Anonymous wrote:https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/stabbing-on-massachusetts-ave/65-ef7118a1-7bce-409a-86ea-1a79963a7ace

Are the trains still bypassing the station, or have things returned to normal?

Anonymous wrote:Taxi line or Metro.

The less time she spends idle there the better.

Tell her under NO circumstance is she to use a restroom there. Impress that upon her. Make sure she uses the bathroom before getting off the train.

By 9 PM the restrooms are even more occupied by the homeless than during the day.

Yes all of this. The restrooms are not a good place to be, at all.

Parking there is pretty easy to navigate. I would park, go meet her train, and take her where she needs to go.

Anonymous wrote:How/when did Union Station get so bad? I used to go there and enjoy dinner with friends every now and then. Did they kill it with all the construction?

It's terrible. When I was there in November, my train got in at around 8 PM, so not really that late, and the circus I saw was unreal. Two homeless ladies fighting over a nook for sleeping, a guy staggering around with a whisky bottle and yelling at everything, and another guy outside the escalator down took a massive shit right on the street.

All of this was in view of several officers. They did nothing.

OP - if you're going to have her ride Metro in, make sure she loads money digitally beforehand. She doesn't need to be feeding money in the machine there at night with all of the homeless around. My mom's card glitched and she had to add funds when we returned from our NYC trip over the summer. She had her back to her surroundings and I foolishly was not paying attention, on my phone seeing when the next train was arriving. Anyway, a homeless guy grabbed at her trying to get her money and wallet. When I heard her startled yelp, I got really loud and big, like scaring a bear away, and he ran. Best part, a officer was walking in that direction and laughed how she'd have to try that next time.

WMATA is utterly useless.

Taxi line or Metro.

The less time she spends idle there the better.

Tell her under NO circumstance is she to use a restroom there. Impress that upon her. Make sure she uses the bathroom before getting off the train.

By 9 PM the restrooms are even more occupied by the homeless than during the day.

OP, a cab from the cab stand in front is the safest bet.

WMATA has a lot of crime and tonight, another tunnel fire. I would not put a visitor on it late in the evening.

https://twitter.com/unsuckdcmetro/status/1496284198373629957

A comment to the WP article (pre-Covid!)


Union Station is so weird. In the Amtrak terminal you sometimes have a dozen heavily armed police patrolling regularly. Outside the station or on the Metro platform? Complete lawlessness.