DC Metro

So, I had a lovely week and a half in the US, and lots of time spent on the DC Metro and Metrobus. All in all, the tube still kicks the crap out of the metro, but the metro isn't as bad as I thought. The major difference is in how many trains they have running. On the tube it is the exception, rather than the rule, that you would have to wait more than 5 minutes for the next train. Same thing goes for buses.

Anyway, my first real annoyance is with myself, not the metro. I'm upset that I didn't look into public transportation when we lived in Ballston. On average I would have made it to the office in about 30 minutes. Obviously some days it might be much shorter, or some days longer if I just miss the bus, but overall I think 30 minutes is a pretty good estimate. Considering that on a really good day, I could drive the same route in about 20 minutes, but that on a bad day it might take me 45 minutes to an hour (especially in the evening), it would have been pretty easy to metro/bus it in to work.

Now, that was my first thought on the first few days I was riding the bus. Then came Thursday, when I just missed the train coming home at West Falls Church, ended up standing around while THREE(!!!) "No Passenger" trains went by, and ended up taking over an hour and a half to get to my Dad's house. So obviously, there are some downsides.

My only other really exciting adventure in public transit I had was first thing on Monday morning when my bus smashed in the side view mirror of the truck in the next lane over. Gotta love those top-notch MetroBus drivers.