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[quote=Anonymous]Not in DC, but how much would bus/metro cost her if she went to the city every day?
Wmata website says Arlington to downtown off peak would be $2.40 SmarTrip Fare per trip? $3.00 from Bethesda? So let's say $5/6 per day? I don't think adding $40 or even $50 for transportation per week sounds excessive in that case. Still cheaper than getting an AP car with all the associated cost and a nice sign to her that you want her to get out and about and experience her home-for-a-year.

I am so happy that we have amazing public transportation where we are. We get AP a bus pass ($) and the bus stop is just around the corner, she has stores and cafes in walking distance (5 minutes), everything is walkable and safe. Her bus pass even includes the kids if she wants to take them anywhere. Win win.

[quote=Anonymous]30 minutes to walk to the Metro is not that bad [...]  I walked, I bused, I caught a ride with friends.  If it was late, I would splurge on a cab (usually less than once per month)[/quote]

How bad a 30 minute walk is highly depends on how much time off the AP has during the day. Walking 30 minutes to the Metro plus waiting plus a 20/25 minute trip (just guessing here) into the city means at least an hour each way. Same for taking the bus, time-wise it might just not be a great option. I think OP mentioned school-aged kids but that might still mean that AP only has a couple of hours in the city if she has to travel an hour each way. I totally agree that if there are shops in walking distance there is no reason for her to travel into the city every day but if that's what rocks her boat...

I think most of us could catch rides with friends back when we didn't have a car, because we weren't old enough or simply because we couldn't afford them. However, most APs do not have friends who own a car. Most of their friends are APs who drive their HF's car. By not providing an AP with a car or covering their transportation cost (as long as they are 'reasonable', whatever that may mean) a HF is saving on the cost of another HF. Which I don't think is fair. HF A saves hundreds or thousands of dollars a year by not buying a designated AP car, not having to shell out for insurance, not paying for maintenance or gas or whatever and expects HF B or C or D to cough up the money for their AP so that their AP can pick up AP A (which most likely means driving a detour and thus more wear and tear and HF B/C/D/...'s car). Catching a ride with a friend works if it's your friend's car (and you give them $10 every once in a while or treat them for dinner or babysit for them or give them your notes for a class they had to miss) is one thing, as soon as you bring another HF into the mix it's not that easy any more (unless you think AP A paying HF B for every ride that AP B gives AP A is reasonable). You deciding not to provide your AP with a car or money for public transportation costs me money if my AP constantly has to pick your AP up. Why would I want to pay for your AP's transportation cost?

It's also nearly impossible to compare every day life when we were in our 20s with exceptional circumstances such as living in another country for a limited period of time. I was an AP back in the late 90s, when the stipend was $140 which I always managed to spend (mostly on travel). I lived off less than that after completing my year and going to university and that included housing (which ate up more than half of my money each month), food, transportation, books and stuff (thankfully I could raid my parents' pantry every once in a while and was still on their insurance but there were weeks where I lived on toast with butter and spaghetti with ketchup or canned corn with butter and pepper) but there is huge difference between "life" and a "once in a lifetime experience." Otherwise you end up with your AP hanging out at home every evening because she can't afford going out, meeting friends and taking part in the cultural exchange the program is sold to them as... and we have seen where that leads to on here.

I totally agree that OP's AP should take the bus or metro. I also agree that there doesn't seem to be a reason for her to go into town every day as shops and cafes seem to be easily accessible on foot but she can still chose to do so. Does HF necessarily have to pay for AP to take a cab/uber? I don't think so (and I don't think I would). Does HF have to pay for AP to take bus/metro every day? No, most likely not if it's simply by choice. However, I think it would be nice if they did and would probably lead to a better relationship and less resentment. Figure out how much AP would spend each week if she went by metro/bus, round it up and give it to her as a weekly "transportation subsidy." She can then chose to spend it on cab/uber and either go less often or spend some of her stipend for travel or she can chose to spend it on going by bus/metro. [/quote]

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