Originally Posted by
Mike Jacoubowsky
Why? I'm neither tourist nor airport employee, but visit DC on a regular basis for work (bicycle lobby). Why wouldn't a business person take the metro when it connects IAD to downtown DC? Improved predictability, similar or shorter travel time to taxi (and likely much faster when traffic is heavy), no need to rent a car. What am I missing?
I am sure it will make your life easier if you land during the morning rush. But,
1) To save on construction cost, the IAD metro station is not even going to be near the terminal any more. It will be about half a mile away.
2) The ride from IAD to, say Metro Center will be predictable....but it will be predictably LONG. Estimates are 64-90 minutes, depending on how backed up the Rosslyn tunnel gets. By way of comparison I can get from LHR to Leicester Square in 45-50 minutes on the Piccadilly Line!
3) If your destination in DC is not on the metro, then what? Come up at a station and hail a taxi?
4) DC Metro is NOT 24/7.
5) IAD is
not the terminus of the Silver Line. There will be two commuter stations beyond it. Meaning that by the time morning rush hour trains get to the IAD stop, it may be standing room only.
Personally, I plan on continuing to use taxis when I use IAD after the Silver Line opens. Especially when I can expense them on business travel.
Originally Posted by sammyindc
I'm in the same boat and always fly UA. Being less than 5 minutes away from DCA I usually do DCA-EWR-XXX most of the time for domestic and intl flight as it is much more convenient but on some occasions I take the drive out to IAD for some transcon and intl flight. Advantage of IAD is the use of LH lounge.
I did a few DCA-EWR-XXX. But when you are travelling on an int'l paid business class ticket, the last thing you want to do is start or end your long trip with a ghetto bus ride transfer to and from the ghetto gates at EWR, and have to suffer on a crap ER with no FC DCA-EWR-DCA. The back seat of a taxi from IAD is far preferable to one of those beasts! Plus you don't have to leave at noon or 1pm for a TATL.
Tonight, for example, I am doing 916 out of IAD and will leave for the airport around 3 rather than leaving for the airport at about 12:30 for a connection through EWR on a CR...
The only downside is that I am on UNITED.
