Tuesday, November 08, 2022

Travel Tuesday: Public Transit

Recent news from the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Silver Line Extension on Metro Rail (subway) to Dulles International Airport, should open by Thanksgiving (the last Thursday in November.) Dulles is way out west of the city, it is closer to West Virginia than it is to Washington DC, at long last it will be connected to the public transit system. It will be a 45 minute ride into the city center, but it will make the airport a much more user friendly option.  It will increase the options for international travel as National Airport does not have customs and immigration, limiting international flights to pre-clearance or making a connection someplace else.  

On both of our recent trips we used public transit to get around.  In Montreal we used taxis to and from the airport.  The trains don't run all the way to the airport (yet they are working on that) and I have had mixed experiences with local shuttle buses.  In the city the subway system is the way way to get around.  Fast, comfortable and relatively inexpensive.  Boston has some of the oldest subway lines in the country.  The connection to the airport is by "Bus Rapid Transit" not my favorite, but it is free and connects you into the train system in the city, and street traffic in and out of the airport in Boston is horrendous.  

In many ways subways, are the best way to get around when visiting cities.  What is you favorite subway system? 

16 comments:

  1. The Paris métro is my favorite of the systems I know. I have a soft spot for the NYC Subway. I like the DC metro, having spent 4 years there in the mid 80's. And I used to work for SF Muni, so there's another "like." I'm not sure there's a system that I don't like...

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    1. Paris will get you almost anyplace you want to do in the city.

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  2. I don't think I have a favorite subway system. But when I lived in Philly I used to love the regional rail, because I can take it for my apartment right to the airport to catch a flight that wouldn't have to worry about leaving my car there.

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    1. The train is the best way to get to that airport.

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  3. I haven’t used many around the world. I've always loved DC's Metro. New York’s is amazing, but can be a bit depressing. Our commuter line is a pleasure, but doesn’t cover much ground.

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    1. My local line re-opened this week after a 6 week closure to cut in a new station.

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  4. I actually think my favorite metro is the DC metro. Maybe because I've used it a lot in my life, maybe because it is easy to figure out. Glad your local line re-opened. I saw that the silver line to Dulles will finally open next week. You put it in perspective when you say Dulles is closer to WVA than to DC!

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    1. Delayed 30 minutes this morning by broken trains, but still better than driving

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  5. I like Toronto if only for the fond memories of the town and visits.

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    1. That is a nice one, I need to go back there

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  6. I have a favorite subway memory: Using the DC Metro on the end-of-the-year-8th grade field trip. None of my group had ever been on a subway. From handing out the Metro pass (don't lose it, don't bend it), to getting my 10 students on and off the train (their attention was spot on), to seeing their wonder and awe as we went up the escalator at Rosslyn was amazing. After that, they wanted to take the Metro instead of riding on the tour bus! I have a soft spot for the gritty, noisy, off-schedule NYC subway. What's your favorite?

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    1. My first was London, one of the reasons I wanted to live in DC was the Metro

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  7. My favorite one is in London (of course). I've used the BART in San Francisco and the Metro in St. Louis and the Chicago Metro when I worked in those cities. I've also used the Des Moines and Portland light rails when I worked in those places. I've even been on the New York subway and a long time ago, the DC subway. And, we even have a light rail system here in Phoenix. I used to use it quite often when I lived on the other side of town.

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  8. Gail says: the St Petersburg underground system is simply awesome. Not that I'm likely to go back to Russia anytime soon...

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    1. I have heard the system is good, not on my bucket list at the moment.

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