There Are Times When Public Transportation Is Faster Than Driving
Driving to the Kennedy Center vs. taking Metrorail and the bus
The most common complaints about public transportation, are that it is inconvenient, doesn’t run frequently enough, and is slower than driving yourself. A lot of times, that is correct. There are times, however, when it’s more convenient to use public transportation. Add that to being a lot cheaper, and you’ve got yourself a deal.
I’ve been attending some classical music concerts with the National Symphony. It’s nice having a first-tier, major-league orchestra close by at the Kennedy Center, I
mean the Trump Kennedy Center. I could care less what it’s called. I just want to see a world-class symphony orchestra perform some great music. I still call it the Kennedy Center, just like I still call the Commanders the Redskins. Political Correctness, has never been one of my strongest virtues.
The first couple of times I went there, I decided to drive myself. Driving to the Kennedy Center means driving from my house in College Park all the way into and then across town, enjoying the rush hour traffic, like every other fool on the road. My plan is to get there about 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm, so I can get dinner before the show at either the cafeteria (expensive), or the restaurant (heart attack-level expensive). Hey, every once in a while, you need to give yourself a mental health day. I leave my house between 4:30 and 5 pm. Yup, that’s right in the middle of rush hour. On the weekends, there is still traffic, but not quite as bad. The concert hall doors open at 7:30 pm for an 8:00 pm show. If I’m going to eat somewhere else, and in DC there are lots of opportunities, I’ll just build that into the travel time, again still using Metro. Driving and parking in DC is nuts. I only do it, if there is no other choice.
This past Saturday, I decided to take Metro instead of driving. After that experience, I won’t drive to the Kennedy Center again. Using both Metrorail and Metrobus, as well as the Kennedy Center’s own shuttle from the Foggy Bottom GWU Metro, is the way to get there. It’s faster than driving, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.
This past Saturday, I went to see the National Symphony perform the world premier of American Mosaic, along with Aaron Copeland’s clarinet concerto, and Rodeo Suite. I parked at the College Park Metro station, rode the Green Line to Archives, and then the D10 bus to Kennedy Center. Easy. Parking at the Metro is free on weekends. Parking at the Kennedy Center is $25. $22 if you pay in advance. The Metro and bus fare is $2.50 each way on weekends. $1.25 each way for us seniors, and those with disabilities. $2.50 plus free parking. Maybe I used $1 in gas driving both directions from my house to the Metro. Maybe.
When I booked my tickets for my first performance, I should have checked out the “getting there,” information on the Kennedy Center’s website. An usher told me about the free shuttle that runs to the venue, from the Foggy Bottom GWU Metro station. It’s on the “getting there” page on the website. It stops right at the top of the station’s escalators, and drops you off and picks you up, right in front of the Center’s main doors. Here’s the shuttle’s schedule, taken right from the Center’s website:
The Kennedy Center Shuttle Hours of Operation
Monday – Saturday
9:45 a.m. – 12 Midnight (except federal holidays)
Sunday
11:45 a.m. – 12 Midnight
Federal Holidays
4:00 p.m. – End of Last Performance
The best way to get there for me, is drive to the College Park Metro Station, take the Green Line to L’Enfant Plaza, take the Blue, Orange, or Silver lines to Foggy Bottom, and then take the free shuttle. Going home, reverse the process.
Using Metro, the bus, or the shuttle, takes less time and is way cheaper that driving, even if the concert is in the middle of the week, and you have to pay to park at the Metro station. It’s $4.95/day to park at the College Park Metro station, Even with paying rush hour fares in one direction: $5.45. The return fare is $2.50. So you add $7.95, plus the $4.95 to park, and you get $12.90, as opposed to $25 just to park, plus the gas and wear and tear on your vehicle. Seniors like me, $2.75 during rush hour and $1.25 on the way home. Add that to the $4.95 for parking, and you get $8.95, plus it takes a lot less time than driving all the way across town, and then trying to negotiate the street maze over by the Kennedy Center, Watergate, etc. Take the wrong turn, and you end up in Virginia. One time, I ended up going over the Key Bridge three times, before I finally found the right road.
I’m a split personality urbanist. There is the adventurist urbanist in me, and then there is its opposite. The lazy urbanist in me is showing its face. I wish I had done a little more research into transportation options to the Kennedy Center before I had purchased some tickets with parking. I have two performances left, where I’ve already paid to park, $22 in advance. I’m going to eat that $44 dollars as an instruction fee, and use the Metro from College Park to go see the National Symphony. The ease of getting to the Kennedy Center using public transportation, makes driving there, unless you really have a compelling reason to do so, in my opinion, not the smartest way to get there. The convenience is worth the loss of $44 in unused parking fees.
This conservative urbanist is going to continue to visit museums and attend concerts by the National Symphony. How easy is it to get to Wolf Trap by public transportation? Ok, the adventurist conservative urbanist is going to have to do some homework.
The fact that some people are boycotting the venue, means more availability of tickets to some great concerts for me. Wednesday, I’m going to see the Vienna Philharmonic. I’ll let you know how the concert went, and how full the hall was. Something tells me that some from the self-righteous club, are going to miss a really great performance. They did last Saturday. Oh well, that’s their loss. My only beef, is it’s going to be closed for two years, for renovation.