Metro Bus Saves Me From Myself

The Green Miles is always late. Always. You could give me two hours' notice to get to a place that's a 10 minute walk away, and I'd still leave home late & come stumbling in a few minutes past due. When I ran for House of Delegates, I'd make sure to plan on being at events at least 15 minutes in advance (the community centers usually appreciated the help setting up the folding chairs anyway).

So with all that being said, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that I went stumbling out the door to Wednesday's Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting 20 minutes late. I'd originally planned on walking from my apartment building in East Falls Church at Roosevelt & Wilson down to the meeting in Ballston, but that would take about 45 minutes. I thought about walking down to EFC Metro, but that wouldn't be much faster.

Then I realized there are Metrobuses that run down Wilson to Ballston that I'd never taken before. I walked to a stop to get its ID number, then used my Blackberry's internet browser to get to Metro's Next Bus service. Sure enough, there was a bus coming in less than 10 minutes. The ride was smooth and I didn't just make it to the meeting on time - I was a couple of minutes early. Really weird feeling for someone who's chronically tardy.

Growing up in Boston, I always had to deal with buses that were loud and smelled like exhaust and had no shocks and you never knew when they were coming. Plus, my first experience with Metrobus didn't exactly endear me to it.

But the pleasant ride and Next Bus feature made the trip a lot smoother. Maybe I'll give the bus another shot as the evenings get nicer and I'm looking for a way to get from Upton Hill Regional Park to Clarendon without a car.

Monday: World Carfree Day 2008

Just a quick reminder that Monday September 22nd is World Carfree Day 2008! If you usually drive to work but there are public transportation or carpooling options available, here's a day to give one of those a try.

The Green Miles will be taking a Metro rail then bus out to work in Reston tomorrow. Takes a little longer, but saves money on gas, lets me catch up on reading, and saves me a big headache battling traffic on I66 and the Dulles Toll Road.

Metrobus: Because You Never Get a 2nd Chance to Make a 1st Impression

Last Thursday I was heading to a performance of the new ballet version of Edward Scissorhands at the Kennedy Center with The Green Girlfriend. During the summer I might've just walked, but it was a really cold night, so I was looking for a quicker route.

Metro's website recommended the 60 bus, which it said would pick me up a block from my office near McPherson Square and drop me off at the Kennedy Center 17 minutes later. Usually I avoid public buses due to inconsistent service in other cities, and the many inherent advantages of taking the train over taking the bus:

* If you miss a train, you know another one will be along soon, but if I'd missed the 60 bus, it would've been another half an hour in the cold before the next one.
* On a cold night, standing inside for a train is a big advantage over standing outside waiting for a bus.
* Trains don't hit traffic, but buses lurch along in the stop-and-go crunch.

And indeed, the 60 bus was five minutes late, then took 15 minutes to crawl the first five blocks when it was supposed to take 17 minutes to get me all the way to the Kennedy Center. Do they make the rush hour schedule assuming zero traffic?

The wait and ride took me 40 minutes when the train ride and walk would've taken me half that. On top of that, the bus dropped us off along a stretch of sidewalk that was completely untreated. We had to slide across 10 feet of ice to get to a cleared path.

End result of experiment? I don't like to write negative posts, because I hate blogs that just bitch about everything all the time. But damn, that sucked. I'll stick to the train or walking next time.

Fortunately, when I met The Green Girlfriend inside at the Kennedy Center restaurant bar, she had an Irish coffee waiting for me. And I can't say this strongly enough -- if you go to the Kennedy Center restaurant bar on a cold night, get the Irish coffee. It was big and strong and good.

The show itself was unique, definitely worth seeing. I was worried it would end up somewhere between a high school adaptation and Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, but it was very well done. Danny Elfman's score was fantastic as always, they mostly stuck to the movie's story, and the guy playing Edward kept Johnny Depp's endearing shyness.