my Georgetown residential street and others to through traffic.

If DC is to leverage the disrespect we get in Congress for real unity and action, we must start caring about and investing in our own residents first. Let's start by vastly improving public transportation and bicycling infrastructure to economically integrate our city.

Virginia-based DISA workers certainly have no reason to celebrate their commute being lengthened up to 30 miles each way due to the move. But the commute might not be as daunting as expected thanks to a couple of commuting options that DISA and other DoD Agencies are pushing to their employees.

For commuters who live near VRE stations, there is a cross honor agreement with MARC, allowing riders on inbound VRE trains a free transfer to outbound MARC trains.

If, for instance, riders are coming from Woodbridge and going to Fort Meade, they only need a ticket to Union Station, where they can then board an outbound MARC train to Odenton for free. This is still long commute with two transfers (VRE to MARC, MARC to shuttle), but with the federal mass transit subsidy recently being raised to $230 a month, it can be done for no additional money out-of-pocket.

For those who can get to Union Station via Metro or bus, MARC has the Transit Link Card (TLC). For $102 in addition to a MARC monthly pass ($125 for Union Station to Odenton), the TLC will offer unlimited monthly ridership on any service that accepts SmarTrip or Charm Cards.

The monthly cost for those going to Fort Meade via Odenton is $227, which again can be covered in full by the federal mass transit subsidy. Additionally, the TLC card can be used on weekends and holidays, making it fiscally advantageous for Fort Meade commuters to potentially give up their cars all together.

MARC's TLC can be used with Metro, Metrobus, DC Circulator, the future DC Streetcar, ART, CUE, DASH, Fairfax Connector, Loudon County Commuter Bus, OmniRide, Ride-On, TheBus, the Baltimore Subway and Light Rail, and any MTA bus. This connectivity makes it a highly viable option for Washington and Baltimore commuters to other BRAC sites, including Aberdeen Proving Grounds, which is also served by the MARC Penn Line.

Currently, MARC's TLC is the only way to get an unlimited use pass from Metro. MARC's TLC is the only pass that allows unlimited rides on multiple modes. Non-MARC Metro riders can use rail and bus passes which are fairly limited; several have recommended creating more flexible passes.

Will these services prevent a traffic nightmare from occurring? Probably not. MARC service is limited and does not run on weekends, and many employees relocating from Virginia are probably not keen on 2-hour commutes with multiple mode shifts.

DISA's move to Fort Meade isolates the agency from DoD headquarters and other related agencies in DC, Arlington, and Alexandria, which in turn means more and longer commutes for meetings and conferences. This will also be the case with most agencies that are moving from the DC core to transit-poor exurbs in the BRAC as land in the city core sits undeveloped.

Nevertheless, the fact that the DoD is beginning to recognize the importance of mass transit's role in providing an efficient way for employees to reach their facilities is an important step in the right direction.

On Monday, Redesign_DC hosts "lightning talks" by designers, cartographers, and entrepreneurs about design challenges and solutions for DC. The event is at Cobalt, at 17th and R NW, and costs $8 in advance, $10 at the door starting at 7 pm. Matt Johnson will be talking about the map contest, whose entries we will be posting Monday for all of you to see and vote upon.

All next week, WMATA is holding their public hearings on proposed service cuts. They're Monday in New Carrollton, Tuesday in Alexandria (Braddock Road) and upper Northwest DC (Friendship Heights/Tenleytown), Wednesday in Arlington and Wheaton, and Thursday in Barry Farm near Anacostia.

To participate, see the instructions for signing up to speak or submitting written testimony, and detailed directions by bus or rail. There is also an online survey you can take to register your opinions, but written or oral testimony will have more effect.

Friday is Bike To Work Day. All you have to do to participate is bike to work! There are also many commuter convoys starting in places from Springfield to Poolesville to Glenn Dale, as well as many closer-in spots, to downtown DC and other locations.

49 pit stops all around the region will provide food, drink and entertainment. At the central site at Freedom Plaza, local and federal officials will also speak. You can get a free t-shirt and enter in a drawing for other prizes by registering to stop by a pit stop.

Building on the bike energy are two bike rides that weekend, Kidical Mass and BikeDC. The kid-friendly Kidical Mass is Saturday, with people gathering from 10-11 near Eastern Market Metro and then taking a leisurely ride through Capitol Hill followed by brunch. Register here.

The next day, Sunday, is Bike DC, the also family-friendly and non-competitive (but somewhat longer) bike ride on streets and parkways in DC and Arlington.

The ride starts at 7:30 am near the Capitol and proceeds along Pennsylvania Avenue, to the E Street freeway, over the TR bridge, around roads near Arlington Cemetery, and up the GW Parkway to beautiful views across the Potomac before returning to DC. All of the roads are entirely closed to motor vehicles during the ride, and this is a rare opportunity to ride a bicycle on E Street, the TR Bridge, and the GW Parkway.

Advance registration is $35 for adults, $20 for teens, 12 for kids 12 and under.

Finally, bring your suggestions for future Capital Bikeshare station locations to DDOT's public meeting on expansion on Wednesday, May 25th, 6 pm at 441 4th Street (One Judiciary Square), room 1107 (south elevators).

DDOT plans 25 more stations, and if Tommy Wells' committee's recommendation to add $2 million in capital funding gets accepted, they'll have to start planning for 40 more on top of that. They've suggested 55 potential locations, meaning they'll have to come up with even more places should that funding come through.

These and many other events are on the Greater Greater Washington calendar. If you know of an event we should include or see any errors, please let us know at events@ggwash.org.

Complaining to the Flyer management yields the response that there is no demand. "Take a look around you," they told me. "There are only 10 passengers. We can't even fill the buses at two per hour, much less if we ran four or six."

With that kind of faulty logic, a single bus per day would be packed with passengers. Rather, generous scheduling is key to any successful transit service.

There is fantastic demand to get to Dulles. The airport has an astounding 40,000 parking spaces, which consume 300 acres. The problem is that parking and transit are handled by two different authorities with two different profit structures pricing regimes. Neither has any mandate to do anything about the carbon toeprint.

Passengers who drive can park for $10 per 24 hours, which also buys them a free, frequent shuttle bus to the terminal. Since the Flyer costs $10 each way, not including the Metrorail fare to West Falls Church, this inexpensive parking makes it financially advantageous for a single person on a one- or two-day out-of-town trip to drive.

With more passengers in the group, the reward for driving increases. And compared to using a taxi roundtrip, the cost of parking breaks even for about 10 days of travel.

Passengers aren't the only ones who travel to Dulles. The airport's workforce is an astonishing 36,000. For every 12 airline passengers and their toeprints, there are an additional nine airline and airport workers driving on the Dulles Access Road and other routes. These people have it even better. Courtesy the Transportation Security Administration, parking for them is free. The Washington Flyer offers Dulles employees a discount of $4 on each bus trip, but how many people with the choice would choose to take a bus for $6 versus driving a car for free?

It's not that Americans "love to drive" or "can't be pried out of their cars." Maybe they just prefer not to be stupid enough to turn down low cost parking and a personalized schedule for expensive and intermittent transit. As for the toeprint—society's costs of wider highways, wasted gasoline, air pollution, heat island effect, loss of productive land, water pollution from runoff and extra automobiles—those are paid by everyone, even those who use transit.

Solving this problem is not that difficult. It can be done incrementally. After all, creating an airport with 40,000 parking spaces but only two or three half-filled shuttle buses an hour was also done incrementally.

On day one, increase parking rates for travelers by $2 per day, not a devastating increase but enough to nudge a few thousand people onto transit. Simultaneously, reduce the TSI parking subsidy to workers by $2 a day and raise the bus subsidy by the same amount, nudging a few more thousand away from cars.

With this mini-surge in demand, the Flyer and Metro can reduce the headway between buses to 20 minutes and the Flyer can also reduce its fare a bit. One year later, $2 more for all parkers, a slug of additional transit passengers, and a bus schedule of every 15 minutes or maybe even every 10.

The third year, who knows? Maybe $20 parking, continuous low-cost shuttle service, significantly fewer cars on the road, less pressure to widen I-66, cleaner air and the opportunity to start depaving some of the vast expanse of asphalt at Dulles would all become feasible. Finally we'd be going from a cycle that used to be vicious to one that is virtuous.

The United States spent 75 years moving up inexorably from transit to cars. We can climb back down this shaky ladder in the same methodical way, by charging appropriate costs for autos and providing transit levels that match the growth in demand. The place to start is with large public institutions that have predictable ridership and manageable transit modes—places like Dulles Airport.