[RP TownTalk] MARC - Metro commuting cost comparisons

Tue Aug 9 16:19:16 UTC 2016

My usual commute using MARC and the Red Line (4 stops) is about 35 minutes,
which includes 7 or 8 minutes walk from Farragut North to my office, plus
the trek from the train through Union Station and downstairs to the Metro.
According to my "smart" phone, I get a bit over a mile of walking in on a
normal commute day w/o really trying :)

I haven't driven in to work since we moved here 10 years ago (why would I?)
but back when I did drive (from Hyattsville) it usually took me 45-50
minutes except during the summer doldrums when it could be as quick as 25
minutes or even a bit less.  But i could neither read the paper nor take a
short power nap while driving, and I can do both quite easily on the MARC!

On Tue, Aug 9, 2016 at 12:01 PM, bob smith <sfmc68 at verizon.net> wrote:

> WOW!! thanks for the detail Dwight!
> When I was at crystal city, I took metro, usually before peak fares
> kicked in most days but I never looked at the total cost because the
> parking option was just too expensive to even consider and worsened by
> the time in traffic.
>
> Public transit is a great option compared to car if one has that option,
> strictly my opinion when services run as normal as they can despite
> driving requiring half the time in the AM, and 4x in the PM coming home.
>
> Thanks again!!
> bob smith
>
>
> On 8/8/16 11:46 PM, Dwight Holmes wrote:
> > The recent discussion of MARC & Metro commuting options motivated me to
> > update my cost-comparison spreadsheet.  It's been about 10 years since I
> > did this.  All fares and parking fees have gone up in the meantime, so
> > it was good to have a reason to do this.
> >
> > Executive summary: Using the MARC, I can get to my destination of
> > Farragut North for anywhere from $6.75/day up to $11.05/day.  Using
> > Metro from Prince George's Plaza, it will cost me from $7.00 up to
> > $11.60/day. (All of those prices are full-fare costs. I don't pay that
> > much, because I save money by using the Federal tax subsidies available
> > through my employer, but that doesn't affect the relative costs - it
> > will reduce MARC and/or Metro costs by the same percentage).
> >
> > How did I get those numbers? and what do the variations in cost depend
> > on? Read on.
> >
> > First of all, I should confess that I'm a big MARC booster. I believe
> > it's one of Riverdale Park's greatest assets. They even allow you to eat
> > and drink - yes, including alcohol - on the train. Try that on the
> > Metro!  It may or may not be cheaper for you to take the MARC, but if
> > your destination is either near Capitol Hill (so you can walk from Union
> > Station) or on the Red Line (no transfer needed on the Metro), it's
> > pretty sure to make for a quicker trip.  It takes just 10 minutes
> > between Riverdale and Union Station on the MARC.  Add on the time to
> > transfer to the Red Line and ride to my daily destination, Farragut
> > North, it's still anywhere from 15-20 minutes quicker for me on a
> > typical day by MARC and Metro than it is by Bus + Metro.
> >
> > My biases aside, I will be as accurate as I can be here in attempting to
> > answer the question, which is the most economical way to commute, MARC
> > or Metro? First answer: It's complicated!.
> >
> > Complicated, in part, because the choice just isn't that simple.
> >
> > How do you get to the MARC or Metro station? Walk? Bike? Bus? Drive and
> > park?  All of these choices affect your daily commute cost. We will see
> > that parking or not - and whether you use a monthly parking pass or pay
> > daily rates - is probably the biggest factor in determining what the
> > answer to our question is for you.
> >
> > How many days do you commute in to work? With teleworking becoming a
> > bigger and bigger part of many people's work lives, this is a relevant
> > question - and also plays a big part in determining your answer to the
> > question.  MARC monthly passes cost the equivalent of 27 one-way trips,
> > or 13 1/2 days of round-trip commutes.  Your daily cost will, obviously,
> > vary depending on whether you commute, say, 3, 4 or 5 days a week.
> > Metro commuting isn't normally affected by that factor (unless you
> > purchase a monthly Metro Parking pass - see below).
> >
> > Enough about the complications. Let's try to keep it somewhat simple in
> > order to show the range of options.  I'm going to pick my destination of
> > Farragut North to use as an example.
> >
> > I walk to the MARC station, and use a monthly pass to ride the MARC to
> > Union Station. (Driving and parking adds nothing to your cost other than
> > gas and wear and tear on your car and the planet, since you can park at
> > the MARC station for free). If I commute 20 days/month, that's a cost of
> > $6.75 per day (per round-trip commute). I do take the Metro from Union
> > Station to Farragut North most days ($2.15 each way x 2 = $4.30) for a
> > total of $11.05 per day.  But some days I take the 80 Metrobus from
> > Union Station, which is free when I show my MARC monthly pass. (It takes
> > about 10 minutes longer) So that keeps the total cost at $6.75 per day.
> > I would offer that's the cheapest, practical way to get to work downtown
> > (unless you want to commute by bike - more power to you!) You can't beat
> > $6.75 per day by taking Metro only, nor even by driving (unless your
> > employer pays for your parking!).
> >
> > Now let's look at using Metro only.  And let's say I use Prince George's
> > Plaza Metro.  If I walk to the Metro (free) and ride the Green and Red
> > Lines to Farragut North, during rush hour, the one-way fare is $3.50
> > making for a round-trip daily cost of $7.00.  If I'm lazy (I am) and
> > decide to take the F4 bus to and from the Metro, add $1.25 each way
> > (transfer fare), bringing the total to $9.50 per day. (Using the 14 The
> > Bus instead would save me a dollar per day, so $8.50)
> >
> > Another choice is to drive and park at the Metro.  If I buy a monthly
> > pass (which used to have long waiting lists, not sure if that's true
> > anymore), that adds $65/month. With my same assumption of 20 commutes
> > per month, that comes to $3.25 day, added to the $7 Metro fare brings it
> > to $10.25.  But if I pay at the daily rate of $4.60, my total is $11.60.
> >
> > So the choice of monthly parking pass versus daily parking rate will
> > determine the cheaper option, if the alternative is riding the
> > MARC+Metro to Farragut North.  The MARC+Metro option is $11.05.  With
> > daily parking, the all-Metro option is $11.60, but if you get a monthly
> > parking pass and commute 20 times a month, your daily cost is brought
> > down to $10.25.  (Commuting less often than 20 times a month will make
> > the daily cost of Parking+Metro /and/ riding the MARC both more
> expensive).
> >
> > In the spreadsheet linked to below, I've got various options for
> > Riverdale to Union Station, L'Enfant Plaza, Farragut North & Ballston
> > utilizing MARC vs Metro (PG Plaza and College Park both), with and
> > without parking.
> >
> > Here's a link to the messy Excel spreadsheet where I made the
> > calculations, if anyone is interested (I think you have to download it
> > to your computer rather than read it in Excel Online in order to see the
> > cell formulas - but that may just because I don't know what I'm doing!)
> >
> > https://1drv.ms/x/s!AoeR_XVs3Fe0hi02XkreNnVzPbcl
> > <https://1drv.ms/x/s!AoeR_XVs3Fe0hi02XkreNnVzPbcl>
> >
> >
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