Question ... what did people do in your neighborhood to get around or go to the Metro before the days of Uber? Walking, biking etc.?

Call me cheap but I would allow enough time to walk from point A to B or wait 20 minutes for the next bus, while my AP doesn't think twice and Uber instead. Maybe it's a generational thing. When I was younger and had very limited income, I never would take a cab and instead just walk, bus, or subway, even in the blizzard - to save some money.

When someone else is paying the bills, it's a no-brainer to use Uber or cab without a 2nd thought.

I say give her a transportation allowance that covers a few round-trips every week, but she needs some skin in the game to make cost-effective choices. It is not a blank check.

Anonymous wrote:Riding a bike on the sidewalk is illegal in most parts of D.C./md/va.
Not to mention when the weather turns it is not feasible for most humans.
I agree that 75-100 a week is reasonable supplemental for transportation. Who wants to be stuck in the house all day and "hope" you can borrow a car in the evening to go shopping? Bad situation for any AP.

Not true. That's an assumption people make:
Bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks unless prohibited by local ordinance or traffic control devices. While on sidewalks and shared use paths, bicyclists must always yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing a pedestrian.
http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-laws.asp#Where

Cycling on sidewalks is permitted outside of the DC Central Business District. Cyclists must yield to pedestrians on sidewalks.
https://ddot.dc.gov/page/ddot-bicycle-and-pedestrian-safety

Bike riding on sidewalks is permitted in MORE areas of VA and DC than not permitted. The DC area is mostly the mall/museum area where pedestrian traffic is heavy.

We live in Arlington, less than half of a mile from ballston metro and our AP has a car. One tank of gas a month is all she needs for kid related driving. Insurance is $100 per month for AP, $50 in gas, $50 in taxes, and $25 in maintenance per month over a year (although 2 of 5 APs have caused about $1000 in cosmetic damage each that we had to pay for).
Anyway, not including the cost of the car it is a $225 range expense per month. Paying $300 a month is still a good deal for a HF in metro or taxis/uber instead of buying a car.

Anonymous wrote:I am willing to be a lot of money that most people on here are not giving their au pair $75/week for ubers (I'm not talking about car insurance/payments/etc) .... I'm talking about cabs. Because I have a feeling that some of the same people who are urging that weekly payment are also having their au pairs pay their own gas.

quite possibly, but I only have a 3rd car for the AP. We would otherwise not own, insure, or maintain this vehicle. When we had a nanny, she had her own car and we paid her the federal reimbursement rate, which accounts for aspects of owning a car, not just the price of gas. So for this family, owning a car is not practical or is too expensive ... but we all contribute to AP transportation in some way. Yes, it's another significant hidden cost of an AP year.

We provide a car for our AP. Our LCC told us that the AP should not pay more than $50 in gas a month because "they don't make that much money". So 12.50/week. We provide a car ($$$$$), insure the car ($$$$) and maintain the car ($$$), which yes, is also used for the kids. I honestly don't think I HAVE to provide any gas for any personal trips, but we do contribute.
If we did not have a car, I would provide enough money for a reasonable number of bus-to-metro-to-town trips a week. If she wants to take the uber instead of the bus because it's quicker, then that's her choice. If she wants to take the metro far afield, that's also her choice.
I do agree with the PP that the outlay of having a car is pretty steep, so even though I would want my 20-something daughter to ante up for her own transportation. Public transportation can seem really expensive, but compared to a car it's not that much.

I am willing to be a lot of money that most people on here are not giving their au pair $75/week for ubers (I'm not talking about car insurance/payments/etc) .... I'm talking about cabs. Because I have a feeling that some of the same people who are urging that weekly payment are also having their au pairs pay their own gas.

PP here: Just saw the clarification about your location. If Metro is also walkable, she should take it and use it to get home by the time service stops (or pay her own cab).

Most au pairs don't have the ability to envision how car dependent we are in the DC suburbs. Some bus lines are rush hour only. Access to transportation is very important to their being able to have a reasonably enjoyable year. And it is an expense that families should budget for. Assume she will need a car or taxi in the same circumstances you would (most will walk MORE than you would). If you don't want to buy another vehicle, do consider some transportation allowance. Otherwise your au pair is put in the situation of having to beg rides from other au pairs, strangers, or hitchhike.

Riding a bike on the sidewalk is illegal in most parts of D.C./md/va.
Not to mention when the weather turns it is not feasible for most humans.
I agree that 75-100 a week is reasonable supplemental for transportation. Who wants to be stuck in the house all day and "hope" you can borrow a car in the evening to go shopping? Bad situation for any AP.

Anonymous wrote:Agree that this arrangement will like.y head to rematch if the family stops paying.

OP here...sigh...we are not headed to rematch. We all get along just fine. We are simply trying to find a solution that works for all sides --where she has some skin in the game and therefore doesn't just call an Uber instead of taking the longer route. We are not in Chantilly--we're live near the DC border and are within walking distance of shops/Starbucks/restaurants/etc. So the question is not whether she's trapped in the house. She's not. But she chooses to venture farther out most days. That's fine, but I'm just trying to figure out how much we're supposed to subsidize that. And for everyone saying she should have a car -- the two other au pairs in our neighborhood who have a car are not allowed to drive them downtown. So there would still be an issue there.

Anonymous wrote:Agree that this arrangement will like.y head to rematch if the family stops paying.

Is this the only thing annoying about her? Is she good with the kids?

It depends on what "just far enough out" from the Metro means.

PP here: We live 2 miles from the metro but the bus takes 15-20 minutes depending on the time of day because there are a LOT of stops from our house to the metro (fast food, shopping plaza with multiple stops, a school, some apt buildings, etc.) We still fully expect our AP to borrow the car and park at the metro, take the bus, or walk 30 minutes (she doesn't want to bike, but it's easily doable especially riding on the sidewalk).

If AP insisted on taking Uber to the metro every time at approximately $10/average a ride, I would not have 1) ever knowingly matched with such a princess or 2) be paying for any of it. (Slow times probably cheaper, but "peak" times can be more like $16 and I found a regular cab cheaper.)

Maybe once or twice at 12am, I'd take pity on her and give her some extra money. But no way for the daytime trips every day when the kids are in school when she could be managing her time doing something else and then taking the car in the evening.

Agree that this arrangement will like.y head to rematch if the family stops paying.

Buy her a bicycle to get to Metro?

No car, no metro, no way an AP lasts a year out in the suburbs. $40 a week is nothing for someone without a car in chantilly or Rockville or something. I would think 75 a week, still cheaper than giving her a car.