commuting to joint base andrews

[Anonymous]

DD has an internship this summer at Joint Base Andrews / Air Force Base - will need to commute on weekdays from Bethesda. She is a fairly new driver so we don't want her driving every day that distance at rush hour. Does anyone know if there is any kind of employee shuttle? We were told there might be one from one of the nearby metro stations ? She will meet with her advisor mid June but till then we wanted to see if anyone else had any helpful information. TIA !

[Anonymous]

By car that will be a brutal commute. I do not know about an employee shuttle, but I believe the closest metro station would be the Branch Ave green line (or maybe Suitland if the back gate is still open off of Suitland Parkway). Worth having her push her advisor to see if there is an employee shuttle to/from a metro station.

[Anonymous]

Branch Avenue or Suitland are not the safest metro station. I would not allow my kid to do that even if a shuttle exists.

Agree with PP that is a brutal commute - by car or any other way.

[Anonymous]

Any advice about preferred, safe driving routes? Around the beltway vs through the city?

[Anonymous]

I would prefer the beltway over going through the city.

Depending where one lives, consider paying the ICC tolls both ways every day. The ICC will be faster/easier than 495 for that stretch. Colleague's kid did that ICC plus I-95 route one summer when interning at Smithsonian / Silver Hill. They lived in/near Rockville.

Avoid using 295 - it is a parking lot during commute hours and if car broke down in the wrong neighborhood DC might find it tricky.

[Anonymous]

Maybe do some practice runs on a couple routes during her commute time to see what it is like. I think it is fine to reach out to the advisor in advance to ask about logistics.

[Anonymous]

We live in Greenbelt and have two college kids who each drive to jobs near Andrews Air Force Base this summer. They say it's not bad because they are going against traffic. It's a lot of miles from Bethesda but the traffic keeps moving.

About safety concerns, your kid will be absolutely fine driving. I have zero concerns about my kids driving in our county. Since it is a long commute, just make sure your insurance offers road side assistance and show your kid how to use it. About metro and bus, I prefer them not to use it late at night but they do. Nothing bad has ever happened. I wouldn't worry at all about safety commuting by metro and bus during the day.

One idea to make it shorter is for your kid to stay with friends who live closer and drive from there or who live near the Green line and take the metro to Branch Ave, then take either the bus or shuttle to the base. It's easy to park at the Greenbelt and College Park metro stations and take the Green line from there. Maybe your kid has friends who go to UMD and have an apartment near there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Greenbelt and have two college kids who each drive to jobs near Andrews Air Force Base this summer. They say it's not bad because they are going against traffic. It's a lot of miles from Bethesda but the traffic keeps moving.

About safety concerns, your kid will be absolutely fine driving. I have zero concerns about my kids driving in our county. Since it is a long commute, just make sure your insurance offers road side assistance and show your kid how to use it. About metro and bus, I prefer them not to use it late at night but they do. Nothing bad has ever happened. I wouldn't worry at all about safety commuting by metro and bus during the day.

One idea to make it shorter is for your kid to stay with friends who live closer and drive from there or who live near the Green line and take the metro to Branch Ave, then take either the bus or shuttle to the base. It's easy to park at the Greenbelt and College Park metro stations and take the Green line from there. Maybe your kid has friends who go to UMD and have an apartment near there?

Your DD should not use metro in that region of DC, even during day it’s sketch. I work nearby.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/prince-georges-county/man-fatally-shot-near-suitland-metro-station/3366657/?amp=1

She will need to drive. Beltway is by far her best option. It is long but a simple exercise and if she goes around the inner loop it won’t involve bridges and be a reverse commute.