Anonymous wrote:There are literally bidding wars at high end office buildings in Manhattan right now.

Everyone there is back pretty much back. Guess what people make it work or they quit and get a job closer to home or find a rare remote job.

Anonymous wrote:Here a DC worker in a nutshell.

His Gardner - Can I work from home? No
His Main - Can I work from home? No
His Garabageman - Can I work from home? No
His Starbucks Barista - Can I work from home? No

Boss asks them to come to office, How dare you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course DC can handle it. Until the last few years, everyone went to the office 5 days a week. And, many private companies are not going back to 5 days a week. I know my law firm is staying at a recommended 3 days in office, although most people are back ~4. It will still be well below pre-pandemic levels. DC, metro included, will adjust, just like it adjusted down in the early days of the pandemic. 5 days in an office was the reality for many of us for decades of our working life. It is not impossible for people or for governments to handle this.

Our agency has teleworked 3 days a week for at least 10 years (when I joined). But I admire your confidence.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation will get better as more people take it. The metro is already pretty good. The buses could be improved. It'll feel less sketchy the more commuters are on it and they can ramp up the frequency of buses if the demand is there.

not when no one pays and there's no penalty.

Exactly how many office-returning feds do you think will be jumping the turnstiles?

With RTO the number of paying customers will increase greatly while the number of fare-jumpers will stay the same. It will only be a good thing for Metro.

I don't know. Elon demonstrated with Twitter that 80% of tech employees are unnecessary. There may be quite a few more turnstile jumpers than you may think.

Anonymous wrote:No, Metro can't handle it. They have been deteriorating since the 1990s and don't expect any improvement now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation will get better as more people take it. The metro is already pretty good. The buses could be improved. It'll feel less sketchy the more commuters are on it and they can ramp up the frequency of buses if the demand is there.

not when no one pays and there's no penalty.

Exactly how many office-returning feds do you think will be jumping the turnstiles?

With RTO the number of paying customers will increase greatly while the number of fare-jumpers will stay the same. It will only be a good thing for Metro.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation will get better as more people take it. The metro is already pretty good. The buses could be improved. It'll feel less sketchy the more commuters are on it and they can ramp up the frequency of buses if the demand is there.

I won't take metro unless the government wants to include metro parking in my subsidy. Otherwise the flexibility and free parking (even with the cost of gas) is a better deal.

Free parking? You are lucky.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course DC can handle it. Until the last few years, everyone went to the office 5 days a week. And, many private companies are not going back to 5 days a week. I know my law firm is staying at a recommended 3 days in office, although most people are back ~4. It will still be well below pre-pandemic levels. DC, metro included, will adjust, just like it adjusted down in the early days of the pandemic. 5 days in an office was the reality for many of us for decades of our working life. It is not impossible for people or for governments to handle this.

I have worked since 1995 and have never worked in an office 5 days a week. My corporate employer allowed telework. I started in the federal government in 2010 and my agency had telework back then. The maximum days I have worked in the office is three days a week. The flexibility allowed for less traffic. I can't imagine what traffic will be like with the end of federal telework.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation will get better as more people take it. The metro is already pretty good. The buses could be improved. It'll feel less sketchy the more commuters are on it and they can ramp up the frequency of buses if the demand is there.

I won't take metro unless the government wants to include metro parking in my subsidy. Otherwise the flexibility and free parking (even with the cost of gas) is a better deal.

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation will get better as more people take it. The metro is already pretty good. The buses could be improved. It'll feel less sketchy the more commuters are on it and they can ramp up the frequency of buses if the demand is there.