Driving to work rather than metro?

[Anonymous]

I feel like I'm going to be wasting money if I start driving rather than Metro -- my commute is Orange/Silver (Courthouse) to Union. My employer pays for metro but would not pay for parking, which I imagine runs $15-20 a day near Union Station.

Is it worth it? I'd still be saving but saving $300-400 less per month if I drove -- and my salary is in the low 150s so it's not an insignificant amount of saving relative to salary. Yet I'm not sure I can handle waiting 30+ min for a train and then having people breathing all over me if I do get on; this type of overcrowding is a large part of why I left NYC (I realize I could have gone somewhere else for a "easier" life but relative to NYC, I found this to be easier - until the metro became unusable). WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Why would you wait a half hour for a train? Plan your timing better so you don't do that.

I take the train daily. I only take an Uber if there's a TON to carry or something extreme.

[Anonymous]

I hear ya OP. I go from Rosslyn to Union, and these new delays are a PITA. That said, I drove for one month a few years ago and could not handle the unpredictability of traffic.

And yes, parking runs $15-$20 per day.

I almost wish I lived somewhere along the VRE. That's the way to go!

[Anonymous]

My commute is actually more expensive on metro ($360/month for metro fare + parking) versus driving ($230-$250 for parking in my Dupont building + gas).

[Anonymous]

You can plan your timing as the PP said but these days -- and for the next 6 months or more -- the trains just will not be coming as they say. They say it's only 8 min between trains -- yet go to the stations and it's not unusual to wait 15 min for a train to arrive and then find you can't get on bc it's already packed and then you wait 15 min for another. Unless they fix their timing in the next few days/weeks -- they aren't really operating every 8 min.

[Anonymous]

You may be able to get a monthly parking pass. Many of my co-workers pay $200 a month to park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you wait a half hour for a train? Plan your timing better so you don't do that.

I take the train daily. I only take an Uber if there's a TON to carry or something extreme.

Yeah, if you live on the Orange line, planning better means "don't take Metro for six months." Most people in the Arlington stations had to let 3 trains bobby this morning before they could get on.

[Anonymous]

I have to either pay to park or pay for Metro. Even with that, it's cheaper and generally less stressful for me to Metro from Virginia Square to Union Station vs. driving (factoring the cost of parking near my building). But, I get on the train quite early, typically by 7:15 in the a.m. and 4:30ish in the p.m., so it usually isn't that crowded.

I do drive in the summer because I have to pick up kids from multiple camps that aren't necessarily near each other and the traffic is a lot lighter. As soon as school is back in session the traffic seems a lot worse and I lose any desire to drive daily!

Also, I miss the exercise I get walking to/from work and, even with the more frequent delays lately on metro, I find my timing on metro to be much more predictable than when driving.

[Anonymous]

I work near Union Station (on the west side of the station) and you can find parking for $8-12/day if you're willing to park in a surface lot and walk a few blocks to work. I park about a 5-minute walk from my office for $10/day most days, and if I could get in a bit earlier I'd be able to get an $8/day early bird rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work near Union Station (on the west side of the station) and you can find parking for $8-12/day if you're willing to park in a surface lot and walk a few blocks to work. I park about a 5-minute walk from my office for $10/day most days, and if I could get in a bit earlier I'd be able to get an $8/day early bird rate.

PP here. Just to be a bit more specific, these lots are around North Capitol and 1st street NE, up around K street or so.

[Anonymous]

I think Metro's site allows you to do a price comparison between driving and taking the train.

[Anonymous]

How much is your time worth? Employer provides up to $130 if I metro. I incur $250 in parking alone driving. But it saves me 15 min each way which is crucial for me as a WITH mom with daily toddler dropoffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is your time worth? Employer provides up to $130 if I metro. I incur $250 in parking alone driving. But it saves me 15 min each way which is crucial for me as a WITH mom with daily toddler dropoffs.

My salary is 75k so I should save when I can. I also enjoy reading in the metro v listening to the radio while driving. But I think there's a time and a place to save and I've started driving daily from a few months ago. I feel less stress. My commute is already 60-80 min WITH saving time driving. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

For me it's more expensive to drive, but it's the price I pay for my sanity. I can't handle the smell and the crowds on the metro, the way I feel sloppy before I even get to work, and the longer commute. It saves me a half hour each way to drive. Also, I have more flexibility getting places after work, which I find critical as a parent.