Observer Online | Airplanes, Trains, Etc.

Edition of Aug. 24, 2007

Airplanes, Trains, Etc.

Returning from a summer weekend vacation a few weeks ago, my flight from Cleveland to Dulles was delayed by three hours and would likely get me back at home after midnight.

Quickly, I hopped over to the customer service counter and got onto a flight headed to National Airport. Without a plan for how I was going to get from Alexandria to Reston, I figured at least I would be better off the closer to home I could get. Luckily, I caught my dad at home in Herndon, and he agreed to pick me up at the Monroe Street park and ride, and he told me which bus to get on to get there.

Straight off the airplane, my bag was the first on the carousel and I headed out the door to catch a Metro train to West Falls Church. The train arrived promptly, and as I walked out of my destination station, the bus I looking for was just getting ready to head out.

I hopped on the express bus, which zoomed up the Dulles Toll Road and into the park and ride in about 15 minutes. My dad met me and gave me a five-minute ride to my house, and my trip was over about two hours earlier than it would have been if I had waited around for my original flight.

Total travel time on a train, a bus and the family taxi service was about an hour. Total cost for the trip: less than $3. Level of inconvenience: zero.

Extending the Metro to Dulles Airport is expensive, and by all accounts the costs are growing monthly. But the convenience of having a mass transit system in our backyard, even for an occasional traveler like me, is priceless.